People Born Deaf That Later Had It Restored Reveal The Sounds That Surprised Them Most
It's the gift we never knew we were given.
Hearing is an act, like breathing, we don't think about too much. That is, until the day comes when we can no longer hear. Maybe old age, or maybe an injury, can lead to people losing what they never considered. Some of us, though, are born without hearing. They're born deaf and grow up wondering what the world sounds like. Thanks to advancements in medicine, many people are having their hearing restored, and what they end up hearing may not be what they thought it sounded like. Many of these people were asked about this in response to Reddit user, u/linkman0596, who asked:
Redditors who were born deaf but had your hearing restored, what sounds nothing like what you expected?
When Going To The Loo Is A Challenge
I was born deaf in my left ear and about 40% hearing in my right. I wear a hearing aid that is inside my right ear. I think the biggest thing for me was hearing the toilet flush. It was so loud that I simply couldn't believe it. Most people say they'd never notice I was hard of hearing because I interact just like any other person.
Coke. Who Knew?
I wasn't completely deaf. It took me several surgeries to get to the almost normal hearing level that I have now. I remember how I got home from the doctor who just removed all the bandages etc from my ear and I had dinner.
I was drinking cola and searched for 5 minutes where this weird sparkling sound comes from. Apparently cola bubbles make sounds. Never imagined that.
Those LOUD Bees
I was born deaf, and got hearing aids at 6.
Honestly ? The bees. You can't describe them or imagine them till you have heard them all buzzing with pollen in Sicily's summer.
Also, the old 56k modem screech and my nonna screaming over it to get it faster (never worked obviously). I thought it would be more melodious, bizarrely.
Yeah Dude, Cicadas Are The Worst
I wasn't deaf but I only started wearing aids at about 20. I had no idea cicadas made noises.
They are f-cking awful I had no idea
First Time Tweeting
My nephew couldn't hear well. We thought he was just delayed in speech. Once he finally got his ears fixed (I don't remember what all they did).. he was sitting in the living room a couple days after he got them fixed and was so astounded by a certain noise from outside.
Turns out the sound of the birds in the tree near the window is what he was hearing...
He had no idea what birds sounded like.
Our Flag Is Loud
Something I can finally contribute funny to!
Born half deaf (left ear complete deafness) and low range on right ear.
First time I got hearing aids, I remember coming out of the clinic, and I hear this metal hitting and I'm like WTF!!!! But then I look around, and it's the godd-mn flag pole hitting metal to metal during wind.
I start crying. Like hearing overload.
I get into my car, put my flicker on, ITS SO LOUD!!!!!
Despite all this; grateful for technology to rectify my hearing difficulties.
Karen, That's Some Loud Silverware
I was born like at least 70% deaf. I got hearing aids when I was about 6. I never heard birds chirping, bugs buzzing, or silverware clinking. It was very distracting and overwhelming to the point of headaches. I only wore them at school.
I don't wear them anymore. Deafness is very isolating, and sometimes it's nice to shut the world out. Plus all blu rays and tv shows have subtitles. I do fine.
Confusing Laughter
Not born deaf, but I lost my hearing a few months before I turned 2, so I don't remember sound at all. I got cochlear implants when I was 19. Things that surprised me:
- Toilets. Holy mother of God. The first time I flushed one, it was a good thing I'd just pooped or I'd have sh-t my pants. It's like the f-cking whirlpool in that Pirates of the Caribbean movie, ready to devour all of existence.
- Eating is f-cking loud. Holy sh-t. Bang, clang, screech, clatter, smacking, so on...
- ...People laughing. Not what I expected. I don't know how to describe it.
Avoid Wal-Marts Like The Plague
I wasn't born deaf but I lost a significant amount of hearing in my right ear (AT-4 rockets are super loud) I didn't realize how bad my hearing was until I was driving and had the window cracked. My daughter was behind me and talking and I didn't hear a word. I went to the VA and got my hearing checked and ended up getting a hearing aid.
I wore it out of the VA hospital and was overwhelmed by the amount of things I could hear: a guy tapping his ring on his cane, EVERYONES conversation, birds were way louder, it was amazing. Then I went to a Walmart and almost had a panic attack because of how much I could hear going on around me. Now I only wear my hearing aid when I go to class.
I can't handle it otherwise.
A Learned Speech Impediment
I was born hard of hearing (apparently some hairs in my inner ear didn't grow right). They didn't find out until I was 5 years old in school, and I got hearing aids and put in a speech class. I had to learn the R sound (I pronounced it like W), the L sound (I pronounced it similar to a W), the Z sound (I pronounced it like SH), the S sound (I pronounced it like SH), and of course differentiating the CH/SH sounds.
Apparently I had learned a lot of sounds wrong, which is why basically only my sister could really understand what I was saying most of the time.
Seriously, Bees?!
was 4yo when she first got super powered hearing aids (nowadays in Australia they do hearing checks on babies as standard, but she was born before this was normal). The first time she ever encountered bees after getting her hearing aids she said " they're talking!" Apparently the sound of bees buzzing is exactly the same as what normal conversation sounded like before she got hearing aids.
Also important to note, this didn't happen til she was like 6 or 7. She hadn't learned to speak by the age of 3.5yrs and seemed to "ignore" or "not engage" with people, which is when testing revealed she was deaf.
How Do You People With Two Ears Do It?
I was born with only a left ear, I'm completely deaf on the right side. I've always understood what stereo sound was, and I thought I could imagine it too. Boy, was I wrong.
I got a BAHA on the right side when I was ten and my world literally changed. It took me a few weeks to realize what was going on, noises coming from everywhere was very disorientating. It took me a few months before I could localize sounds without thinking. It took me a few years before I started having dreams in stereo sound too.
Honestly, it's exhausting and I don't know how you guys do it, listening to things with two ears 24/7. Most weekends, when I don't really leave the house, I don't even put my hearing aids in. It's too much sound, and too difficult to process. The only thing that was absolutely a 100% improvement was music. Listening to stereo music, while being used to mono sound is like discovering a full rainbow of new colors.
Cooling At High Volume
My loss was discovered in kindergarten and Ive had aids since then.
The first thing that caught me off guard is air conditioning. Its white noise for everyone else--but when you hear it for the first time, its strange to think about how loud it is. White noise is every where.
I Fear The Clocks Grow Louder
I was with my grandfather the day after he got his hearing aids. He started complaining that he could hear me 'stomp' my feet on the carpet (he was never able to hear normal footsteps/scuffles) and he took the battery out of his clock because he couldn't stand the ticking sound.
He also didn't know that cats make noise when they pur.
Chattering Chatter
chatter in public places. absolutely unbearable. i dread being around it. i don't know if i'd feel this way if i'd been born hearing crowds. but hearing them for the first time now, at age 56, it's the worst thing i've ever known.
Just...Birds...Everywhere
Just born with really crappy hearing, I'm fairly decent at lip reading, so I got by until about my early 30s, about four years ago.
First thing I noticed was a ticking sound when I got my hearing aids, had no idea wall clocks were audible without placing your ear on them. Other things I can distinctly remember is the birds, holy crap, so many birds, everywhere...
...Ventilation, that one was annoying to get used to. Rain on the roof, I like that one, also nice to know it's raining outside without having to look first. And retail stores are really loud, had no idea there was that much background noise.
Windows?
I was born completely deaf, got my cochlear implant at 4 and a half...
...-Windows. I didn't realize opening the window made sound. Like I knew the window itself would make a sound, but I didn't realize you could hear the rush of air inside, you know?
Always Cover Your Ears When Tying Your Hair Up
Born with rubbish ears, only got hearing aids in my early twenties. I didn't know hisses and crackles and rustles were supposed to describe sounds I always assumed they described textures or things you could feel. Also bloody hell the shower is loud. Washing dishes is loud. Eating is a straight up cacophony of weird tiny wet noises and slurps and clinks. In large crowded spaces there's this low background roar of undifferentiated noise I never knew existed. Tucking my hair behind my ear for the first time and hearing it rustle was pretty wild.
A Laundry List
Obligatory, I wasn't born deaf but became so at 7 years old. My brother hit me square on the ear with a 2x4 and it ruptured my right drum causing a near total loss in the right ear and 40% loss in my left ear.
I hadn't ever thought about it until I got hearing aids at 23, but I had never heard drum cymbals. Or any higher pitched noises.
For a solid 6 months I was listening to the most drum heavy music I could find.
I finally understand "nails on a chalkboard"
I had no idea my e-cig made such a loud whooshing sound
Hard winds hitting cracks in the door, windows etc
Rain on the roof
My husband mumbling.
The Stuff Nightmares...
I didn't gain the ability to hear until I was around 22. Up until this point, I never understood that farting made a sound...
...Are Made Of
My sister had hearing aids as a kid but her level of hearing increased dramatically when she got a cochlear implant at the age of six.
She was in the kitchen and farted incredibly loudly. With a look of abject horror she turned to my mother and said 'IT MAKES A NOISE!?'
H/T: Reddit
But we should also be prepared and ready to ask the right questions to have a leg up on the competition.
"What is THE best question to ask on a job interview?"
A company's history or information about a past employee were suggested subjects appropriate for questioning.
Prior Knowledge
"When you were interviewing here, what would you have liked to know before you joined?"
"This worked for me. I asked my interviewer a question about how she had personally dealt with a company policy she had just explained. She bragged about her stellar adherence to the policy. I nodded my approval. I got the job."
A Previous Employee
"One that has always gone over well for me:"
"What were some qualities that the previous employee in this role brought to the job that you would like to see carried forward?"
"Another good thing to do is research the company you are interviewing with and you can ask things about what they may be involved in or you could drop that while reading about the company, you wondered this."
Hypothetical questions were suggested as helpful examples of inquiry.
Indicators Of How Companies Treat Employees
"A question that landed me a job once was: 'If I asked your direct reports about your management style, what do you think they'd tell me?' Stumped a hiring manager and he emailed me personally to tell me about it, no one ever asked him that question but got the job.
"In my current interviews I'm asking 'what did your company do for its employees during [the virus] to improve their day to day, work life balance, etc.' and I ask 'Is there anything your company adopted during [the virus] that they plan to keep post [the virus]?"
"These questions give a lot of insight into whether a company treated their employees well."
Past Performance & Adjustments
"If we were currently sitting in my 1 year review, what would I have done in this year for you to say I excelled in my role?"
"If I could snap my finger right now and change anything about your job or the company, what would it be and why?"
The following questions about a prospective company may not be answered from initial digging on their website.
Measure Of Success & Career Trajectories
"How is success measured in this role?"
"What are some possible career trajectories within the company that could stem from this position?"
Being A Solution
"Ask them what is the biggest problem you can solve for them in your first six months with the company. Similar to 'don't think of a purple hippo,' this forces them to imagine you succeeding in the position."
Simply The Best
"Who is your best employee and why is he/she the best?"
"You will then face 2 situations mostly:"
"panicking CEO who can't answer you 'Bob who works 17 hours a day for a slice of bread' so the fear in their faces must be a big nono for you"
"entusiast CEO who actually follow their business and can tell you who is an added value for the company and why."
– ThePiz91
My experiences with job interviews are different than others seeking work in office environments.
Having had a years-long career as a dancer, my "interview" was the dance audition, where hopefuls dance in small groups of people at a time after learning a routine and then awaiting their fate after the panel evaluates their performances.
The question I may or may not have asked in such a scenario earlier in my career was: "Did I make the cut?"
I did not make the cut. And I learned never to ask that again.
I remember the worst date I ever had. My biggest regret is that I stayed for the entire thing. I should've left as soon as I realized this was not going well, which was basically at hello. But he was paying so I drank, a lot. I'll keep names and dates to myself to protect the innocent.
0/10
Big Brother Reaction GIF by Big Brother After DarkGiphy"Went to brewery, date said I had hairy arms and that meant I was horny, said "you look really awful in this light" and then tried to dig out of that hole by saying in his native language that was a term of endearment long term couples said to each other. 0/10 did not date again."
Lucky 13?
"My wife wanted to plan our 13th wedding anniversary. I was excited because usually, I plan it. She bought us some new disc golf discs and after a quick supper, we went to play. We hadn't played in forever. We were laughing and I had a great time. She served me with divorce papers and told me that the date was a test to see if she still had feelings for me. I also learned that she was having an affair that started well before our anniversary."
- rmorlock
Two Hours from Home
"Not necessarily a date but a person I was dating invited me to his parent's house for the afternoon. He wanted to introduce me to them and show me the house he grew up in. I thought it was super sweet and had no problems going. He was also in the middle of moving and needed to pick up a few things, so it really didn't seem that unusual."
"Yeah, we got there and it was awful. His entire family was there. They traveled from hours away too. This was not just meeting the parents, it was meeting the ENTIRE family. Even worse? At some point, this idiot told his parents that he had proposed. We had been dating TWO months. I spent the entire afternoon dumbfounded and just playing along."
"We were two hours from home and I had no cell service, no way to leave at all. We ended up spending the afternoon brainstorming wedding ideas and planning an Alaskan honeymoon that his parents planned to gift us. His brother even called to say congratulations! We drove back to his apartment in silence. When we got there, I got in my car and left, didn't even bother grabbing my stuff. Weirdest experience ever. I have no idea how he broke it to his parents that we weren't getting married."
You're Cut Off!
"Got set up on a blind date once between mutual friends. She shows up to the restaurant already a little tipsy, orders multiple appetizers and only takes like one or two bites from each one. Then she proceeds to order 3 or 4 more drinks and is visibly drunk at this point. She gets up and says she's going to the bathroom and staggers off. About 15-20 minutes go by so I try to call her several times but no answer."
"Finally I decide to pay the check and just leave. About 2 hours later I'm sitting at home and I get a call from an unknown number. It's the police department. She was picked up on a DUI on her way home after she ditched me and gave the cops my number to see if I could go bail her out!"
- mox44ah
Sorry?
Bbc Three Idk GIF by BBCGiphy"Well, I gave this answer on a different topic, but it ties in with this. We were out on a date, we had been seeing each other for a while, close to a year maybe. She gets a phone call. Suddenly she looks destroyed. Her fiancé had just died in a motorcycle accident."
What in the world? I mean how can we ever expect to pair off with the dating pool being inundated with liars and nut jobs? I'm going to delete my apps.
Girl, Bye.
Sassy Beyonce GIFGiphy"Had a girl openly flirt with the bartender in front of me. She says she wasn't. But handing him her own phone and asking for his contact info in front of her date seems like it to me."
Crazy!
"Came out from a movie, late at night, and date's Camaro was stolen. Apparently, he called his WIFE (that I did not know he had) and let her know where he was and what happened. She showed up and realized he was on a date! She started chasing ME around the parking lot telling me she was going to kill me. Saved by the cops who showed up just in time to take the auto theft report."
Hey Mom
"Met a girl at a country bar one night in my 20s. We were both pretty drunk but hit it off pretty good. Ended up getting her number and we agreed we'd go on a real date. Fast forward to the date, she gets in my vehicle and... she looks almost identical to my mom. I was mortified. I was polite and we went for lunch where I found out she also had a boyfriend she "wasn't sure if she was into". Never talked to her again."
- SgtGo
Liars...
"When I was in college many years ago, before the advancement of cell phones and social media, I was chatting with a girl I met on a BBS who lived on Long Island, NY. I was 18 at the time, but lied and said I was 22 because she said she was 25. We spent a few weeks emailing each other, as well as calling each other."
"We even exchanged pics. When we finally met up, things blew up. Turns out we both lied about our ages: She was really 33, and lied because she thought she looked younger. She admitted she sent a college photo to me. We still had dinner together, but it was awkward as hell. We never spoke again."
Doubles
Kill Me Now Season 1 GIF by FriendsGiphy"It was a double date. She was more interested talking to the other girl throughout the whole thing. Found out later from the other guy that his girl cheated on him with my date."
Ummm... I think I'm just going to stay single. That is a handful of crazy. Why can't people just be honest? I swear the search for love warps people's brains. Be careful out there people.
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