Trip to Maryland and Georgia

For two weeks I visited Georgia and Maryland. I went to Maryland first for a week. My mom and brothers live there. I hadn't seen my mom in a couple of years, since my graduation and the same with my brother Chris. I hadn't seen my brother, D'Juan in almost four years. I was really happy to see them. I got in late Tuesday night so there wasn't much talking and stuff. My mom had to go to work so I spent the next day with my brothers. I walked to the store with D'Juan and we talked. It was nice to hang out to be able to walk. Before I'd come on this trip in December I'd messed up my ankle again so I'd gotten a cortisone shot, so my ankle was feeling great. The week went by fine. My mom took off Thursday and Friday so we hung out watching TV and I got books and movies from her. I had conversations with my brothers and we watched movies together. On Saturday, my mom and I went took a day trip to Washington D.C. We went to the Holocaust museum and the Smithsonian. After we went to this great restaurant that had the best chilli cheese burger I'd ever had and a pretty good shake. That night I forced my brothers to take pictures. Sunday was a lazy day for us. My mom took a nap while I covertly watched golf because my mom hates sports. When she woke up we watched a movie and just hung out.

I left Maryland the following Tuesday to fly to Georgia. It was an uneventful trip. Ms. Tammy, my sister's mom, picked me up from the airport. I hadn't seen her since 2006 when I visited just after moving to Utah before going to my family reunion in Louisiana. I was weary of seeing her because it'd been so long and a long time since I'd talked to her but she was fine and we talked. We stopped and got something to eat from Wendy's before heading back to her house. I'd texted my best friend, Tierra, to let her know I was at Ms. Tammy's. The entire drive to the house I was very nervous. My sister and I weren't on the best of terms. I hadn't seen her since 2006 also and a few years ago she stopped talking to me. I didn't really know what to expect but she was welcoming. Later that night my friend stopped by just so we could see each other. It'd been six years since I'd seen her. I'd missed my best friend. The next day Asia had to go to school so I hung out with Ms. Tammy and her son. She took me to get my nails done then we had lunch at Chick Fil A. That night Asia went to some church thing while I went out to dinner at Macaroni Grill with Ms. Tammy, her husband, and the baby. I had a nice time but I hadn't really spent anytime with Asia or Tierra and I hadn't even met Tierra's son.

The next day, Asia was out of school so we spent the day out and went to get something to eat. We decided to go see a movie so Ms. Tammy dropped her son at the daycare. Her husband would pick him up later. We went to see Red Tails. This gave me the opportunity to use my hearing aids. I hadn't used them much this trip. It didn't go as well as I expected. There was too much noise from the movie so I couldn't always hear what the actors were saying. I spent a lot of the movie adjusting the volume and settings to get it right but it never worked and I gave up. I tried to focus on the movie. It was fun hanging out with Asia and Ms. Tammy and listening to music. Later that night I went out with Asia, Tierra, and her son. We went to the mall before going to Golden Corral for dinner. It was like old times hanging out with them. I'd missed them a lot and really enjoyed myself. On Thursday, I went to visit  Ms. Michelle, an old friend of the family, and her daughter Zharia. Ms. Michelle was at work so I waited until Zharia got home. We watched movies and ordered pizza. Ms. Michelle got home later that night after school. I talked with her until she had to go lie down. I went back to Ms. Tammy's the next day. I finally got to see Ms. Barbara, Tierra's mom, Ashleigh and Kayla, Tierra's sisters, and Mr. Paul, her stepdad. It was nice hanging out in the kitchen like we used to when I was a teenager. We laughed and talked. The rest of my trip went pretty much the same. There was one day where I was trying to watch TV but everyone else was going to sleep so it had be low and I couldn't figure out how to turn on the captions. I put on my hearing aids but there was too much other noise going on. I'm still not used to my hearing aids and am still adjusting. I can't get over all the other noise that's going on. I pay to much attention to it and miss the movie I'm watching. I hung out with everyone, going to church on Sunday before coming back home the next Tuesday.

First Experience with Hearing Aids

The moment I stepped out of the audiologist's office I wanted to run back in. Everything was so LOUD and bright. I continued on to my car hoping that once I got inside it'd shut out some of the noise but it didn't. I could still everything outside the car. The cars driving by, people talking on the street. I finally started my car and was surprised how loud it was. Everything was new. It was like I was hearing them for the first time. I went on home and just sat in the living room wearing the hearing aids. I could hear every little sound! It was amazing and jarring at the same time. I had to keep asking my dad "what's that?" I could hear my cat in the kitchen running around, his little nails on the floor and when he went to the patio door and rustled the blinds. I could hear the hum of the refrigerator. By the time I went to bed I had a terrible headache.

But I wasn't going to give up. I put my hearing aids back in the next morning and wore them on the way to work. I tried listening to the music but because the hearing aids had smart controls it kept adjusting to the music inside the car and the sounds outside the car. What was new when I got to work was the fact that the keyboard was so LOUD. I could hear myself and everyone around me clacking away on the keyboards. It was distracting. I could hear the microwave go off in the break room and myself chewing. All the sounds and everything assaulted me at once. I was overwhelmed and had to take a break. I took the hearing aids out. I had a headache again. I didn't put them back in that day.

I ended up having to go back to the audiologist to have him adjust the volume because I think they were turned up too high. It helped but not much. I just wasn't use to hearing everything and it was going to take my brain sometime. The doctor did tell me not to wear the hearing aids at work until I got used to them. He advised that I only wear them at home in short stretches as not to overwhelm myself. I took what he said into consideration and wore them sparingly for the rest of the week.

The hearing aids weren't at all what I'd expected. I never even thought of an adjustment period. I figured I'd put them on and I'd be able to hear. Well I could hear...EVERY SINGLE THING. I hadn't even thought of that. I didn't know about the little sounds because I had never heard the little sounds. I wasn't expecting to be overwhelmed and for the hearing aids to give me a serious headache. It wasn't going the way I thought it would. I couldn't just pop them in and hear what I wanted to hear. I was starting to regret getting them. If they gave me a headache and made the world so loud what was the point of them?

Kind of what it was like the first night with my hearing aids and the next few weeks.

My Hearing Aids

Getting Fitted for My Hearing Aids Today!!!!

I'm getting my hearing aids today! The appointment is at 4:30pm. I'm excited and nervous and don't know what to expect. All I know is by the end of today I will be able to hear clearly and crisply. I'll never have to say "huh?" again and I can watch TV without captions. I'll be able to do so much more like go to parties or restaurants or the movies. I'm so happy. I can't wait until 4:30pm!!!!