Audiobabble

Yesterday I pulled up to my sister's house just as they were getting ready to go to Joe's Diner to take advantage of a Living Social coupon, so I hopped in the van and joined them. An audiobook was playing and I tried really hard to pick out some words, but when I started hearing things like "smash the pancake" and "skunk in soccer universe," I knew it was futile. I even thought I heard "Potter" and was convinced I got one word right, but since I was hedging my bets and thinking it was a Harry Potter audiobook, all I did was demonstrate the power of suggestion. The audiobook was, in fact, from the Percy Jackson series and Harry Potter does not have a cameo.

It gave me a neat idea, though. I decided to pop in one of the Harry Potter disks and see what words I could pick out from the audiobabble and then, in a few months when my implant is activated and my brain is hopefully processing sounds more efficiently, I'll listen to the same passage and see what, if any, difference there is. So I popped into my computer disk 11 from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows and turned up the volume. It started at Chapter 24b "Malfoy's Manor," and this is what I got -

Blah blah blah blah blah blah … Said … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … blah blah blah … blah blah blah … blah blah blah … Get …. blah blah blah … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … Said Ron … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … I want you to … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … blah blah blah … blah blah blah … She asked … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … group of pains … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah …world book… blah blah blah blah blah blah … chair …. blah blah blah blah blah blah … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … walking postcard … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … Harry, Harry Potter … blah blah blah … books that you … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … blah blah blah … means …. blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah … gray back … blah blah blah … blah blah blah blah blah blah ... said Hermione … blah blah blah … said Ron …blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah moves the night … blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah.

Yep, that's what it is like for me to listen without the benefit of lip-reading or good context cues. This is what I hear when announcements come on over a loudspeaker, when I am in a class at the gym, when I am with a group of people having multiple conversations, when I try to pick out lyrics from songs.

Between my lip-reading abilities and a skillful, yet prudent, employment of the "deaf nod," I bet I fooled a lot of people over the years into thinking my hearing loss is not that severe. Didn't I? Admit it! :) Several years ago, one of my sister's friends asked her, "Is Carolyn's hearing getting worse?" and Kelly replied, "No, she has just stopped pretending!" I'm really, really good at faking it.

MTC.