tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post7299403823730587403..comments2024-03-28T11:52:35.171+00:00Comments on Woolgathering in North East England: Michael Sadgrove's Blog: Mozart in Mono: on rediscovering a childhood LPAquiloniushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15098649175728796819noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-68940560842664527102018-01-17T00:47:49.729+00:002018-01-17T00:47:49.729+00:00Yes, I was at Chad's for a year in the early 1...Yes, I was at Chad's for a year in the early 1970's. Chad's had only recently ceased being a theological college. John Fenton and Gordon Roe were still in place as principal and vice principal respectively and there was still one ordinand. I remember him well. He lent me his car a couple of times when relatives visited me. This gave us an opportunity to see the countryside around Durham, particularly to the west. A number of years later I was fortunate enough to be able to re-visit North Yorkshire and County Durham. You live in a lovely area. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-55138318119182587882018-01-15T12:59:36.967+00:002018-01-15T12:59:36.967+00:00Yes, I sympathise when it comes to both live singi...Yes, I sympathise when it comes to both live singing and background noise in social situations. Both were challenging at church yesterday. On the other hand, really good earphones can mitigate the effects somewhat, even to the extent of persuading me that I'm hearing stereo sound as I used to do. My good wishes to your spouse.Aquiloniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15098649175728796819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-18643627791786990782018-01-15T12:53:05.881+00:002018-01-15T12:53:05.881+00:00I hope it clears up for us both. Thank you for sha...I hope it clears up for us both. Thank you for sharing.Aquiloniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15098649175728796819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-85822992725920221762018-01-15T12:52:02.500+00:002018-01-15T12:52:02.500+00:00Thank you for this heartening response (from a Cha...Thank you for this heartening response (from a Chadsman?). If you once played Alain, the Bach P & F etc, the loss must be all the more deeply felt. I find I am getting used to enhanced mono (in my excellent earphones), no doubt helped by the memory of enjoying stereo sound. It's now a question of waiting to see whether hearing is restored in the left ear. It might be many months, but the ENT consultant I've been referred to will advise. Aquiloniushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15098649175728796819noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-27772789490468595042018-01-15T07:48:18.379+00:002018-01-15T07:48:18.379+00:00My spouse is suffering from Noise Induced Hearing ...My spouse is suffering from Noise Induced Hearing Loss in both ears, about 60% in each ear. She is aware of it and finds particularly women's higher pitched voices difficult to hear. So far, she has managed to work with it and is still in full time employment, who have made adjustments for her hearing loss (which is attributable to her Military Service in the seventies), but somehow, she finds that she cannot get on with hearing aids.<br /><br />She has been told that it will get worse over time, but as she is due to retire this year, has persevered and will investigate hearing aids more suitable for her needs after retirement.<br /><br />She copes well, and has been particularly good at one to one conversations, when she can see and lip read to an extent. But in noisy environments she just cannot distinguish individual voices, particularly higher pitched ones - so, she avoids them when she can.<br /><br />In Church, she finds the music and signing, particularly as our choir is mainly female voices difficult, but enjoys what she can and is able to join and sing along, without much difficulty, but cannot actually tell the pitch of her own voice while doing so.<br /><br />I suspect that because the hearing loss was attributable, she might have to go back to the Military pensions people for assistance with purpose designed hearing aids in the future. But for now, she survives with a reduced hearing capacity, extremely well.UKViewerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/18114944341930758335noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-8628438816930431002018-01-14T14:44:22.954+00:002018-01-14T14:44:22.954+00:00There's a lot of it about this year. My deafne...There's a lot of it about this year. My deafness, also in my left ear, I am putting down to a blocked Eustachian tube, which I'm hoping will clear. I'm not sure when it's doctor time if you don't have an infection. Probably because I've been slightly deaf since my teens, I've rather got used to it. Unless I stick my finger in my right ear, in which case it becomes painfully obvious that I can no longer hear a thing! I sing. I'm waiting for the heavy hand of the music director upon my shoulder telling me that my out of tune wailing is putting everyone else off! Hope it clears up soon.Athenahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08497065436976563532noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6861480576960760833.post-55967914712492557952018-01-14T01:01:36.517+00:002018-01-14T01:01:36.517+00:00Michael,
I hope your doctor's prognosis works...Michael,<br /><br />I hope your doctor's prognosis works out well - and before too much time has passed. But I can personally attest to the truth of what you've read in the book by Sachs. <br /><br />Several years ago, an acoustic neuroma destroyed the hearing in one of my ears and affected my vestibular balance. However, I'm fortunate that medical advances in the last few decades now allow for surgical removal or radiological control of these types of tumors. I'm also fortunate that improvements in hearing devices over the years mean that I can listen to music even though I now hear everything in mono. Although I remember what stereo sounded like, the honest truth is that I do not think of the difference when I'm listening to music. <br /><br />Modern hearing aids deal with the problem of sound which occurs on the side where the ear does not function. I need a hearing aid in my "good" ear. In addition to dealing with sound which occurs on my good side, I have a special hearing aid in my bad ear which receives sound and then sends it by radio transmission through my head to the hearing aid in my good ear. The end result is an immense improvement in function especially at family gatherings or in the days when I attended meetings.<br /><br />My observational experience is that coping with the very natural grief resulting from a sudden and unexpected disability can sometimes be as difficult as dealing with the actual disability. I write that as someone who has lived with polio related issues since the age of five and, in my teen years, spent much time in orthopedic surgical wards and rehab wards where I saw a good number of car crash victims. Watching them, I often felt that I could not imagine what it would be like having one's life turned upside down at a moment's notice. I felt fortunate that I'd never had to deal with that sort of emotional trauma at an age when I was aware of the potential long-term consequences.<br /><br />As you wrote in your previous post, gratefulness for past experiences and abilities is theologically appropriate. It's also an important part of trying to maintain good mental health. Because of mobility issues, I no longer play the pipe organ but I do have the recollection that I used to be able to play Bach's passacaglia and fugue, Alain's Litanies, etc. For that I'm grateful. I'm also grateful that despite mobility limitations, I was able to do overseas graduate work, including in Durham -- with a view of the east end of the Cathedral across the Bailey from my college room.<br /><br />Best wishes,<br />BruceAnonymousnoreply@blogger.com