Another Birthday?

One of the last times the whooshing tinnitus in my right ear started up, it was right after eating at our favorite Mexican restaurant.  So after the whooshing completely went away again over the weekend, I wanted to test my theory that it was being caused by food (cheese dip and chicken fajitas—yum!).

The biggest drawback to this restaurant—and most restaurants, for that matter—is the noise.  There is always music playing in the overhead speakers, and sports playing on the flat-screen televisions.  We always bring the FM system, which helps cut out the background noise and amplify my voice, but it’s never a perfect setup. 

Someone was celebrating their birthday, which means the entire restaurant staff came out singing and clapping.  Brandt jumped and asked, “What on earth is that?!”  “Birthday,” I explained.  When we were done eating, we still had a lot of food left over and asked for some to-go boxes.  Our waiter dropped off the boxes and ran off, and I said, “I think we need to ask him for a bag.”  Brandt shrugged and said, “I don’t know, I guess you’d know better than I would.”  I’ve gotten pretty good at being able to tell when he’s mis-heard me, and I knew this was one of those times.  I furrowed my eyebrows, signaling that we were having a misunderstanding.  “Ok, what did you really say?” he asked.  “What did you hear?” I asked.  “There’s another birthday in the restaurant?  People are singing again?”  I shook my head and said, “No…I said I think we need a bag from the waiter, to carry all these boxes.”  He thought for a moment and said, “That wasn’t even close, was it?  And just how did I score a 90% on that sentence test?!”

As our waiter was clearing the plates off the table, I picked the FM transmitter up off the table and reattached it on my neckloop.  The waiter looked at it quizzically and asked me, “What’s that thing for?”  I explained that it was a microphone for Brandt’s hearing aids, and pointed at his ears.  “So, he can’t hear anything without that thing?” he asked.  “Well, a little…” I tried to explain.  We both looked at Brandt, who motioned towards his ears, shrugged, and shook his head.  “We’re talking about you!” I told Brandt. 

I’m always glad when people ask about the FM system.  I much prefer them getting educated about it, instead of just staring and whispering.  I also think it helps to dispel the myth that only ‘old people’ wear hearing aids!

And my whooshing tinnitus is still completely gone, so, I’m back to square one trying to figure out the cause…