Acceptance

...I altered the settings on my computer to play all stereo sound as mono and only in the right receiver. For the longest time I've been kind of in denial about the whole thing. I mean I knew about, had it tested and diagnosed, told people about it, but kept on using stereo settings on my computer. It finally dawned on me though that I was missing about half the song, because many songs use lyrics and music that can only be heard on the left speaker, which, for me, means I can't hear them at all. I used to think/believe that the hearing was just bad, but that I could still hear out of it, but swapping all the music/sound to the left speaker, I found I couldn't actually hear much of anything at all, it just sounded like listening to a song while underwater.

It really hit me then though, that I really am effectively deaf in that ear, basically losing half of one of my senses. It has made me appreciate the senses I still have a lot more though. When you lose something like that, it really makes you realize just how incredibly precious and just how much people take for granted something as simple as being able to hear a song. I will never again, ever, be able to hear stereo sound...not unless somebody comes up with a way of regenerating nerve cells.

I would like to believe that it's made me a better person though because of it. I can understand and relate to the loss that others suffer when losing one complete, and even multiple senses. To lose something like that, something that can't be fixed, something permanent, really makes you appreciate what you have left. In a way, it really is like losing a part of yourself (metaphorically speaking, obviously physical), losing a part of who you are as a person.