7 Comments

Thanks for sharing, Janine—great photos! Music and listening to others are so vital that I think I'd immediately get a hearing aid if I felt my hearing was deteriorating. I agree and empathise with what you've shared.

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Thanks, Victoria!

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Thank you for sharing, Janine. Several nuggets of wisdom here, especially advocating to get the help you needed through your self-awareness from the hearing loss. Although we can be tempted to brush off a medical issue that has a social stigma attached to it, we can end up undermining our ability to adapt with a tool which could then improve our self-confidence by feeling like ourselves again.

And for me, when losing an ability, I know that I need to acknowledge and give space to feel the embarrassment or any other emotions attached to the changes, then I have to re-discover that self-confidence is the current that flows through the social connections once again. That is, I have to adapt internally by finding gradual exposures publicly and adjusting through the mistakes and how it feels with others. Exactly how you’ve described the tweaking of your hearing aid that fits you the best while also sharing your experiences with others.

There is no shame with the changes with our body and mind, but we can still feel that way during the grieving because we do lose a piece of ourselves. However, that’s the shaping and shifting within ourselves since we have the ability to adapt. A gentle reminder to give ourselves grace while grieving a loss, and there’s always more ahead with hope on our side even if it may take time. Hope is there for us.

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Matt, so very well said and I appreciate your input! No matter what changes occur within our bodies or why, coming to terms with it, shifting our perceptions, and embracing our strengths and weaknesses make space for connection and healing. Hope Heals!

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Absolutely!

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Excellent reminder that grief and loss come in many forms! As usual, I am uplifted by your point of view and your ability to look at such an experience with hope and humor.

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Thank you! Humor has been a huge part of healing for me and has lightened heavy situations.

You use humor often to bring light to a situation in your writing, which I appreciate!

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