Tangier Sound

My hearing has a crazy way of getting better or worse at almost random intervals. Since last October it’s been pretty bad. In fact, it’s been so bad that when we went to see Live Free or Die Hard a few weeks ago I spent most of the movie wishing it was captioned.

I’m one of those guys who believes you can get used to anything, so the whole bad hearing thing doesn’t bother me much. As a musician I play mainly by feel, artistic instinct and intellect and outside of music the television has captioning, my computer has a headphone amp and in conversation I can fill in what I can’t hear by reading lips and body language.

Like I always say, make the most out of what you’ve got.

Anyway, this morning the hearing kicked back into operation in my right ear. I guess the pressure in the inner ear balanced out and is allowing what is left of my eardrum to sorta-kinda function.

I have spent the better part of the day listening to stuff that I haven’t been able to enjoy in almost a year. The birds singing, the roar of the dual exhaust on the Dodge of Death, the way ice crackles in a glass of water, the grass in the salt marsh rustling in the breeze at Jenkins Creek . . . you get the idea.

It’s a little jarring to be able to hear my banjo and guitar for a change (I sometimes forget just how loud a resophonic guitar can be!) and it’s a little hard to concentrate on anything because there are all of these new sounds distracting me like the clattering of my keyboard as I write this.

Anyway, I may not be posting anything for a few days. I don’t know how long my hearing is going to be working (the last time this happened it lasted for almost three months) so I want to make the most of it while I can.

See You on Monday.