Saturday, July 7, 2012

Do You Hear What I Hear?

MRI's take fascinating pictures of the body. When perusing the my latest set of MRI's photos, this one made the most profound effect on me ~ I'm still trying to figure out why.

So, let's talk about ears....Genetics are definitely present in the shape of ears. I can see Morrison genes for many generations in the shape of my ears. For as long as I can remember, I've had freakishly acute hearing. I've made claims of hearing earthworms moving underground! Well, that might be bit of a stretch, but I've been known to be awakened from a sound sleep by a tiny noise coming from the basement of the house. Maybe this is why I'm not getting much sleep ~ EVER! I distinctly remember waking up when I was a little girl by the sound of my long haired dachshund lapping up water from his bowl. I would crawl out of my bed and sit beside him and watch him drink until he finished the last drop.

There are certain sounds that resonate louder than others ~ the crashing of ocean waves, new born puppies yipping, tires driving on a country dirt road, a bubbling creek on a hot summer day....And then there are other sounds that send me over the edge ~ the sound of motor cycles comes to mind first. I have a pretty good idea why, the sound of a moped revving preceded my brothers death ~ You can't "un-hear" something. Sounds make lasting impressions in our minds that are tattooed there forever.

Since Chiari has railroaded my life, I've notices sounds more and more. Many chiarians lose their hearing ~ but me ~ I'm a bit of a hybrid and my hearing has gotten off the charts acute. I was hoping after brain surgery that my hearing would tune down a notch or two but it hasn't. So the real questions is ~ what am I supposed to hear and why?