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@Earache Quite happy with the first session considering I’ve never used any of the tools (apart from scissors) before, so the base is nearly ready. Started off with a layer of nylon with foam attached that crumbled to a choking dust when you touched it, rubber webbing that had degraded to the point of disintegration and some bizarre packing tape repair which only farmer genetics would consider ok oh and so many awful staples. New webbing, a layer of hessian and some recycled felt, just one more layer before tackling the big stuff.

Exactly. If someone has never heard anything from birth they don’t develop that sensory part of the brain so they won’t suddenly be able to hear later if technology/medicine can restore it. They would have to learn it from new like a baby, connecting sounds to objects, actions and spoken words which takes forever and is why childrens speech is so far away from adult level for so long and the reason why cochlear implants often fail because the plasticity of the brain isn’t good. If a deaf baby is given hearing aids whilst their brain is in super growth mode the stimulation will develop the hearing centres and provide a library of sounds they do understand (maybe albeit in a muffled way) and a base for any improvement to connect to. The people in the vid all must of had some degree of hearing at some point to be able to join up the muffled crap to the new louder sharper sound. Thats the shock, that’s what produces the long long pause while you go “is that.. urr that sound? Oh my god it is” then it hits you hard that this new sharp clearer sound is what its supposed to sound like and you connect it up with the dull nearly nonexistent noise you heard before. I’ve spent a lot of the last two days agog. On a lighter note since Thursday afternoon I’ve periodically heard this really odd sound, not a nice sound, almost like a machine its quite methodical and has the occasional slap/snap sound in there. Every time I look for it it stops. Found it today. My dog is having a right royal time ‘cleaning’ herself. Now thats one sound I can live without

New tat has arrived for my garage

Did that more than once to my brother in law who always pretended he’d forgotten his wallet and dumped us with his bill He regularly fell asleep at the table so we’d leave saying he’s paying, used to watch from outside through the window when they woke him up, totally priceless.

What's more surprising is that you say you have friends.....

I remember going for a my first curry aged 16 with some older mates after a gig. I had quite a few beers beforehand (at the gig) and I don't remember much about the curry as I fell asleep on the toilet , the staff evicted me after my mates had gone home

@Earache I’m refurbing a chair (well it will be two chairs, two sofas and and coffee table) and I wondered what the wood is. Any chance you know? The chairs have been stored cos I couldn’t part with them but didn’t know what to do with it till now. Think thats a date sticker, it was certainly bought in the 70’s if that narrows down by what was available then. Its extremely heavy and hard wearing. I used the sofas for about 15 years with three boisterous wreckers in the house and there’s not a mark on them. Quite an open grain.

My walk was fairly mundane today but good to get out anyway. It's impossible to walk by the river at the moment as everything is flooded big time so we just plodded around the local roads............... Took one for @yen_powell ......................

Out with Mandy and the group again this morning. It was a bit parky when we set off and didn't really warm up much during the ride. Not many pictures as I didn’t have much opportunity to take that many. I was on my non-ebike today, so had to work a little harder at it!

TLDR I’m jolly pleased with things. I’ve never enjoyed being sociable so that side of things really wasn’t missed initially but then you discover so many things you’re locked out of, it’s like watching life from behind a glass partition so you withdraw from normal activities. It’s one of the reasons they think deaf people are so much more likely to suffer from dementia, they become isolated and lose touch with reality but like Clive I’m lucky to have a good family. Humour is the thing I miss most, someone cracking a joke and someone else snapping back a witty retort, even if you can see their faces by the time you’ve pieced together the clues of what’s being said the moment is long gone and you’re standing there with a neutral expression while everyone else is laughing, you really do feel like a spare part. It’s a particularly painful loss as I used to be known for being good at a sharp comeback. Fortunately my family speak clearly and all have very deep loud voices that I’m well tuned into so I still get the banter at the table. I spent most of yesterday in a state of shock, I went to my upholstery course and even though it’s a bastid noisy environment I could hear the tutor (just) and to have a comeback for her “no-one likes a smart arse” comment felt like gold. Before I wouldn’t have heard what was being said let alone been able to lob one back. Serious hearing loss leaves you locked in but working in an eye hospital and treating patients who were profoundly deaf and also losing their vision has always made me grateful it’s only my hearing and not my eyesight too. I have another appointment coming up as there is more tech available that could potentially boost my hearing even further. I’d like to say it feels like Christmas but it’s way beyond that. I’m very excited by all the things I might be able to do again.

Thanks Rich. It’s pretty overwhelming after all this time but everyone around me is so very happy about it too it’s like a lottery win. Had a good one this morning stopped at a pedestrian crossing and the van started beeping a kind of loudish emergency type beep, I was in the middle of freaking out out looking for warnings on the dash when I remembered pedestrian crossings beep, the sound was coming from outside

My mother-in-law on the flight to Napoli and then my sister-in-law to Milan and flight home . Hence my anxiety trying to sort it all out

Why don't you just get on the sauce and then you won't be worried about it. I'm currently well in to some anaesthetic

Yeah there is that but you wouldn't be able to hear the ref either which could pose a small issue... In other news Why the fuck do I keep playing? Right now I could easily pass for a paraplegic I can hardly move any of my limbs and I hurt in places I never knew I had

Got a grandsons, he’s four years old , he can’t say please in Spanish that’s poor for four ….

Oh I don't know, you wouldn't be able to hear all the chat-up lines the opposition were throwing at you in the scrum so there is that

I‘ve always been odd

If I go to an Indian restaurant I'm in the curry house, does that mean if I go to a Chinese restaurant I'm in the dog house?

Why is Pedro laughing?

Will do

Oak cleans up really nicely and should look great when you're done. Be sure to post some pics of the process and finished piece!

my mates , would of said the fella in the toilet is paying the bill , then fucked off and left

my nans probably been in sea more recent than prawns from a chinese and shes been dead 60 odd years

What does supervising a basketball game consist of? You're gonna be mayor of that place soon enough! Was dinner in one of the casinos? I don't recall anywhere with that many screens very near you... My day will consist of more 3D printing of things for an old bike, it's so much easier than doing actual mechanical work and you don't have to wash grease off your hands when you're done.

After game dinner ...

Had to supervise a high school basketball game last night - they played "Ace of Spades" by Motorhead during a break - which I thought was kinda cool. I'm sure the kids had no idea..

Well motorcycling is well known for causing tinnitus and deafness so maybe consider getting some good plugs. Slow hearing loss is one of those things that by the time you realise what’s happened it’s too late and there’s no reversing it.

If your family aren’t deaf and you wear good ear defenders/plugs in noisy environments you’ll be dandy.

Surely you can live without Bronksi beat

All the things you forget when you can no longer hear must be vast and it seems like it is taking some getting used to hearing again. I don't know if I'd cope if I was deaf it seems to me a very lonely existence

I ride like a totally deaf person. I assume I’ll hear nothing. I was horrified by the number of times I’ve missed blue lights behind me and realised I can’t hear their loud sirens. But imo a good rider is worth ten twats.

I worry more on the scoot.....I can just hear the engine, but with my lack of and distorted hearing it sounds nothing like a engine....it is hard to describe the sound I hear.......so if it was getting ready to go bang I would not know. I do know a guy who was passed for a cochlear implant and had one fitted, he was very disappointed with the results, he said everyone sounds like Minions.

Next step it to get her to do the repairs if it does.

Mr Slowly told me I looked like vid of a baby hearing noise for the first time and I did exactly the same jaw drop n disbelief as all of those people. You can’t quite comprehend what you’re hearing, there’s a noise and you have to attach it to what the rest of your brain knows/understands. Feels totally crazy. So nice.

You still suffered to put biking trousers on for a 10 mile ride home? I once had a similar thing exiting a swimming pool, even breathing hurt. After half an hour laying down in a panic it went away.

Just for Pete. Around 1993 my then girlfriend worked in Madame Tussauds. My commuting routine at the time was to ride from home with her to Baker Street, drop her off, then ride back to my work. She would then get the tube home as she finished earlier than me. One day on the way back to work from Baker Street I hit the mother of all pot holes, it really really jarred my back, but I thought no more of it. About an hour later, I moved a little too quickly getting something from a low shelf and there was a click in my lower back. It was agony. I could just about walk if I kept dead upright and took short steps. I decided to walk just around the corner from work to the local chemist and buy some of that Ralgex deep heat stuff. Unfortunately if I didn't put my feet exactly right a pain so intense would hit me that I would involuntarily let out a sharp breath and noise. Think the Michael Jackson type high pitched noise and that would be what I did every 10 or so steps. Walking to the shop this noise would come out and any one walking in front of me would turn to see what it was, only to see a bloke walking like he'd shit himself. I made it to the shop only to discover that the deep heat cream was on the bottom shelf. I had to ask some old lady to get it for me. By the time home time came I think it took me about an hour to get my bike trousers and boots on, Michael Jacksoning the whole time. Luckily I only lived about 10 miles from work in those days.

Had a 8k jaunt with the Dear Boy today. Same ground covered but good to be out there all the same.

Great to know you're back in the land of the hearing again, hopefully it stays that way

Think being a lorry driver helped.....only had outside mirrors to see behind, and always checking for vehicles hiding just outside the mirrors blind spots, or some cyclist with a death wish riding up the inside of the lorry........spent more time looking out for other drivers and having to drive accordingly.

I had a similar thing too. Every now and then if my body wasn’t totally straight I’d get a sharp pain, it was so debilitating I was frozen to the spot and couldn’t even inhale. Turned out the twat doc I implored to please stop (because I was sure it was going wrong) who chastised me (apparently I was being weak) was wrong and that bastid coil that was supposed to be in my womb was impaled in my spinal column. Such fun. So many more awful extras to that story that aren’t for sharing

Well it’s frustrating for the unaware isn’t it… although not arf as frustrating as it is for us deafy’s, we got to deal with wots in front of us.. and sometimes an empathy lacking wonder. Not saying I’ve been there but….

I have removed all of our sharp knives from our kitchen drawers, just in case. She does loose her temper with me being deaf at times......er most of the time actually.

I so wish I could give this update thing to you Clive. I just think we may have been born 20-30 years too early for the implant tech that’s to come. It’s a silent invisible loss with huge consequences that normies don’t understand but maybe remember other folk around you are lucky in so many other ways ie to have you around so yer u win some you lose some. IMO if you can ride a two wheeler you’ve won

Ah ya bastid, I thought I was done crying cos I’m not a cryer! Yep all of that. Can’t describe it. It’s insane.

I have gripes about my job not least the pay but don't moan as it serves no purpose on here. The actual job itself is very rewarding and if you work with the right person it is great fun at times. We go to a lot of places and see a lot of things. Its all about the people as is almost always the case in life. Funnily enough the chap I am working with tonight has a Honda NC750X and keeps trying to talk me into one and loves singing, so we get on great. There are a couple of snotty clinicians who I prefer not to work with but will and one GP who I wont work with, my boss knows and wont put us together. But apart from them the rest are great interesting people. I am lucky enough to be a popular driver, I am a safe and considerate with my driving and the clinicians like that. The way we work is the clinician rests when I am driving and I rest when the clinician is with their patient, I always try never to disturb them with my driving and they generally like that. If they can trust me they can relax between jobs and maybe even doze. Working long shifts overnight means you can power nap almost at will. If the job never changed I would do it for the rest of my working life, the driver I am relieving at 23:00 tonight is 80 years old, our oldest, so I could do it for a good few years yet. But as is always the case there are storm clouds on the horizon, I will stay as long as I still enjoy it. For me life is to short to do something you don't like, been there in the past not going back. There is always another job.

This feels more like a miracle than a result. I have new hearing aids and I can fucking hear!!!!! Mr Slowly started talking to me as we went through some doors and usually if someone’s behind me I can’t hear what they’re saying, maybe a muffled noise but no actual words. I hadn’t realised I heard all of it when I replied and he said you just heard what I said even though you couldn’t see my face. He then suggested I connected them to my phone and put some music on. I love music. Going deaf and not being able to hear music has been most painful so I was reluctant to spoil such a win by highlighting a loss. Curiosity got the better of me and I played a tune with a prolonged percussion section that contains cymbals, hi-hat cowbells etc all mixed in. I haven’t heard a cymbal for about 10 years but I could hear it all. Every instrument was distinct, the clarity is fantastic, I cried for so long my head started to hurt. I can’t believe it. I know it’s temporary and eventually I’ll get deafer but right now I feel so happy I could cry. Oh look at that I am