Side By Side

8

Warnings:
-None

Clay's POV

~ A While Later ~

I sat on my mother's lap since I fell down the hard plastic chairs in the waiting room while waiting to get my hearing aid first today. She had her arms around my waist and held her chin on my shoulder, giving me a soft kiss.

I turned to her to see if she wanted to say something and she lifted her hands, thinking about what she was going to sign.

'You're going to do very well,' she signed with a smile.

I smiled back at her and rested my head on her shoulder as she pointed. I turned around and looked at the doctor walking in. I waved at him and he started signing at me.

'Are you ready for it?' he signed, which made me nod heavily.

They chose a hearing aid that would be visible on the outside of my head. I was extremely scared that my dream of going to the army would immediately be over again... they would never accept me when they clearly saw I had an hearing aid because I was actually deaf.

A few weeks after my internal ear surgery, that was planned a week after today, they would place the external part with the microphone so I could actually start hearing sounds. I wasn't completely sure how the cochlear implants worked, but I knew that was what I was getting once they placed the hearing aid in my other ear.

~~~

I sat up slowly, hearing a loud noise in my ear as soon as he turned the hearing aid on. I looked at my mother who was holding my hand and smiled softly, excited to start testing the hearing aid the doctor just placed into my ear. I looked at her face and saw her mouth move as I realised I vaguely heard something.

I was very tired since I slept very poorly and couldn't focus on the words so I closed my eyes shortly to focus on the doctor who was doing something, then walking away.

I opened my eyes slowly again as my mother smiled at me. She sat closer to me and spoke up again.

'Can you hear me?' she asked with a very quiet voice. I knew she was talking loudly, but I heard it very vaguely, then suddenly heard another loud noise which made me startled.

My mother stood up and walked off, coming back with the doctor. He smiled at me and started doing things with my hearing aid again. I heard a loud noise again and was startled as he did something again which stopped it.

'And how is it now?'

I was startled even worse when I suddenly heard a voice for the first time in months. I looked up in shock and my mother clapped her hands which caused me to look at her immediately. The sounds weren't like they used to be, but I was already so happy that I could hear something with one ear. I was shocked and overwhelmed, but I looked up happily to see my mother smiled at me, tapping the table loudly.

'Can you hear it?' the doctor questioned with a big smile on his face.

I didn't even know what to feel anymore and I lifted my hands up to my face, sobbing softly from happiness but also because I was really overwhelmed with all the sounds I heard. I didn't hear very quiet sounds nor did I hear most things coming from the side of my deaf ear, but I was already way too happy with this.

My mother stood up and walked closer to me, kissing my cheek softly. She smiled brightly and looked at me.

'Sapnap and dad are in the waiting room,' she told me with a loud and slow voice so I could take the time to process what she said.

I smiled and nodded slowly. 'Okay,' I whispered, getting startled by my own voice. I looked around me in shock and then giggled softly which I could hear myself do.

My mother stood up to get Sapnap and my dad into the room too and I reached out my hand to them. 'I can hear,' I mumbled, still finding it weird and a bit difficult to talk.

Sapnap smiled brightly. 'From your hearing aid?' he asked with a loud voice too since I wouldn't be able to hear whispering noises.

'Yes,' I answered as my mother started talking to them. I was so confused now I genuinely heard their voices now their mouths moved too. I hadn't heard anything in months and suddenly...

'Make sure to tell us if you're overwhelmed,' Sapnap smiled. 'Because then I'll use sign language!'

I nodded slowly and opened my arms. 'Can I have a hug?'

Sapnap nodded with a big smile on his face and leaned in to give me a hug. My dad hugged me too and kissed my hair softly.

'I'm very happy, but also a bit overwhelmed,' I mumbled. 'I haven't heard anything in months and maybe I still don't hear everything, I hope I will once I get the implant and the external part a while later.'

Everyone nodded as a doctor came in with a smile. 'Is it loud enough?'

'I can't hear quiet sounds, but maybe that's normal.'

'Let's test that,' he smiled. He walked behind me to see what I could hear and couldn't and after a while he walked back to my ear and did something with the hearing aid.

'It might be too loud now,' he questioned as he let go of it.

I shrugged. 'It's not too loud, but maybe a bit louder than how I used to hear things.'

'Is it okay like this or do you want me to turn it down? I think you can hear whispering like this and the quiet sounds better, but that will get way better once you get the implant and the external part in the other ear because you will miss a lot of sounds when you only hear with one ear.'

'I think it's good like this.'

He nodded and then started explaining how I could turn it up and down and how to take it out. I listened carefully, but I was so happy that I didn't hear everything. My parents and Sapnap did while I was continuously smiling since I could finally hear something again.

1069 words