What’s this ringing in my ears?
“Loss of hearing replaced with high pitched ringing,” the specialist said.
“It is a brain tumor?” she asked.
“Probably or rather maybe, but not to worry–these types of tumors are benign,” he said as he handed her a brochure.
“We can do another test, a scan but there’s nothing we can do to fix it–the ringing,” he smiled at her. “It happens when you get older, that’s all.”
“Oh,” she said and turned the brochure over in her hands. She tucked it in her purse and rose to leave.
“Stop at the desk and make an appointment for the scan,” he said and smiled as he left the room.
She slipped on her wrap and found her way through a maze of halls, following the exit signs, to the reception area. The appointment made for a month later, she left the office. The fall wind pulled at her scarf and the rustle of the leaves drowned out the high-pitched frequency of the persistent ringing.
She found her car in the lot by clicking the remote. Beep, beep–a lower pitch than the ringing. She switched on the radio–classical music poured out the speakers–violins, an oboe, a cello. She forgot the ringing and drove home. She drove down main street of the small town–a small, quiet town. She turned off the car. The music stopped. The ringing took over.
She sighed. The sound of silence…lost forever for her.
Glenda Kotchish
© December 2018