“Nice, loud noise”

Last Saturday, a retail customer heard the product scanner beeping for each item she was buying.  I heard her remark, “Nice, loud noise!”  (Thought I was the only one who noticed ... with my inherited, sensitive hearing.)

The next morning, I was impressed with a different view as I wondered what could be nice about noise, then thought of welcome loud noises:

A newborn’s first cry (such as our five)

Thunder at the end of a drought here in the West

The roar of Niagara Falls upon our arrival as a young married couple

Kay playing her energetic “hurry-up” music on Grandmother’s piano in our frontier home — I would have recorded if I hadn’t been hurrying to get ready, get set, and go with her; (as I slow down in my old age, I need it more than ever!)  Now a nice memory, as I recall her smiling.

Loud fireworks over Lake St. Clair as Sister Cannon & I watched from the Ford mansion back yard with the DSO playing “Star Wars” theme fortissimo for the partying crowd at the end of an outdoor concert — thrilling!

Yes, my hearing disorder (as our oldest daughter diagnosed it) is selective.  Cars and trucks racing on the boulevard as I walk nearby annoy me.  Loud noise from car doors locking with a honk disturbs me.  A tiny dog barking in our front lobby makes me wince with pain.

Conversely, I still dream of having a high-end stereo system with powerful speakers for our favorites by Beethoven, Rachmaninoff, Smetana, Gershwin, and others — noisy to some, but heavenly to me.  (Warning: One’s hearing can be damaged by loud noise.)  For now, my bluetooth headphone paired with iPhone streaming music is sufficient for my need — nice and loud as I can joyfully stand it!