For those of us with full hearing, it can be difficult to imagine what it's like not to just not be deaf, but to have never heard a single sound. However, there are some people out there who were born with impaired hearing but later gained the ability to hear. One user recently took to Reddit to ask a fascinating question many of us wouldn't even think to ask:
"No longer deaf people of reddit what's something you thought would have a certain noise but were surprised it doesn't?"
As it turns out, there are plenty of things that formerly deaf people believed would make a certain noise, and some things they were shocked made a noise at all. Some are interesting, while others are pretty damn funny.
Paper, cats and... boobs?"Friend's sister was very hard of hearing, nearly deaf. She got Cochlear implants. At work I was asked to help her pair her implants with the her new phone (because they are freaking bluetooth). While I am doing this she is happily telling me how sensitive they are "I can hear paper!" she had no idea paper sliding on paper made a noise.
"She then told me she could hear her hand sliding on the wall. And how cats annoyed her because sometimes they made a sound, but sometimes they just made the action but no sound.
"But then out of the blue she says 'What's weird is, boobs don't make noise, you really think they would...'
"I lost it, I cracked up." - xilstudio
"I thought the wind made super loud wooooosh sounds but it doesn’t so that was lame. Also thought my toys were silent but oh boy they were super loud... makes sense why my parents hated them!" -McScrumpy
"My wife refused to get hearing aids for years. We bought a house that backs on a four-lane highway. I tolerate noise well. When she came home with her new hearing aids, she went out to the back yard, came back and asked me 'WHY DID YOU LET US BUY THIS HOUSE?'" - TallMickey
"I screamed when I first heard a toilet flush." - kmw7
"Someone I️ know was surprised to hear the sound of gravel as you walk on it. They were also surprised rain has a sound and not snow." - StatickPulse
"My mom had been hearing impaired for most of her life, with it getting worse as she aged. When she was about 55 she finally got hearing aids. She called me one day to ask if I knew that they played music in the grocery store and to ask how long they’d been doing that." - sarahsuebob
"After getting my one hearing aid (YES if you just need one on one side DO get it it IS life changing) I stood by my bed and made the blankets crinkle for like, probably too long." - lesserantilles
"I saw something on Facebook the other day. A teacher apparently has a class where she has deaf students and hearing students together. One of the Deaf students ripped a fart, and then noticed all the other hearing students looking at them. Conversation between teacher and student in sign language, the student is now Mortified to learn that Farts have a sound, and EVERYONE (hearing ones anyway) knows its them when they rip one." - Mohgreen
"My deaf students had trouble understanding sarcasm because it’s all about intonation. One of them got aids that really helped, and she was shocked that “Cute shirt” could mean the exact opposite." - maruffin
Toilet humour
"When I got my implant, I didnt realize how loud peeing can be... and poops. I turn my implant/aid off when I go into bathroom, especially public bathroom." -DeafLady
"My ASL teacher was really surprised that the ocean's waves could sound different depending on the weather/choppiness, and that wind would make sound as well. She also told us she also assumed that the sunlight would make a different sound hitting asphalt versus grass, only to learn it doesn't at all. (Which, honestly, I think is pretty sensible. You can't see the wind but it makes a sound, why wouldn't the sunlight too?)" - plantpet
"I had a friend who was surprised to find out that people have different sounding voices." - bookluvr83
"I have been deaf since I was a baby. I wore hearing aids all my life...when I got a cochlear implant at the age of 40, the one sound I have been unable to get accustomed to is the sound of clocks ticking. The grandfather clock sometimes makes me crazy enough to stop in in action... as well as all the clocks that tick-tock. They’re LOUD!" - JellybeansInTX
"I always assumed the sun had a gentle roar to it, like an engine idling in the background or a distant waterfall" - boilroil
If there's one thing those of us with full hearing can learn from this thread - it's that there are a lot of sounds that we take for granted, and plenty of annoying ones we've just tuned out completely.
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