Quiet

The other day I was video chatting with my mom. To get some fresh air, my mom sits on her garden bench in front of her apartment for about half an hour every day if possible, as she did when we were video chatting.
During our conversation it was apparently so quiet outside that I could hear a bird, in my mother’s garden, chirping loud and clear. And not only for a short time, but the chirping was all the time in the background, or rather in the foreground …
When I jokingly told my mother that she should tell the bird to “talk” a little quieter so that it would not disturb our conversation, my mother said she would let the bird sing its song because it was already so quiet otherwise.
In fact, here and there some pictures show that (wild) animals are more and more daring to enter inhabited areas because now there is much more quiet.
And these are exactly the moments when I become aware of how loud and noisy we humans actually are.

As soon as we walk out the door onto the street, we are surrounded by sounds. We have become so used to most sounds that we don’t even notice them anymore, unless they are missing. Some noises are particularly loud and noticeable and some of them are even disturbing. Except when they are missing … like lately, when the noise level has decreased a bit. A group of people, for example, can produce a lot of decibels. Consciously, when you have something to celebrate, or unconsciously, when you are having a lively conversation with each other.

But even within our four walls, you almost never live without noise. Just think of the electrical appliances that simplify our household. From toothbrushes and coffee machines to vacuum cleaners, washing machines, tumblers … Although manufacturers have been trying to make new appliances as silent as possible in recent years, it cannot be ignored that the appliances still have (too) much decibel in them.
For people with hyperacusis (high sensitivity to loud noises) this is an absolute horror.

For people with tinnitus (ringing in the ears), these background noises are sometimes less unfortunate: the everyday noises can even suppress the noise in the head. When there is silence and calm, the tinnitus comes into its own. It is not without reason that many people with tinnitus have trouble sleeping and cannot fall asleep because of the constant noise in their head.
Fortunately, I am not one of those people with sleep problems because of tinnitus, but in this current time, when it is quieter on the streets, I notice that my tinnitus speaks up a bit louder.
Because I can handle my tinnitus quite well, I jokingly admonish it to rest, like the bird in my mother’s garden. But just like the bird, my tinnitus does not let itself be impressed by it and continues to whistle happily.

I hope that people who suffer from tinnitus can use this time to relax, to give themselves a little more rest so that their tinnitus can calm down a little. (Auditory) stress is the perfect tinnitus trigger.

And finally, a word to all the birds in my mother’s garden: can you please not all chirp at the same time, or chirp extra loudly to impress a female, when I am talking to my mother on the phone or when we are video chatting? Thanks a lot in advance ;-)!