Valentine's Day

Source: Pixabay

Today is Valentine's Day. In many countries and cultures, the "Day of Love" is celebrated today. Sometimes loved ones give themselves something beautiful, sometimes someone is surprised by an unknown admirer with a postcard.
Personally, I don't need a Valentine's Day to remember love, but I don't take love for granted.

In relationships where one of the two partners has a hearing impairment, a hearing impairment can sometimes affect the relationship. The good hearing partner has to take into account many things with his hearing impaired partner. Often he or she plays the role of interpretor in conversations, is reproached if he or she "once again" speaks indistinctly or calls something incomprehensible from another room, is woken up by the vibration alarm clock, even if he or she does not have to get up. He or she is also only a person, who needs a lot of patience and has to repeat something very often.
Whispered tender words are not understood by the hearing impaired partner because they cannot be speechread, especially not at night or in romantically illuminated settings. That can sometimes interfere with romance, right?
Yes and no. For communication with a partner with impaired hearing, it also requires proximity: one looks into one's eyes, often keeping the heads a little closer to reading and understanding. And, of course, you can also make love without words.
Every day, good hearing partners support their hearing impaired partner, often selflessly and without words.
In the case of late or sudden deafness or hearing loss, one must often learn to communicate again in a relationship. This is not always self-evident and does not always go without effort from both sides.

I would therefore like to take this opportunity to say a big thank you to all the good hearing partners in this world and my own Valentine in particular.

I wish you all a loving and beautiful Valentine's Day!