My mom was visiting a family friend the other day and my tinnitus came up, and I explained this incident where I was at a mall and a concert started and how we couldn't leave and I said "I wasn't expecting that at all. It's almost like a comedy, kind of" and they all laughed. It is kind of like a comedy. Sometimes I think about these experiences and I go "wow, this is like some cruel joke." But when I think about it and laugh and make light of it, it does make it a little easier to handle. I thought it would be helpful to share experiences of when you encountered really loud noises when you were least expecting it, and kind of look back on it in a lighthearted way. Here are some things I've experienced:
I mentioned I was visiting grandparents in a foreign country in a previous post. This happened back at home in America. My dad wanted to go to a different grocery store that was a few extra miles away because it had this special ravioli. It's a big store and it specializes in Italian foods, I think. I left the car and followed my dad into the store. As I walk through the first set of sliding doors, there's a man standing in the entrance of the store near the second set of sliding doors. He had a microphone in his hand and he was singing. Kind of like serenading everyone who walked through the doors. He looked straight in my eyes and I turned around and walked out and went back into the car. He must've been so confused. I wasn't expecting someone to be singing with a microphone at a grocery store.
This happened in my grandparents' country, a few months ago. We were at the mall and there was a band there, performing traditional folk music, I think, because it was some national holiday. They had drums, trumpets. They were on the first floor and we were on the second. I wanted to leave but my mom said, "don't worry, they're on the first floor." At one point I wanted to go to the food court to eat, which is on the 2nd floor where we already were, so I rushed past the the part of the corridor that's on top of the first floor area where they were playing the music beneath us. I was wearing earplugs, and I pressed my hands against my ears, but it was very loud. My mom asked one of the people who worked at a restaurant in the food court how long the band would be there, and they said "probably until the evening." I ordered cheesy fries and onion rings from Carl's Jr and they delivered it to our table. Just as I was about to start eating, I heard my mom say, "Oh, look, they came up here now." I turned my head and there they were. The band was standing at the front of the food court, by the elevators, getting ready to play. I stood up so fast. I didn't even grab my purse and wallet and cell phone, I assumed my mom would think of that. I speed-walked past the food court and down the corridor. I was walking very fast. The other people there must've thought I was scared of folk music. They started playing when I was like 10 feet away. So loud. I was really frustrated and I just kind of hated the world at that moment. I sat on this bench near a department store all the way on the other side of the mall. I saw my mom and my grandma walking down the corridor and they were carrying my stuff and my food. I ate the cheesy fries on the bench in front of the department store.
Had another experience where I was at another mall here and just as we were about to leave, a concert started on the first floor. I was literally ready to jump off the upper floor at this point. We walked around for several minutes, trying to find another exit. I went into department stores and searched but a worker told on the only exit was on the first floor. I walked through a staff-only door and started walking down this gray, industrial-looking corridor and some men were walking past carrying something and my mom and my grandma explained my tinnitus and I asked them if there was another exit. They said there was but they couldn't let me use it because it was only for staff. I was so frustrated. We finally took the elevator to the parking garage underground and there was a worker there and he asked us what we were looking for. We asked him if there was an exit and he said there was but it was usually only for staff. I explained the situation to him, about to cry at this point, and he was so understanding and he said he would lead us to the exit. He opened this door and he walked up this staircase and we were outside! We at the side of the mall and there were these trucks coming in and out. I started walking ahead towards the road and a security guard stopped us and asked why we were there. At this point I explained it myself. He said, "there's a concert in there?" And he called someone to ask if there was a concert inside. He told me, "I'm really sorry, but this is a special exit. You have to leave through the front entrance inside." I said that I literally couldn't and I tried to explain the tinnitus once again. My grandma said "You can search our bags if you need to," in case they suspected we were trying to steal something, I guess. And I explained again that I couldn't leave because of the concert. He finally said, "Okay, this time it's fine, I just can't do this again." And I said thank you and I finally left.
During each of these moments, I was just thinking, "No, this can't be happening." And when I think about it's kind of comical how horrible life can seem. Sometimes all you can do is laugh. Please share some of your experiences too!
I mentioned I was visiting grandparents in a foreign country in a previous post. This happened back at home in America. My dad wanted to go to a different grocery store that was a few extra miles away because it had this special ravioli. It's a big store and it specializes in Italian foods, I think. I left the car and followed my dad into the store. As I walk through the first set of sliding doors, there's a man standing in the entrance of the store near the second set of sliding doors. He had a microphone in his hand and he was singing. Kind of like serenading everyone who walked through the doors. He looked straight in my eyes and I turned around and walked out and went back into the car. He must've been so confused. I wasn't expecting someone to be singing with a microphone at a grocery store.
This happened in my grandparents' country, a few months ago. We were at the mall and there was a band there, performing traditional folk music, I think, because it was some national holiday. They had drums, trumpets. They were on the first floor and we were on the second. I wanted to leave but my mom said, "don't worry, they're on the first floor." At one point I wanted to go to the food court to eat, which is on the 2nd floor where we already were, so I rushed past the the part of the corridor that's on top of the first floor area where they were playing the music beneath us. I was wearing earplugs, and I pressed my hands against my ears, but it was very loud. My mom asked one of the people who worked at a restaurant in the food court how long the band would be there, and they said "probably until the evening." I ordered cheesy fries and onion rings from Carl's Jr and they delivered it to our table. Just as I was about to start eating, I heard my mom say, "Oh, look, they came up here now." I turned my head and there they were. The band was standing at the front of the food court, by the elevators, getting ready to play. I stood up so fast. I didn't even grab my purse and wallet and cell phone, I assumed my mom would think of that. I speed-walked past the food court and down the corridor. I was walking very fast. The other people there must've thought I was scared of folk music. They started playing when I was like 10 feet away. So loud. I was really frustrated and I just kind of hated the world at that moment. I sat on this bench near a department store all the way on the other side of the mall. I saw my mom and my grandma walking down the corridor and they were carrying my stuff and my food. I ate the cheesy fries on the bench in front of the department store.
Had another experience where I was at another mall here and just as we were about to leave, a concert started on the first floor. I was literally ready to jump off the upper floor at this point. We walked around for several minutes, trying to find another exit. I went into department stores and searched but a worker told on the only exit was on the first floor. I walked through a staff-only door and started walking down this gray, industrial-looking corridor and some men were walking past carrying something and my mom and my grandma explained my tinnitus and I asked them if there was another exit. They said there was but they couldn't let me use it because it was only for staff. I was so frustrated. We finally took the elevator to the parking garage underground and there was a worker there and he asked us what we were looking for. We asked him if there was an exit and he said there was but it was usually only for staff. I explained the situation to him, about to cry at this point, and he was so understanding and he said he would lead us to the exit. He opened this door and he walked up this staircase and we were outside! We at the side of the mall and there were these trucks coming in and out. I started walking ahead towards the road and a security guard stopped us and asked why we were there. At this point I explained it myself. He said, "there's a concert in there?" And he called someone to ask if there was a concert inside. He told me, "I'm really sorry, but this is a special exit. You have to leave through the front entrance inside." I said that I literally couldn't and I tried to explain the tinnitus once again. My grandma said "You can search our bags if you need to," in case they suspected we were trying to steal something, I guess. And I explained again that I couldn't leave because of the concert. He finally said, "Okay, this time it's fine, I just can't do this again." And I said thank you and I finally left.
During each of these moments, I was just thinking, "No, this can't be happening." And when I think about it's kind of comical how horrible life can seem. Sometimes all you can do is laugh. Please share some of your experiences too!
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