Jemma Rosewater
Bio
I’m a 17 year old writer & advocate for my rare disease, hyperacusis. I love writing poetry, non fiction articles, & short stories on a variety of topics: mermaids, fantasy, emotions experienced throughout human life, sci-fi, fantasy, ect.
Stories (15/0)
Waiting In A Black Hole
Under the heavens is the multiple-verse under the multiverse is layers layers of expanding bubbles that grow larger and larger the space between them a gap that cannot be bridges in any way known to humankind, under the expanding space is and foreign energy source that is controlled by Him the maker of all, the one who is above all else, below the foreign energy source is everything that can be and is somewhere some time, time its under there too, under the multiverse are universes each unique with there own governing rules, under those rules are mysterious beyond our imagination, under those mysterious there is life, life formed from stardust and forces life formed from molecules and chemicals unknown to us, the stuff of fantasy and fiction, under the life is the mind, the mind which contemplates and wonders, under the mind is the ability to dream to dream of everything that is or will be, sometimes under those dreams there is despair knowing those dreams are out of reach, other times there is hope, buts its under the hope under the determination to not accept what is to fight for something better, its under those minds and souls that those dreams turn into reality, under the reality is the shaping of a piece in the puzzle of everything that is and will be
By Jemma Rosewater 3 years ago in Poets
Sword Of Knowledge
I am 1 in 50,000 who gets stabbed in the ears from a fork hitting a plate, Throbbing lingering migraines from the sound of the refrigerator, the girl whom for a decade fought her way through a pitch black, dark, they were everywhere coming from all sides all the time, the attacks, arrows specifically targeting her head and ears from an invisible enemy, she stubbles along in the inky blackness blindly trying to protect herself, running and running, but she could almost never out run the arrows from her invisible pursuers she was sinking and falling being sucked into a void of blackness so thick she could not even see the light of her soul
By Jemma Rosewater 3 years ago in Poets
How To Help A Familiy Member or Friend With Hyperacusis
Oftentimes the level of understanding, accommodatingness, and empathy of family and friends of a person with hyperacusis, can largely impact that amount of physical pain the person is in. This is because family members and friends are often shared in environments or frequently around this person, therefore impacting the noise the person is exposed to. Having hyperacusis in it of itself is already extremely difficult and at times miserable, but having your family doing things that cause you pain constantly and not believing you about your condition can just make the situation unbearable. Sometimes a person’s family are just mean or selfish people, but other times they truly love the person and want to help them, but are misguided as to how. I will assume that any family members and friends of a person with hyperacusis reading this fall into this second category. As a person who has lived with severe hyperacusis for most of my life, here are some things that you can do to help your loved one with hyperacusis.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
Why we shouldn’t use Play Therapy to desensitize Children with severe Sound Sensitively
I remember when I was in 1st-3rd grade, doctors, therapists, and school staff would try to expose me to noise through play. I used to see an occupational therapist twice a week, who would try to make me engage in play that involved noise. She would try to get me to play games that had buttons that would make noises, rummage around in toy boxes to get things to play with, turn on fun aqua machines that had motors, and other activities that either involved me making noise or her making noise. These activities cause me physical throbbing and stabbing pain. I had an audiologist who knew that I enjoyed listening to books, and so came up with a plan that required me to gradually increase the volume of my books, on my iPad, and TV. Turning up the volume was physically painful for me, so I stopped listening to books, using my iPad, or watching TV. Staff at school would try to make me eat in the cafeteria with my friends, participate in recess, or fun related arts classes.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
My Advise For Dealing With Doctors, For Hyperacusis Newbies
I was only eight years old when I was formally diagnosed with hyperacusis, although I had been experiencing symptoms for about a year and a half prior. Unfortunately as hyperacusis is such a rare condition and there was so almost no research on pain hyperacusis, meant that I was often not taken seriously. There are so many things that I have had to learn on my own, about the medical side of hyperacusis that I wish I knew when I was younger, so I wanted to share some things that have helped me navigate medical disbelief and misconceptions about hyperacusis.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
My Project To Get A Title Six Added To The ADA
Having had severe hyperacusis with pain for most of my life, I know from personal experience that before the pandemic it was basically impossible to get most places to give me the types of accommodations that I needed. For me everyday noises like people talking and laughing, telephone ringing, dishes clanking, Music or TV, lawnmowers, running water, refrigerators, etc cause me physical pain and lingering migraines. This meant that I was unable to attend stores, restaurants, social events, movies, conferences, extra curricular activities, and most public places. Unfortunately many people with moderate to severe pain Hyperacusis, are unable to attend work, most public places, school, or social events due to the noise level.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
The importance of Establishing Clinical Guidelines to protect patients with hyperacusis
If you have read any of my previous posts you are likely aware of the painful and horrible experiences that I have had with doctors growing up. For those of you who have not read my previous blog posts, ever since I was little doctors treated my hyperacusis like a psychosomatic condition.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
Receiving Disability Services For Hyperacusis
If you or someone you know has severe hyperacusis, then you are probably aware of how debilitating of a condition it is. So many activities of daily living involve noise. Cooking, washing clothes, using the microwave, using transportation, even taking a shower or bath. A person with severe hyperacusis may be unable to perform these basic tasks of everyday living, due to the intense physical pain and debilating symptoms caused from the noise of these activities.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
Hyperacusis Daily Life modifications
People who don’t have hyperacusis don’t realize how many things in their daily lives have noise. From waking up to an alarm clock, to flushing the toilet, to running water, to using the microwave almost everything makes noise. For some people with severe hyperacusis, several if not all those things cause them pain. I have seen the topic of the problem with the noise involved with activities of daily living, come up many times in hyperacusis online groups. I have also spoken with various other people with severe hyperacusis who struggle with these things. Having basically grown up with severe hyperacusis, there are unfortunately many daily life activities that I am not able to do, and others I have had to greatly modify to make them quiet.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
Suicide prevention needs to be handled differently in patients with Hyperacusis
I wanted to talk about the connection hyperacusis pain suicide/suicidal thoughts. The severe chronic pain that people with hyperacusis experience is almost impossible to escape from, as it is triggered by normal everyday noises.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Psyche
Hyperacusis Causes More Than Just Ear Pain
When the few people who even know what hyperacusis with pain is, they still usually only think of the classical symptoms of noise induced ear pain. Although many people with pain hyperacusis do experience ear pain from sound, not all of them do, and some of the ones that do also experience additional symptoms. These symptoms can range from tinnitus, noise induced migraines/facial pain, vertigo, seizures, confusion, inability to understand speech when other noises are present, and a sensory impairment involving another sense. I personally experience the majority of my pain from sound on my forehead and temples, although I do get ear pain as well. I have random seizures, but also ones triggered by noise. In addition I have sensory processing disorder (sensitive to clothing, shoes, etc), am visually impaired, and cannot understand what someone is saying and get confused when there are multiple people talking or background noise.
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Longevity
Live through my body
My mother pulls my closet door open slowly “Good morning sleeping beauty time to wake up“ I feel my head pounding even though I’ve been in the closet all night I’m still in a lot of pain from yesterday. I open my eyes I slowly push back my blanket and climb out of my closet grab my earplugs from the pouch in my closet and going to the bathroom. I try to close the bathroom door slowly so that it doesn’t make noise then I walk over to the toilet and very careful lift the lid so that it doesn’t bang against the back of the toilet I use the toilet then it’s time for me to flush I open the bathroom door put in my earplugs press down the handle and run out off the bathroom. The toilet sounds like it’s roaring and despite trying to get away as quickly as I can my four head and temples and the area on the sides of my head above my ears throb with pain I wait in the guest bedroom until the toilet is finish flushing my mother laughs at me I walk back into the bathroom my temples forehead and the area on the sides of my head above my ears from the toilet flushing I know they’ll still be hurting for about another hour from the flush. I turn on the water trickling so that it doesn’t make much noise and wash my hands then I reach over to put on my deodorant my arm accidentally knocks over the air spray on the counter the clang it makes causes a sharp pain in my temples and the sides of my head above my ears. The worst part is the pain does not go away immediately from accidents like these but lingers for about 30 minutes. I stand the bottle upright and put on my deodorant then I open the door and try to carefully take out my toothbrush without clanking against any other items luckily this morning I am successful I squeeze some toothpaste onto the toothbrush and turn on the water at a trickle I brush my teeth I then reach for a cotton ball and put a tiny bit of facial cleansing solution on it as the amount of water required to wash my face is painfully loud. I slowly open the bathroom door and walk back into my bedroom I unplug my Sony headphones from the wall and put them in their case to take to school then I unplug my iPad and put it in my backpack I put my watch on my wrist and double check my cell phone to make sure it’s on volume one then I ask Siri for the weather. I pull out a dress from my closet careful not to let the hangers clang together. Then I put on my earplugs and walk downstairs The humming of the refrigerator increases the throbbing pain on my forehead, temples, and the area on the side of my head above my ears I walk over to my tray and tried to gently set it down on the kitchen counter. I get a large paper plate as the metal plates make noise that is painful then I get a paper cup to use instead of a metal bowl. Then I reach up to get a drinking cup luckily the cup is by itself so it doesn’t make any noise I try to slowly and quietly close the cabinet door. The refrigerator is still humming increasing the throbbing pain especially on my four-head I open the refrigerator pull out my non my yogurt and my juice. Then I. Get a plastic spoon and I put the yogurt in the bowl put the non-on the plate and pour the juice into the cup. Then I walk over and open the freezer it’s even louder than the refrigerator and intensifies the throbbing pain I reach in and carefully pull out ice pack catch up I put it in my lunchbox I open the refrigerator and pull out the baggie of bagels then I reach in and get the cream I try not to cringe my four head throbs with pain. I get a paper plate and a plastic knife. I put the bagel in the toaster and hold down the lever because the toaster is broken. As I stand there waiting the refrigerator sounds like it’s roaring like a truck, my forehead throbs it feels like someone is punching me. Finally the bagel ready is spread the cream cheese on the bagel and then reach into the drawer to get tinfoil. I try to tear of the tinfoil gently but it still makes it tearing crackling sound which causes more throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears. I put my bagel into my lunchbox and walk upstairs to get Mommy I need her to use the microwave to heat up my food because I can’t do it because it’s too loud. after I get Mommy I put on my Apple Watch I stand in my bedroom and wait I can hear the microwave from my room but at least from this distance it isn’t painful I wait until I hear the three beeps letting me know the microwave is done before I walk back downstairs. I turn on the sink water at a trickle and then dry my hands on a paper towel I shut my bedroom door and lay on my bed and do my eyes drops. Then go downstairs pick up my tray and walk back upstairs. As I eat my non and take my medicine my ear and temple still feel the sharp pain and my forehead and the side of my head above my ear still throb from all the noise this morning. Then I go into my bedroom put on my backpack grab my tray and walk downstairs. I walk to the kitchen the refrigerator is still on I try to set my tray down gently on the counter then I through away my paper plate and cups. I reach into the coat closet pull out my jacket and walk with my mother to the front door. As she opens the door The alarm system shouts “Front door“ causing intense throbbing on my forehead. As I step outside I can hear the noise of traffic from Columbia Road and 29 it causes throbbing pain on my forehead and the on the side of my head above my ears. I open the car door and tried to close it gently “your door didn’t close all the way my mom says“ I shut the door harder causing a loud boom which feels like I’m being punched in the forehead. My mother starts up the car right away the car starts beeping loudly causing sharp pain in my ear and temple, she puts on her seatbelt stopping the beeping. The car sounds like a waterfall The loud engine causes more throbbing pain on my forehead. We you drive off of April Journey and on to Columbia Road then on to another neighborhood. Luckily we haven’t encountered very many other cars yet as we haven’t gotten on the main road yet. My mother turns onto Route 108 actually we’ve been driving for about three minutes a School bus pulls up beside us it sounds like a power tool and adds to the throbbing pain on my forehead “I’m trying to get away from the bus but I can’t run the other cars over my mother says“. After we finally get away from the bus another car honks it’s horn causing more stabbing pain. We turn into the school parking lot and pull up to the school I check the time to make sure that I will have enough time to get settled into Mr. L’s room before the students start to arrive. I put on my backpack and my Sony headphones and opened the car door. I walked briskly to the school door. I hope someone comes to open the door soon. My four head throbs from the car engines and other outside noises. Mr. H opens the door, I walk down the hallway I can hear women talking and laughing loudly it worsens The throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears I try not to cringe. I set my backpack down on the floor and took out my iPad locker key and phone. I push the button on my locker and swipe the key in front of it. It makes a loud automated half beeping half crunching sound which causes both sharp pain in my temple and ear and throbbing on my forehead. I tried to wrestle my backpack into my locker. The zippers on my backpack are metal and clank against the locker walls this and sharp pain into my ear and temple. I walk into the storage closet and get my backpack then I unplug my Vizio and shut Mr. L’s door before the other kids start to arrive. I walk over and sit down at my desk carefully not to let the chair leg touch the desk leg and put my Vizio iPad cell phone and locker key into my backpack. The kids start to enter and they open the classroom door increasing the level of noise coming from the hallway. One of the students closes the door and they all sit down, someone's chair clangs against the desk creating sharp pain in my temple and ear. “All right everyone let’s circle up Mr. L says”. I turn my chair around carefully to face the circle. Mr. L goes over the agenda for the day and talks about some other events happening later in the week someone says something and then Dr. F and Mr. L start talking and laughing too loud . This causes more throbbing pain on my forehead and The side of my head above my ears. My watch vibrates silently on my wrist letting me know it’s time to go sit in BSI before the transition. I turned around my chair and pushed it in carefully then I took the handle on my backpack and tried to carefully roll up with the chairs so that it doesn’t make noise. I open the door and walk down the hallway. I can hear people talking loudly which causes throbbing pain on my forehead. I walk into Miss Y’s office and shut the door. I walk over to the volume control and turn it down to zero about two minutes later the bell rings even with the speaker on zero. I can hear it from the hallway but luckily it’s not as painful. A bunch of students and staff walked through the hallways talking and laughing very loudly. The throbbing pain on my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears increases, they do this for about three minutes. Then the second bell rings and people are still in the hallways talking loudly for about another minute. I wait for the hallways to clear then I walk down the hall to Mrs. LT room for Spanish class. I close the door carefully as I walk in the door squeaks sending sharp pain in my ear in Temple. I try to pull out my chair carefully so as not to hit the table. Eland O and Mr. G are already sitting at the table. I pull out my iPad and start working on the packet for this week. As I work I can hear the sounds of people talking loudly in the hallways. It is painful. Miss LT rummages around in her desk. It sounds like she’s banging it causes throbbing pain in my forehead and the sides of my head above my ear. I keep working on my iPad, luckily O and E have very quiet voices. I share my document with Mr. G then my watch vibrates letting me know it’s time for me to go. I put my stuff in my backpack and walked over to the door. I managed to open it without it squeaking I walked down the hallway to Mr. H’s office. I gently shut the door and then walk over and turn off his music then I set the announcement volume on zero. About a minute later the bell rings students and staff talk loudly in the hallways intensifying my pain. This continues for about three minutes then the bell rings, fortunately they settle down pretty quickly. I slowly open the door and walk down the hallway which is still painfully loud for me to Mrs. F’s room. I close the door gently so that it doesn’t make noise then I walk over to my desk and try to carefully pull out my chair. I take my Vizio out of my backpack and try to gently set it down on the table then I start working on my math worksheet. I can hear people talking loudly in the hallways, my forehead and the side of my head above my ears intensify the throbbing pain. About halfway through class Miss B comes in. Later my watch vibrates I try to quickly and quietly pack up my stuff I walk out the door and into the hallway to Miss Youngstrum’s room I go in and shut the door A few seconds later Miss B comes in. The bell rings and students and staff start talking loudly. Their voices cause more throbbing pain. The second bell rings but the hallways take a while to quiet down then Miss B and I walk to the double doors leading outside. Even though it’s loud outside it’s quieter to walk around the outside of the building then through the hallways. Someone started using a power tool which causes the throbbing pain on my forehead and The sides of my head above my ears to increase I run to try to get away from the noise. Miss B opens the door and I wait in the vestibule while Miss B asks people to be quiet because the students are talking very loudly in the hallways. Their voices are very painful and cause sharp pain on my temples and throbbing pain on my forehead. She’s finally able to get the students to quiet down for long enough for me to run to the room Mrs. B puts the quiet sign on the outside of the door and then closes it. I start reading braille but after about a few minutes the kids are shouting and there’s a lot of banging noises I cringe because the shouting and banging causes throbbing and stabbing pain in my ears, temples, forehead and the sides of my head above my ears it feels like I am being punched repeatedly with something sharp. Miss B goes out into the hallway to try to get the students and to staff quiet down. They quiet down slightly but then later on start shouting again, which intensifies my pain. I do some brailing on my brailler I try to push down on the keys gently but it still sounds sharp pains into my ear and temple. My watch vibrates letting me know it’s time to go. I start to pack up then Miss B walks outside to ask the students to quiet down so I can run to the vestibule. I walk with Miss B around the school building and back into Bridges. The kids are transitioning so I wait. People are talking loudly in the hallways, my head throbs. Finally the hallways begin to clear and I walk down the hallway to Miss LT’s room where there are still people talking loudly in the hallways which is painful for me. I open the door and step inside and gently close the door. I walk over to my desk and try to gently pull out my chair so that it doesn’t make noise. I take out my iPad and Visio and start working on my work. Some people are talking loudly in the hallways which makes my forehead throb with pain. Mr. H opens the door to bring in my snack. The door squeaks sending sharp pain through my ears and temples. I eat my snack and continue working on my work. I wish I could just put my head down and rest. I'm in so much pain from the daily noise so far today but I know I need to keep working on my work. The pain is starting to make me feel very tired and exhausted. My watch vibrates letting me know it’s time for me to go, I pack up my stuff and gently push my chair in I walked down the hallway into Mr. H’s office and turn off his music and make sure the announcement volume is set to zero. Then I shut the door, about two minutes later the bell rings and people start talking loudly during the transition. The pain now makes me feel weak and exhausted. Just three and a half more hours left until the pain would at least stop increasing about 3 1/2 hours I tell myself. The second bell rings I wait for the hallways to clear and then walk to Mr. L’s room. I tried to gently close the door behind me then I tried to carefully pull out my chair so as not to hit the desk. I pull out my iPad and start working on my work. Mr. L is explaining the assignment to the class. I put up my signal to remind him to lower his voice as he is speaking painfully loud. I work on my work. My head is throbbing with pain I can hear them watching a movie in Mrs. LT’s room. It is loud and causes more throbbing pain on the sides of my head above my ears. I can hear Miss L talking loudly through the wall as well. Finally my watch vibrates letting me know it’s time to go I pack up my iPad and try to gently push my chair in I walk down the hallway towards Miss Y’s office. I can hear the sound of someone walking with high heels on it sends sharp pains through my ears and temples. I walk to Miss Y’s office and turn down the volume on the speaker then I gently close the door. The bell rings and the hallways get even louder students and staff start talking loudly creating more throbbing pain on the side of my head above my ears and on my forehead. After about three minutes the halls begin to clear and the second bell rings I get my locker key and head into the hallway. I can hear staff talking loudly and someone else walking in heels which increases my pain. I press the button on my locker and swipe my card in front of it makes that loud half crunching have a beeping noise again causing sharp pain in my temple and ear and throbbing pain on my forehead. I open up my backpack and take out my lunchbox and then walk back into Miss Y’s office. I carefully pull out the chair and then gently unwrap the tinfoil on my bagel so it doesn’t make noise. I eat my lunch then the bell rings for sixth period. The halls get louder again as students and staff transition. Miss Y steps out and tries to quickly close the door behind her. The noise in the hallway only intensifies my pain. The second bell rings but I wait a while for the hallway to clear. I carry my lunchbox over to my locker press the button and swipe my key. Again the locker makes a loud Half crunching half beeping noise sending sharp pain into my temple and ear and throbbing pain on my forehead. I walk to Mr. C’s room for government class The hallways are noisy my head pulses with pain so I speed up and then try to quickly close the door as soon as get into Mr. C’s room. I try to carefully pull out my chair so that it doesn’t make noise when I sit down and take out my iPad to do my work A few minutes later some kids are making a lot of noise outside of Mr. C’s window which increases my pain Mrs. Ch tries to signal to them to quiet down. After a while my watch vibrates letting me know it is time for me to leave. I pack up my iPad and gently push my chair as I walk through the hallway into Miss Y’s office and gently close the door behind me. The bell rings about a minute later and the hallway gets loud again. My head throbs with pain finally the hallways begin to settle down and the second bell rings. I open the door and walk down the hallway to Miss LT’s room I try to gently close the door behind me but it still squeaks sending sharp pain through my ears and temples. My four head and temples ears and the sides of my head above my ears all hurt so badly I just want to put my head down and rest this pain is so tiring. I pull out my chair carefully and sit down. I take out my Vizio book and try to gently place it on the table I work on my work. The noise from the hallway continues to increase the throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears. I it hard for me to concentrate due to the pain caused by the other children talking at one time. Finally my watch vibrates letting me know that it’s time to pack up to go home. I plug in my Vizio book and take out my iPad locker key and phone from my backpack. I swiped my locker key in front of my locker and press the button again it makes the half beeping half crunches noise causing more sharp pain in my temples and ears and throbbing pain on my forehead I get the backpack from inside my locker and put my phone, iPad and locker key in there then I take my school backpack and put it in the storage closet. I go stand in the vestibule, my mother walks up to the door and I walk with her back to the car there’s a lot of buses with their engines going it is exacerbating the throbbing pain on my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears. I get in the car and shut the door boom the pain feels like a punch in my forehead and the area on the sides of my head above my ears. The pain from shutting the car door now is worse then when I did it this or ing because I am already in more pain from school and am even more sensitive. My mother starts up the car and we begin to drive out of the parking lot. The car seems even louder then this morning, luckily non of the other vehicles honk their horns. We pass by a large truck on the road which sends pulsing pain through my whole head. Finally we turn on to our neighborhood and pull into our driveway and I take off my sony headphones. I grab my backpack and open the car door then I close the car door and it makes a loud boom which feels like I am being punched on the sides of my head above my ears and my forehead, as I walk up to the front door I can hear the generators outside which cause me more pain. Once I get inside I hang up my coat careful not to let the hanger clang against the other hangers. Then I walk into the kitchen, the refrigerator is on which increases the throbbing pain on my forehead I put my lunch box on the counter put the ice pack in the freezer which makes the refrigerator noise louder. Next I throw away my plastic bags in the trash can and head upstairs. I go into the bathroom and carefully close the door after I use the toilet I open the door slowly press down the lever and run. It’s worse then earlier pain throbs through my whole head. I wait for the toilet to finish flushing then I go back in and wash my hands with the water trickling. I walk into my bedroom and climb into my closet. I get under the covers, lay down and close the door I lay in my closet under my covers, my ears, temples, forehead, and the sides of my head above my ears all merge into one large throbbing pain. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. About 3 ½ hours later my mother opens my closet door “its time for you to get up so you can take your medicine and hydrate she says”. After she leaves I lay in my closet and drink water for about 5min My pain level before my nap was an 8 now it is about 7.75 then I get up and wash out the bathtub but I don’t rinse it or run the water because that makes noise. My mother brings my tray to the bottom of the steps and I take it the rest of the way up and eat dinner. After I finish eating I walk into my room and get my cell phone. I call my mother and tell her I am coming downstairs and ask her to turn everything off and ask daddy to be quiet. I pick up my try and walk downstairs I place the tray gently on the counter, the refrigerator is still on making my forehead throb. I throw away all of the paper plates and bowls and put the plastic silverware on the counter to be washed. I get my eyedrops and take them upstairs. Then I turn on the water at a trickle to wash my hands and then I go into my closet, lay down and do my eyedrops. I walk into the bathroom again gently take out my tooth brush and turn on the water trickling to brush my teeth. Then I use my facial cleansing water to wash my face so that I don’t have to deal with the water pressure. I go back into my closet and lay down for about 15min, then I reach into my closed pocket and do my other eye drop. I send daddy a text message telling him that the tub is clean and it's bath night. I walk into the guest bedroom because my bedroom is next to the bathroom so when daddy runs the water it is too loud in my bedroom. I sit on the bed in the guest bedroom while daddy runs my water my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears my temples and my ears all throb and hurt a lot from all of the noise of the day. I hear that the bath water has stopped running so I open the door to the guest bedroom and walk into the bathroom “thank you I say to daddy”. I gently close the bathroom door put on my shower cap and get into the tub. I wash off and then lay in the hot water for a few minutes, I can still feel the throbbing pain throughout my head and ears. I get out of the tub and put on my deodorant and night gown, then I open the bathroom door walk over to the bathtub and press the drain and run. The water makes a very loud noise as it drains out of the tub I try to gently close the bathroom door behind me my forehead throbs from the sound. I go into the guest bedroom and get seven milligrams of melatonin, despite how tired I am on school nights especially it is hard to sleep. I climb into my closet and call my mother to ask her to come and check me in. My mother comes upstairs and shuts me in the closet, I take my melatonin and then say my prayers I laid there for a while, my head hurts so badly, finally I fall asleep. Nowadays This was written back in October, fortunately somethings have improved. I now eat on paper plates and paper cups and use plastic silverware. My mother has also been helping me by preparing my tray and doing noisy things in the kitchen for me. Life through my body, what it's like living with hyperacusis My mother pulls my closet door open slowly “Good morning sleeping beauty time to wake up“ I feel my head pounding even though I’ve been in the closet all night I’m still in a lot of pain from yesterday. I open my eyes I slowly push back my blanket and climb out of my closet grab my earplugs from the pouch in my closet and going to the bathroom. I try to close the bathroom door slowly so that it doesn’t make noise then I walk over to the toilet and very careful lift the lid so that it doesn’t bang against the back of the toilet I use the toilet then it’s time for me to flush I open the bathroom door put in my earplugs press down the handle and run out off the bathroom. The toilet sounds like it’s roaring and despite trying to get away as quickly as I can my four head and temples and the area on the sides of my head above my ears throb with pain I wait in the guest bedroom until the toilet is finish flushing my mother laughs at me I walk back into the bathroom my temples forehead and the area on the sides of my head above my ears from the toilet flushing I know they’ll still be hurting for about another hour from the flush. I turn on the water trickling so that it doesn’t make much noise and wash my hands then I reach over to put on my deodorant my arm accidentally knocks over the air spray on the counter the clang it makes causes a sharp pain in my temples and the sides of my head above my ears. The worst part is the pain does not go away immediately from accidents like these but lingers for about 30 minutes. I stand the bottle upright and put on my deodorant then I open the door and try to carefully take out my toothbrush without clanking against any other items luckily this morning I am successful I squeeze some toothpaste onto the toothbrush and turn on the water at a trickle I brush my teeth I then reach for a cotton ball and put a tiny bit of facial cleansing solution on it as the amount of water required to wash my face is painfully loud. I slowly open the bathroom door and walk back into my bedroom I unplug my Sony headphones from the wall and put them in their case to take to school then I unplug my iPad and put it in my backpack I put my watch on my wrist and double check my cell phone to make sure it’s on volume one then I ask Siri for the weather. I pull out a dress from my closet careful not to let the hangers clang together. Then I put on my earplugs and walk downstairs The humming of the refrigerator increases the throbbing pain on my forehead, temples, and the area on the side of my head above my ears I walk over to my tray and tried to gently set it down on the kitchen counter. I get a large paper plate as the metal plates make noise that is painful then I get a paper cup to use instead of a metal bowl. Then I reach up to get a drinking cup luckily the cup is by itself so it doesn’t make any noise I try to slowly and quietly close the cabinet door. The refrigerator is still humming increasing the throbbing pain especially on my four-head I open the refrigerator pull out my non my yogurt and my juice. Then I. Get a plastic spoon and I put the yogurt in the bowl put the non-on the plate and pour the juice into the cup. Then I walk over and open the freezer it’s even louder than the refrigerator and intensifies the throbbing pain I reach in and carefully pull out ice pack catch up I put it in my lunchbox I open the refrigerator and pull out the baggie of bagels then I reach in and get the cream cheese. I try not to cringe my four head throbs with pain. I get a paper plate and a plastic knife. I put the bagel in the toaster and hold down the lever because the toaster is broken. As I stand there waiting the refrigerator sounds like it’s roaring like a truck, my forehead throbs it feels like someone is punching me. Finally the bagel ready is spread the cream cheese on the bagel and then reach into the drawer to get tinfoil. I try to tear of the tinfoil gently but it still makes it tearing crackling sound which causes more throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears. I put my bagel into my lunchbox and walk upstairs to get Mommy I need her to use the microwave to heat up my food because I can’t do it because it’s too loud. after I get Mommy I put on my Apple Watch I stand in my bedroom and wait I can hear the microwave from my room but at least from this distance it isn’t painful I wait until I hear the three beeps letting me know the microwave is done before I walk back downstairs. I turn on the sink water at a trickle and then dry my hands on a paper towel I shut my bedroom door and lay on my bed and do my eyes drops. Then go downstairs pick up my tray and walk back upstairs. As I eat my non and take my medicine my ear and temple still feel the sharp pain and my forehead and the side of my head above my ear still throb from all the noise this morning. Then I go into my bedroom put on my backpack grab my tray and walk downstairs. I walk to the kitchen the refrigerator is still on I try to set my tray down gently on the counter then I through away my paper plate and cups. I reach into the coat closet pull out my jacket and walk with my mother to the front door. As she opens the door The alarm system shouts “Front door“ causing intense throbbing on my forehead. As I step outside I can hear the noise of traffic from Columbia Road and 29 it causes throbbing pain on my forehead and the on the side of my head above my ears. I open the car door and tried to close it gently “your door didn’t close all the way my mom says“ I shut the door harder causing a loud boom which feels like I’m being punched in the forehead. My mother starts up the car right away the car starts beeping loudly causing sharp pain in my ear and temple, she puts on her seatbelt stopping the beeping. The car sounds like a waterfall The loud engine causes more throbbing pain on my forehead. We you drive off of April Journey and on to Columbia Road then on to another neighborhood. Luckily we haven’t encountered very many other cars yet as we haven’t gotten on the main road yet. My mother turns onto Route 108 actually we’ve been driving for about three minutes a School bus pulls up beside us it sounds like a power tool and adds to the throbbing pain on my forehead “I’m trying to get away from the bus but I can’t run the other cars over my mother says“. After we finally get away from the bus another car honks it’s horn causing more stabbing pain. We turn into the school parking lot and pull up to the school I check the time to make sure that I will have enough time to get settled into Mr. L’s room before the students start to arrive. I put on my backpack and my Sony headphones and opened the car door. I walked briskly to the school door. I hope someone comes to open the door soon. My four head throbs from the car engines and other outside noises. Mr. H opens the door, I walk down the hallway I can hear women talking and laughing loudly it worsens The throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears I try not to cringe. I set my backpack down on the floor and took out my iPad locker key and phone. I push the button on my locker and swipe the key in front of it. It makes a loud automated half beeping half crunching sound which causes both sharp pain in my temple and ear and throbbing on my forehead. I tried to wrestle my backpack into my locker. The zippers on my backpack are metal and clank against the locker walls this and sharp pain into my ear and temple. I walk into the storage closet and get my backpack then I unplug my Vizio and shut Mr. L’s door before the other kids start to arrive. I walk over and sit down at my desk carefully not to let the chair leg touch the desk leg and put my Vizio iPad cell phone and locker key into my backpack. The kids start to enter and they open the classroom door increasing the level of noise coming from the hallway. One of the students closes the door and they all sit down, someone's chair clangs against the desk creating sharp pain in my temple and ear. “All right everyone let’s circle up Mr. L says”. I turn my chair around carefully to face the circle. Mr. L goes over the agenda for the day and talks about some other events happening later in the week someone says something and then Dr. F and Mr. L start talking and laughing too loud . This causes more throbbing pain on my forehead and The side of my head above my ears. My watch vibrates silently on my wrist letting me know it’s time to go sit in BSI before the transition. I turned around my chair and pushed it in carefully then I took the handle on my backpack and tried to carefully roll up with the chairs so that it doesn’t make noise. I open the door and walk down the hallway. I can hear people talking loudly which causes throbbing pain on my forehead. I walk into Miss Y’s office and shut the door. I walk over to the volume control and turn it down to zero about two minutes later the bell rings even with the speaker on zero. I can hear it from the hallway but luckily it’s not as painful. A bunch of students and staff walked through the hallways talking and laughing very loudly. The throbbing pain on my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears increases, they do this for about three minutes. Then the second bell rings and people are still in the hallways talking loudly for about another minute. I wait for the hallways to clear then I walk down the hall to Mrs. LT room for Spanish class. I close the door carefully as I walk in the door squeaks sending sharp pain in my ear in Temple. I try to pull out my chair carefully so as not to hit the table. Eland O and Mr. G are already sitting at the table. I pull out my iPad and start working on the packet for this week. As I work I can hear the sounds of people talking loudly in the hallways. It is painful. Miss LT rummages around in her desk. It sounds like she’s banging it causes throbbing pain in my forehead and the sides of my head above my ear. I keep working on my iPad, luckily O and E have very quiet voices. I share my document with Mr. G then my watch vibrates letting me know it’s time for me to go. I put my stuff in my backpack and walked over to the door. I managed to open it without it squeaking I walked down the hallway to Mr. H’s office. I gently shut the door and then walk over and turn off his music then I set the announcement volume on zero. About a minute later the bell rings students and staff talk loudly in the hallways intensifying my pain. This continues for about three minutes then the bell rings, fortunately they settle down pretty quickly. I slowly open the door and walk down the hallway which is still painfully loud for me to Mrs. F’s room. I close the door gently so that it doesn’t make noise then I walk over to my desk and try to carefully pull out my chair. I take my Vizio out of my backpack and try to gently set it down on the table then I start working on my math worksheet. I can hear people talking loudly in the hallways, my forehead and the side of my head above my ears intensify the throbbing pain. About halfway through class Miss B comes in. Later my watch vibrates I try to quickly and quietly pack up my stuff I walk out the door and into the hallway to Miss Youngstrum’s room I go in and shut the door A few seconds later Miss B comes in. The bell rings and students and staff start talking loudly. Their voices cause more throbbing pain. The second bell rings but the hallways take a while to quiet down then Miss B and I walk to the double doors leading outside. Even though it’s loud outside it’s quieter to walk around the outside of the building then through the hallways. Someone started using a power tool which causes the throbbing pain on my forehead and The sides of my head above my ears to increase I run to try to get away from the noise. Miss B opens the door and I wait in the vestibule while Miss B asks people to be quiet because the students are talking very loudly in the hallways. Their voices are very painful and cause sharp pain on my temples and throbbing pain on my forehead. She’s finally able to get the students to quiet down for long enough for me to run to the room Mrs. B puts the quiet sign on the outside of the door and then closes it. I start reading braille but after about a few minutes the kids are shouting and there’s a lot of banging noises I cringe because the shouting and banging causes throbbing and stabbing pain in my ears, temples, forehead and the sides of my head above my ears it feels like I am being punched repeatedly with something sharp. Miss B goes out into the hallway to try to get the students and to staff quiet down. They quiet down slightly but then later on start shouting again, which intensifies my pain. I do some brailing on my brailler I try to push down on the keys gently but it still sounds sharp pains into my ear and temple. My watch vibrates letting me know it’s time to go. I start to pack up then Miss B walks outside to ask the students to quiet down so I can run to the vestibule. I walk with Miss B around the school building and back into Bridges. The kids are transitioning so I wait. People are talking loudly in the hallways, my head throbs. Finally the hallways begin to clear and I walk down the hallway to Miss LT’s room where there are still people talking loudly in the hallways which is painful for me. I open the door and step inside and gently close the door. I walk over to my desk and try to gently pull out my chair so that it doesn’t make noise. I take out my iPad and Visio and start working on my work. Some people are talking loudly in the hallways which makes my forehead throb with pain. Mr. H opens the door to bring in my snack. The door squeaks sending sharp pain through my ears and temples. I eat my snack and continue working on my work. I wish I could just put my head down and rest. I'm in so much pain from the daily noise so far today but I know I need to keep working on my work. The pain is starting to make me feel very tired and exhausted. My watch vibrates letting me know it’s time for me to go, I pack up my stuff and gently push my chair in I walked down the hallway into Mr. H’s office and turn off his music and make sure the announcement volume is set to zero. Then I shut the door, about two minutes later the bell rings and people start talking loudly during the transition. The pain now makes me feel weak and exhausted. Just three and a half more hours left until the pain would at least stop increasing about 3 1/2 hours I tell myself. The second bell rings I wait for the hallways to clear and then walk to Mr. L’s room. I tried to gently close the door behind me then I tried to carefully pull out my chair so as not to hit the desk. I pull out my iPad and start working on my work. Mr. L is explaining the assignment to the class. I put up my signal to remind him to lower his voice as he is speaking painfully loud. I work on my work. My head is throbbing with pain I can hear them watching a movie in Mrs. LT’s room. It is loud and causes more throbbing pain on the sides of my head above my ears. I can hear Miss L talking loudly through the wall as well. Finally my watch vibrates letting me know it’s time to go I pack up my iPad and try to gently push my chair in I walk down the hallway towards Miss Y’s office. I can hear the sound of someone walking with high heels on it sends sharp pains through my ears and temples. I walk to Miss Y’s office and turn down the volume on the speaker then I gently close the door. The bell rings and the hallways get even louder students and staff start talking loudly creating more throbbing pain on the side of my head above my ears and on my forehead. After about three minutes the halls begin to clear and the second bell rings I get my locker key and head into the hallway. I can hear staff talking loudly and someone else walking in heels which increases my pain. I press the button on my locker and swipe my card in front of it makes that loud half crunching have a beeping noise again causing sharp pain in my temple and ear and throbbing pain on my forehead. I open up my backpack and take out my lunchbox and then walk back into Miss Y’s office. I carefully pull out the chair and then gently unwrap the tinfoil on my bagel so it doesn’t make noise. I eat my lunch then the bell rings for sixth period. The halls get louder again as students and staff transition. Miss Y steps out and tries to quickly close the door behind her. The noise in the hallway only intensifies my pain. The second bell rings but I wait a while for the hallway to clear. I carry my lunchbox over to my locker press the button and swipe my key. Again the locker makes a loud Half crunching half beeping noise sending sharp pain into my temple and ear and throbbing pain on my forehead. I walk to Mr. C’s room for government class The hallways are noisy my head pulses with pain so I speed up and then try to quickly close the door as soon as get into Mr. C’s room. I try to carefully pull out my chair so that it doesn’t make noise when I sit down and take out my iPad to do my work A few minutes later some kids are making a lot of noise outside of Mr. C’s window which increases my pain Mrs. Ch tries to signal to them to quiet down. After a while my watch vibrates letting me know it is time for me to leave. I pack up my iPad and gently push my chair as I walk through the hallway into Miss Y’s office and gently close the door behind me. The bell rings about a minute later and the hallway gets loud again. My head throbs with pain finally the hallways begin to settle down and the second bell rings. I open the door and walk down the hallway to Miss LT’s room I try to gently close the door behind me but it still squeaks sending sharp pain through my ears and temples. My four head and temples ears and the sides of my head above my ears all hurt so badly I just want to put my head down and rest this pain is so tiring. I pull out my chair carefully and sit down. I take out my Vizio book and try to gently place it on the table I work on my work. The noise from the hallway continues to increase the throbbing pain on my four head and the sides of my head above my ears. I it hard for me to concentrate due to the pain caused by the other children talking at one time. Finally my watch vibrates letting me know that it’s time to pack up to go home. I plug in my Vizio book and take out my iPad locker key and phone from my backpack. I swiped my locker key in front of my locker and press the button again it makes the half beeping half crunches noise causing more sharp pain in my temples and ears and throbbing pain on my forehead I get the backpack from inside my locker and put my phone, iPad and locker key in there then I take my school backpack and put it in the storage closet. I go stand in the vestibule, my mother walks up to the door and I walk with her back to the car there’s a lot of buses with their engines going it is exacerbating the throbbing pain on my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears. I get in the car and shut the door boom the pain feels like a punch in my forehead and the area on the sides of my head above my ears. The pain from shutting the car door now is worse then when I did it this or ing because I am already in more pain from school and am even more sensitive. My mother starts up the car and we begin to drive out of the parking lot. The car seems even louder then this morning, luckily non of the other vehicles honk their horns. We pass by a large truck on the road which sends pulsing pain through my whole head. Finally we turn on to our neighborhood and pull into our driveway and I take off my sony headphones. I grab my backpack and open the car door then I close the car door and it makes a loud boom which feels like I am being punched on the sides of my head above my ears and my forehead, as I walk up to the front door I can hear the generators outside which cause me more pain. Once I get inside I hang up my coat careful not to let the hanger clang against the other hangers. Then I walk into the kitchen, the refrigerator is on which increases the throbbing pain on my forehead I put my lunch box on the counter put the ice pack in the freezer which makes the refrigerator noise louder. Next I throw away my plastic bags in the trash can and head upstairs. I go into the bathroom and carefully close the door after I use the toilet I open the door slowly press down the lever and run. It’s worse then earlier pain throbs through my whole head. I wait for the toilet to finish flushing then I go back in and wash my hands with the water trickling. I walk into my bedroom and climb into my closet. I get under the covers, lay down and close the door I lay in my closet under my covers, my ears, temples, forehead, and the sides of my head above my ears all merge into one large throbbing pain. I close my eyes and try to fall asleep. About 3 ½ hours later my mother opens my closet door “its time for you to get up so you can take your medicine and hydrate she says”. After she leaves I lay in my closet and drink water for about 5min My pain level before my nap was an 8 now it is about 7.75 then I get up and wash out the bathtub but I don’t rinse it or run the water because that makes noise. My mother brings my tray to the bottom of the steps and I take it the rest of the way up and eat dinner. After I finish eating I walk into my room and get my cell phone. I call my mother and tell her I am coming downstairs and ask her to turn everything off and ask daddy to be quiet. I pick up my try and walk downstairs I place the tray gently on the counter, the refrigerator is still on making my forehead throb. I throw away all of the paper plates and bowls and put the plastic silverware on the counter to be washed. I get my eyedrops and take them upstairs. Then I turn on the water at a trickle to wash my hands and then I go into my closet, lay down and do my eyedrops. I walk into the bathroom again gently take out my tooth brush and turn on the water trickling to brush my teeth. Then I use my facial cleansing water to wash my face so that I don’t have to deal with the water pressure. I go back into my closet and lay down for about 15min, then I reach into my closed pocket and do my other eye drop. I send daddy a text message telling him that the tub is clean and it's bath night. I walk into the guest bedroom because my bedroom is next to the bathroom so when daddy runs the water it is too loud in my bedroom. I sit on the bed in the guest bedroom while daddy runs my water my forehead and the sides of my head above my ears my temples and my ears all throb and hurt a lot from all of the noise of the day. I hear that the bath water has stopped running so I open the door to the guest bedroom and walk into the bathroom “thank you I say to daddy”. I gently close the bathroom door put on my shower cap and get into the tub. I wash off and then lay in the hot water for a few minutes, I can still feel the throbbing pain throughout my head and ears. I get out of the tub and put on my deodorant and night gown, then I open the bathroom door walk over to the bathtub and press the drain and run. The water makes a very loud noise as it drains out of the tub I try to gently close the bathroom door behind me my forehead throbs from the sound. I go into the guest bedroom and get seven milligrams of melatonin, despite how tired I am on school nights especially it is hard to sleep. I climb into my closet and call my mother to ask her to come and check me in. My mother comes upstairs and shuts me in the closet, I take my melatonin and then say my prayers I laid there for a while, my head hurts so badly, finally I
By Jemma Rosewater 4 years ago in Humans
