An Interesting Visit to the Dentist

I was not looking forward going to the dentist today. I needed to go for only a cleaning, but remembered my first visit with T. I tried to explain to the dental hygienist at the time that I only wanted a manual cleaning. She seemed confused by what I told her—that I had to be careful with sound because of T. I explained as best I could but she still seemed a bit put off. She gave me a manual cleaning that day, but she complained about it some.

The dentist dealt with my explanation even worse. I asked him if he could use the time drilling, time off method because I needed a cavity filled and other dental work. He shook his head no and mumbled something.

Fast forward to today and my dental cleaning with the hygienist. She looked at my chart as I tell her I only want a manual cleaning. I was ready for some more displeasure from her, but she said she had to tell me something.

She explains she just got off the phone with her sister who was just diagnosed with T and is suicidal. She asks me for advice and said can we talk about this for just 10 minutes and then do the cleaning. I said sure and gave her a good explanation of T, what causes it, and how to deal with it. I explained that the new T sufferer will need to find a way to sleep and will need some time to adjust to the new sound. I gave her tips and recommendations and she quickly wrote everything down.

During the cleaning she was very thoughtful, asking if she could do this or that. She thanked me, and I told her she could call me at home if she needs advice for her sister. It’s funny how things go sometimes.

 

That's pretty awesome, Patty. Just goes to show how differently people respond to things when a personal stake in the matter changes the way they think about it!

 

That's exatly why we need more awareness! As good as all non-T people think T is just a lil sound that you can only perceive when being in a total silent room. They do NOT know about debilitating T let alone H. That's why they treat us like crazy people. And that's so sad. The next person telling me to see a psychiatrist gets punched in the face!