Inside My Car

People usually say that deaf people must miss out on music, birds chirping, etc. How about car noises?

I took my car to Jiffy Lube several weeks ago and they told me the serpentine belt needed to be replaced. A sign on the inside had said "Got Squealing? Replace Your Serpentine Belt!" and I knew my car had been squealing, so I let them replace it.

Unfortunately, that didn't stop the squealing. But I didn't realize this, because it was very high-pitched, and I can't hear high noises. I thought there might be something, but I didn't take it too seriously. I drove this way for a couple of weeks...maybe hearing something, but maybe not. Tinnitus is a common occurrence with high-frequency hearing loss, so for all I knew that's what it was. Strange tinnitus that coincided with making turns while driving, but soft enough that I just wasn't sure if it was real. A couple of days ago, the squeal got intense. Very loud. And I knew it was real, and I had to take it back to Jiffy Lube. Which I did today, and they tightened it up for free, and I was on my way.

But have you ever thought about how often you know something is wrong with your car because you hear it? Something knocks, something squeals, something rumbles. I'm hard of hearing, and I can usually hear car noises. But this drove home the point that I can't hear all of them, and I know a great many people who can't hear any at all. Sure, a deaf person will notice a funny vibration more quickly than a hearing person will, but so much is auditory when it comes to car mechanics.