Shoes and Ships and Sealing Wax

Longtime readers of this journal may recall this post wherein I detailed the joy of having my ears unplugged. Well, today I had my physical, and a year of near-deafness has ended (again). To give you an idea of just how plugged up my ears were, let's try a few before and afters:

Before:
This doctor's office is nice and quiet.

After:
Wow, I can hear the air conditioner, and it's howling.

Before:
Driving is fun.

After:
I almost have to pull over because the sound of the engine and the tires rubbing against the road is too much for me. The click of the turn signal is too loud to bear.

Before:
My coat rustles.

After:
The crackling of my coat is like unto the billowing of a sail or the flapping of a flag.