A Symphony of Sounds

 I was walking to my car this morning, and noticed a symphony of sounds. My new shoes had been squeaking incessantly ever since I bought them, despite two applications of baby powder. However, their sound was nearly drowned out by the other sounds I was making.

The back brim of my sunhat was brushing against my corduroy jacket, creating a loud, rhythmic, otherwise indescribable sound. Since it involved my hat, which was on my head, the sound reverberated into my ears through my skull; that’s why it was so loud.

I was carrying a plastic clamshell containing mini-cupcakes, and the edges of the clamshell created a rhythmic squeaking when they rubbed together with the motion of my walking. The squeaks may have been amplified by the shape of the container; they were also quite loud.

Then I thought about the other sounds they were competing against – a faint whisper of wind, children’s laughter, engine noises, the miscellaneous sounds of city life.

The sounds of outdoors are very different from the sounds inside my home – the sounds of a heater, refrigerator, plumbing. When I’m not playing music or the TV, I can hear my own personal, internally produced noise – tinnitus. For the last few years, I have been hearing a persistent hissing, staticky noise, mostly in my right ear. I had it checked out by my ear doctor, and alternately try to ignore it and feel grateful that it’s white noise rather than a musical tone, which I’d find nearly impossible to ignore.

That’s the soundscape I’m living in today. Could be a lot worse.