The month of February is always rife with cheesy advertisements, whether for the SuperBowl or reminders about Valentine’s Day. I don’t particularly care for the SuperBowl; I’m of the opinion that the halftime show is always weirdly interrupted by a football game! And, when speaking of Valentine’s day, I’ve always considered it to be more of a commercial holiday than an actual barometer of how someone actually feels about me. That being said, I’ll never refuse a box of chocolates…
In the spirit of Valentine’s day, let’s talk love for a moment! Living with hearing loss means you become a master decoder of cryptic messages- you’re almost certain to have heard something other than what was said at least a few times a day (I’m totally downplaying how much this happens!). I, for one, always hear “Olive Juice” in place of I love you! Before you call me crazy (and I don’t care if you do), say it out loud a few times…. do you hear it now?! Hearing Loss is a trip sometimes (okay, most of the time)… and if you haven’t already figured it out, I love finding the humour in it! Growing up absolutely hating olives (not to mention the brine they are in), I’m certain ‘olive juice’ is one of the top 5 ways to ruin such a beautifully intended message .
Say what you will, but hearing ‘olive juice’ makes me smile every time I mishear those precious three little words! I should probably mention that the imagery in my head is that of a martini… which to me is the only acceptable olive juice! You’d think someone telling me ‘I love you’ would be the reason for the grin…and it is…partially… Remember, when I hear those words, the context is usually what clues me in (one day someone will actually be talking about olive juice, lol) and so forgive me if my brain takes an extra moment to process…
‘Olive juice’ is such a practical and hilarious example of a syllable perception epic fail (for my LSL friends) and what it means to live with hearing loss! It’s also a wonderful case in point for why it’s so important that we share stories and demystify hearing loss, listening and assistive listening devices. We must continuously talk about the challenges that exists everyday for those who are Deaf or Hard of Hearing despite having good access via hearing aids, Cochlear Implants or Bone-Anchored Hearing Aids (and those who are typically hearing who also mishear -and more often than they’d care to admit!).
So, as we head into the week ahead, let me be the first to kick off the Valentine’s day celebrations by saying:
OLIVE JUICE!
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