Fic: Listen [1/?]
Media: Fic
Title: Listen
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if any): Nope.
Warnings (if any): Nahh.
Word Count:1,024
Summary: Kurt's suffering from bilateral hearing loss, and it's progressing to a possible danger zone. If that weren't scary enough, he has yet to tell any one of his friends.; AU; Eventual Klaine
beta:dreamerofmonday
"I'm sorry Mr. Hummel, but there isn't much we can do."
"You're a doctor, shouldn't you be able to at least try to give us some optimistic news?" Burt asked, frustrated, from his seat before the doctor’s desk.
"All I can say is, we have to wait it out. Bilateral hearing loss isn't the worse that can happen to a person. Really, we just need this month of wait time before the next test, to test his other ear. It's important to preserve that one most, because while the right ear is steadily losing decibels, the left has had no sudden shift towards hearing loss. That's the only optimistic news I can give you. It'd be far too much of a risk to perform a cochlear implant surgery on the right ear. It'd honestly be a waste of time and money."
Kurt's face was as white as snow; he shakily raised his hand towards his right ear and caressed its outer shell. It didn't feel any different, so why was this happening to him?
He swallowed audibly, and shunted the tears behind his eyes, to ask his most important question.
"W-will this affect my singing?"
The doctor stared at him for a moment, his brown eyes shifting, before his mouth formed the grim line of a frown.
"It's a possibility, Mr. Hummel, some people don't realize how much hearing loss can affect a person. The sudden shift in loss of certain undertones, can possibly affect your ability to garner singing levels. However, that can be handled with additional lessons, I'm sure. If you have an observant person on hand, to point out your moments of inability to find the tone or key, whichever, you're supposed to be singing at, you'll adjust. It's almost like learning to walk again, except with hearing. You need to adjust to these new sensations. Bilateral hearing loss is a fickle thing. There's a possibility it could affect your balance, and cause you to have sudden fits of loss of equilibrium."
"I didn't realize it could be so… life-changing," Burt muttered, he couldn't believe how life continued to work against his son. It just didn't make sense, couldn't the kid catch a break?
"Honestly, this month will show us how the hearing loss may affect your son, if he weren't a singer, I'd recommend you focus on his social interactions most. Hearing is a sensation many people take for granted, like seeing. It's a gift we have, that most people don't realize is important. It affects everything we do, and with that, the loss of it affects everything we do."
Kurt's throat felt as if he'd lose the ability to breathe soon too, the air in this room felt stiff and suffocating. He didn't know how he'd be able to handle this new development.
His life was getting so much better. He'd just tied at Regionals with not just his new friends at Dalton, but his family, New Directions. Why couldn't he revel in his victories, just once? When would he get his chance to relax? When would fate deem it that he had lived through enough to be given a reprieve?
Tears of frustration leaked through, his eyes burned with the sensation of those tears. Burt pulled his son closer, to wrap him in a warm hug.
"I'm so sorry, to be delivering this new so bluntly." Doctor Hine’s voice sounded apologetic, but his voice fell upon deaf ears. Kurt and his father were in their own world of grief, trying to come to terms with this new ordeal.
The doctor left the room, muttering his need to retrieve their paperwork before they leave.
Burt's bloodshot eyes connected with his son’s as they both sat up.
"You realize we have to tell Carole and Finn?"
Kurt just looked down at his hands; he had no answer for an outcome that was inevitable.
"And your friends Kurt."
Kurt's head shot up, "I don't know if I'm ready for that part yet Dad. What if the Warblers kick me out? There's a large possibility I could affect their ability to harmonize."
"Then they're not true friends, no matter what, we'll be able to work this out, but in order for this month’s observation to go well I can't just have the teachers watching out for you. Those students will be able to notice changes either way. I'll leave the Warblers up to you to tell, but, Kurt, this isn't something to mess around with."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Kurt bit out harshly. He was scuffing his eyes with the edge of his blazer. They had come straight from Dalton for this appointment in the city, and Kurt wished he had never left.
"It was just supposed to be a yearly check-up, Dad, I was fine last year. The hearing loss hadn't increased at all!"
"Have you been using your iPod, despite the many times I've said you shouldn't? I don't know why I let you keep it after your doctors explicitly said you shouldn't!" his father growled angrily, obviously prepared to blame himself for his child's pain.
"No dad," Kurt mumbled. It was true, he hadn't been using his iPod as much as he use to. That didn't mean he had followed most of the other rules his doctors had set forth, however.
He was born with a distinct loss of hearing in his right ear, or, at least, that's what Doctor Hine's theorized. His family didn't know of it until he was 10, and had to do one of those silly school hearing tests.
Half the decibels of his right ear were nonexistent; he couldn't hear a thing below a certain pitch. It never seemed obvious to Kurt until he went for his hearing exam, which had been instated to once a year after the loss of decimals was discovered.
He had thought this year's test would be the same as the others; boring, frustrating, and a waste of time. Instead, he had gotten the shock of his life.
He, Kurt Hummel, had bilateral hearing loss, and if he wasn't careful he could lose all of his hearing.
TBC.
Comments are much appreciated!
Notes: I do suffer from bilateral hearing loss, so I have tried to take my own experience and translate it into this fanfiction. Of course, Kurt's is to a tad more extreme than myself.
It's not in this part, but soon enough you'll see, I've written Kurt as a boarder at Dalton.
My beta, dreamerofmonday , is also an awesome author! You can check out her fabulous Klaine here and at fanfiction.net under the username of tocarveloveronherarms. She's super awesome. :D Part Two
Title: Listen
Rating: PG
Spoilers (if any): Nope.
Warnings (if any): Nahh.
Word Count:1,024
Summary: Kurt's suffering from bilateral hearing loss, and it's progressing to a possible danger zone. If that weren't scary enough, he has yet to tell any one of his friends.; AU; Eventual Klaine
beta:dreamerofmonday
"I'm sorry Mr. Hummel, but there isn't much we can do."
"You're a doctor, shouldn't you be able to at least try to give us some optimistic news?" Burt asked, frustrated, from his seat before the doctor’s desk.
"All I can say is, we have to wait it out. Bilateral hearing loss isn't the worse that can happen to a person. Really, we just need this month of wait time before the next test, to test his other ear. It's important to preserve that one most, because while the right ear is steadily losing decibels, the left has had no sudden shift towards hearing loss. That's the only optimistic news I can give you. It'd be far too much of a risk to perform a cochlear implant surgery on the right ear. It'd honestly be a waste of time and money."
Kurt's face was as white as snow; he shakily raised his hand towards his right ear and caressed its outer shell. It didn't feel any different, so why was this happening to him?
He swallowed audibly, and shunted the tears behind his eyes, to ask his most important question.
"W-will this affect my singing?"
The doctor stared at him for a moment, his brown eyes shifting, before his mouth formed the grim line of a frown.
"It's a possibility, Mr. Hummel, some people don't realize how much hearing loss can affect a person. The sudden shift in loss of certain undertones, can possibly affect your ability to garner singing levels. However, that can be handled with additional lessons, I'm sure. If you have an observant person on hand, to point out your moments of inability to find the tone or key, whichever, you're supposed to be singing at, you'll adjust. It's almost like learning to walk again, except with hearing. You need to adjust to these new sensations. Bilateral hearing loss is a fickle thing. There's a possibility it could affect your balance, and cause you to have sudden fits of loss of equilibrium."
"I didn't realize it could be so… life-changing," Burt muttered, he couldn't believe how life continued to work against his son. It just didn't make sense, couldn't the kid catch a break?
"Honestly, this month will show us how the hearing loss may affect your son, if he weren't a singer, I'd recommend you focus on his social interactions most. Hearing is a sensation many people take for granted, like seeing. It's a gift we have, that most people don't realize is important. It affects everything we do, and with that, the loss of it affects everything we do."
Kurt's throat felt as if he'd lose the ability to breathe soon too, the air in this room felt stiff and suffocating. He didn't know how he'd be able to handle this new development.
His life was getting so much better. He'd just tied at Regionals with not just his new friends at Dalton, but his family, New Directions. Why couldn't he revel in his victories, just once? When would he get his chance to relax? When would fate deem it that he had lived through enough to be given a reprieve?
Tears of frustration leaked through, his eyes burned with the sensation of those tears. Burt pulled his son closer, to wrap him in a warm hug.
"I'm so sorry, to be delivering this new so bluntly." Doctor Hine’s voice sounded apologetic, but his voice fell upon deaf ears. Kurt and his father were in their own world of grief, trying to come to terms with this new ordeal.
The doctor left the room, muttering his need to retrieve their paperwork before they leave.
Burt's bloodshot eyes connected with his son’s as they both sat up.
"You realize we have to tell Carole and Finn?"
Kurt just looked down at his hands; he had no answer for an outcome that was inevitable.
"And your friends Kurt."
Kurt's head shot up, "I don't know if I'm ready for that part yet Dad. What if the Warblers kick me out? There's a large possibility I could affect their ability to harmonize."
"Then they're not true friends, no matter what, we'll be able to work this out, but in order for this month’s observation to go well I can't just have the teachers watching out for you. Those students will be able to notice changes either way. I'll leave the Warblers up to you to tell, but, Kurt, this isn't something to mess around with."
"Don't you think I know that?!" Kurt bit out harshly. He was scuffing his eyes with the edge of his blazer. They had come straight from Dalton for this appointment in the city, and Kurt wished he had never left.
"It was just supposed to be a yearly check-up, Dad, I was fine last year. The hearing loss hadn't increased at all!"
"Have you been using your iPod, despite the many times I've said you shouldn't? I don't know why I let you keep it after your doctors explicitly said you shouldn't!" his father growled angrily, obviously prepared to blame himself for his child's pain.
"No dad," Kurt mumbled. It was true, he hadn't been using his iPod as much as he use to. That didn't mean he had followed most of the other rules his doctors had set forth, however.
He was born with a distinct loss of hearing in his right ear, or, at least, that's what Doctor Hine's theorized. His family didn't know of it until he was 10, and had to do one of those silly school hearing tests.
Half the decibels of his right ear were nonexistent; he couldn't hear a thing below a certain pitch. It never seemed obvious to Kurt until he went for his hearing exam, which had been instated to once a year after the loss of decimals was discovered.
He had thought this year's test would be the same as the others; boring, frustrating, and a waste of time. Instead, he had gotten the shock of his life.
He, Kurt Hummel, had bilateral hearing loss, and if he wasn't careful he could lose all of his hearing.
TBC.
Comments are much appreciated!
Notes: I do suffer from bilateral hearing loss, so I have tried to take my own experience and translate it into this fanfiction. Of course, Kurt's is to a tad more extreme than myself.
It's not in this part, but soon enough you'll see, I've written Kurt as a boarder at Dalton.
My beta, dreamerofmonday , is also an awesome author! You can check out her fabulous Klaine here and at fanfiction.net under the username of tocarveloveronherarms. She's super awesome. :D Part Two