I have a hearing loss and a
constant ringing in my ears
that, unless some medical
miracle happens, I'll suffer
from these impairments
forever.
Which word in the sentence is
an adverb?
O unless
O forever
O hearing
O miracle
by Julia Casey
1 I'm a normal high school kid that is, I like listening to music. Until about a year ag
I always liked listening to it loud. Loud enough that it filled up my head and pulsed
through my body, so the boundary between me and the music disappeared. I've listenem
to countless hours of music-vibrant music pouring into my ears from headphones,
washing over me from car speakers, or blasting at me from gigantic speakers at
concerts.
2 But there's something about me that makes me not so normal. I have a hearing loss
and a constant ringing in my ears that, unless some medical miracle happens, I'll suffer
from these impairments forever. My ear problems are so severe that I feel I need to
warn you: You have to protect your hearing as much as you can.
3 I'll tell you about my own experience, and I'll give you some scientific information.
4 1 convinced my parents to get me a music device with headphones when I was eleven.
When I was fifteen, I started going to concerts at indoor arenas and large amphitheaters.
At the big concerts, you could always find me next to the speakers. A year later I was
also going to all-ages shows at clubs-and you know where I'd park myself. After a
concert or a club gig, I'd occasionally notice ringing in my ears afterward. But by the
next day it would be gone. Yet that post-event ringing gradually got louder and louder,
and it took longer and longer to disappear. Then one day last year I realized that the
ringing was 24/7, except when I was asleep. I also had to face the fact that, more and
more often, I was asking. "What did you say?" in conversations.
5 My parents took me to a hearing specialist. The diagnosis was pretty straightforward:
In both cars, I'd lost some hearing at one range and a lot of hearing at another. The