Losing one’s hearing is one of the few physical limitations that will frustrate others around you to the point that you can feel admonished for it.
I’m losing my hearing to the point where I’ve been advised to get and I’m considering buying hearing aids. I tried some on the other day and the difference is remarkable. People suddenly stop mumbling and I can hear ambient noise that I haven’t noticed in years. My world has started to become more and more silent so I went for a test and it’s as plain as the ears on my head that years of headphone use are taking their toll. I really hoped the audiologist would find a small land mammal in my ear canal to explain the sudden drop in volume but there was no mammal, no earwax, no other explanation except that I’ve damaged my hearing over the years.
Hearing aids are expensive. The government gives patients a grant of $500 per ear toward aids which sounds amazing until you start to explore prices. Hearing aids are tiny little things anymore, too. Gone are the days when the only choice was a bulbous pink thing that looked like a ball of Silly Putty in the ear. These days they’re barely noticeable but even if they weren’t I have no vanity issues with wearing them. It’s a matter of swallowing the obviously inflated price one has to pay.
I’m tired of asking people to repeat themselves and I can tell some of them are tired too. I’m annoyed that characters on TV shows have suddenly started to mumble. And I’m already fed up with anyone who gets impatient over my reduced ability to hear. I know people who have worn aids since they were young but I don’t know anyone who wears them while on the air. That’s a bit of an unknown, although the audiologists assure me there is no feedback or other technical issue to worry about. Now if I can only keep myself from fainting every time I look at the price lists, I’ll be all set.