If you forgot to get me a card, well, that’s quite alright. But I am a bit of a poster child for hearing loss.
I’m not embarrassed to tell someone that I wear hearing aids. And they are only aids – they don’t make my hearing perfect and I sometimes still have trouble catching bits of conversations. But they’ve changed my life. The first time they allowed me to hear a bird I just about cried. My world had become quite silent.
Coupled with my amazing Bose headphones (a gift from my dear friend Eric) I am able to get pretty close to picky hearing in my recording studio. But International Hearing Day reminds us that once hearing loss is gone, it doesn’t come back. I tell students that I wear aids because hearing devices are still associated with the elderly. I want them to know that if they don’t keep the music or their own voices at a reasonable level, they’re going to end up with poor hearing too. The popularity of ear buds among that generation is a concern.
Awkward at first, my little undetectable hearing aids are now imbedded in my daily routine. The technology is incredible. I can take phone calls and watch TV through them, thanks to a cord and a little remote. But if it’s not too late, be aware and careful about your hearing, won’t you? The world is supposed to be a noisy place and if it doesn’t seem that way to you, maybe it’s time to go for a hearing test, just to be sure.
If you could only see what I hear some days. With the loss of my sight I’ve become very aware of the value of hearing and how much we take it for granted and ignore the sounds around us. Images can be imagined through the power of the mind, sounds not so much.