hearing aid Hear
hear!

November 6, 2025 -- I'm old now. My body systems' capacities dwindle. My cronies and I complain but mostly we stumble forward, making adjustments when we can and making do when we can't.

One such adjustment is hearing aids. I finally heeded my GF's admonishments of my frequent "Whaaat?"

The hearing aid guy said to expect it to take two weeks to a month to get used to them and some people find it unpleasant. For me it was nothing of the sort. My immediate reaction was, "All these sounds have been going on around me the whole time?" And I've loved them from day one.

A 2024 literature review in PubMed, Toward Alleviating the Stigma of Hearing Aids: A Review, observes, "...stigma continues to be a major barrier for many... a complex, multifaceted issue driven primarily by ageism, disability perception, and the association of hearing aids with aging and incapability." Indeed it was for me. When I've seen an old guy with machines stuck in his ears I've thought, oh, an old guy with machines stuck in his ears. Now I'm him.

The article goes on:

Hearing loss may be the world's largest health crisis that many fail to notice, care about, or mention. According to the World Health Organization [in World Report on Hearing (2021)], a staggering 1.5 billion people globally suffer from some type of hearing loss (=20 dB elevated hearing thresholds at audible sound frequencies).

But all these whispers, hisses, crackles, fizzes, snaps and zings! Who knew? It's a miracle! Hurray for modern technology!