Hmmmm . . . To Purchase a Hearing Aid or Not?

By Paul Briand

Editor: Yet another boomer considering taking the plunge and purchasing a hearing aid. Paul discusses the problem of declining hearing, the personal battle he's fighting to finally do something about it, and what sort of solution he might find acceptable.

This article is reprinted with permission from Seacoast Media Group at www.seacoastonline.com and the column's writer Paul Briand at www.boomerangst.com.

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I did something recently that I've resisted doing for a long time - I took a look at a hearing aid.

But that's all I did - I looked at an advertisement, then I looked at the information on the product's Web site, and I copied down the address and telephone number of the local audiology center that sells the product. But I haven't made an appointment, and I don't know if and when I will.

My hesitation speaks to an issue that I and a boatload of boomers face these days: We have minor physical breakdowns that need to be addressed, but we won't break down to actually do something about them. Our infallibility of youth remains in middle age, though we know full well how fallible we are.

I was told more than a year ago at my annual physical that I had some hearing loss, particularly in the tonal range in which a lot of women speak. I'm serious. It's what the doc said, giving me every excuse - though it's not an excuse - to tune out the chattering of the women in my life.

Clarity also gets lost in the forest of background noises. A certain pitch of a voice at a certain volume level, and the sound is lost to my ears. My wife, Jane, is a low talker, so combine her low talking with my need to have the television or stereo volume pretty high and you can imagine how many "what did you says" and raised voices we exchange with each other.

I think it is one reason why I tend to amp up my own voice - which is loud enough already - at meetings and gatherings. Since I have trouble hearing others, I'm subconsciously compelled to raise my own voice to be heard. I am anything but a low talker.

But slowly - oh so slowly - I'm breaking down my resistance to the notion that my hearing has broken down to the point where I should start thinking about some help. Getting lost in a crowd of conversation is not much fun. I'm not alone. AARP reports more people age 45 to 64 (about 10 million of us) have hearing loss than there are people over 65 (9 million) with hearing loss.

Unfortunately, we break down physically and it becomes most evident in our middle age. A brother-in-law and I were reminiscing over the July 4 holiday about how we'd bash a tennis ball across the net at each other. We don't do that anymore - too many back and knee issues.

It used to be that my lack of distance vision could be corrected with a single prescription for glasses and contact lenses. But middle age brought on the need for help with reading. So now I wear one contact prescribed for distance and one contact prescribed for reading. It was kind of weird at first but I've gotten used to it. I work now in a two-story building, and I'm up and down the stairs all the time, and my left knee reminds me with every step that years of running and skiing have taken their toll.

It's interesting that the ad I read wasn't for a hearing aid. It was for a personal communication assistant called an Audeo that has a very innovative design and comes in a variety of colors. That phrase - personal communication assistant - makes me think of someone who might sit next to me at a meeting, say, and speak directly into my ear those words that I can't quite make out. But it's just a high-tech, highly marketable name for hearing aid. And I'm thinking about it.

And that's what it'll take for us boomers to break down for something like a hearing aid. We don't want something that might hint at age and/or obsolescence. We want something that's cool to have, like the latest techie gadget. It'll have to not only improve my hearing but improve my social status. It'll have to improve my hearing and help me lose 20 pounds.

OK, so some breakdowns are just irreversible.