Re: Bluetooth thingy

[chasbo@xxxxxxxxx]

On Sun, 29 Dec 2013 14:53:14 -0500, "ABLE1" <nospamhere@xxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:

>
><chasbo@xxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
>
>> Thanks for the responses.  My wife is getting fed up with my "What did
>> you say?"  I can hear her, but because the eardrums don't vibrate as
>> well when they were younger, high frequencies are inaudible unless I
>> put my ear on some keypads. Keypads with adjustible tones I lower to a
>> frequency I can hear when near the pad, but if I'm in another room,
>> forget it! Cupping my ear(s) brings in more sound, making the vowels
>> and consonants much clearer.
>
>chasbo,
>
>You will never, I repeat NEVER get your wife or any wife to understand the
>problem.  I have been living with mine for 37 years and believe me when I
>say it is ALWAYS your fault.
>
>Even when I try to explain that "I heard you!! I just did not UNDERSTAND
>you."  Understanding is the real key.
>
>The sense of hearing is a miraculous thing.  You really do not appreciate it
>until it starts or no longer works.  Sometimes it takes long time to realize
>it is getting bad.  For me and it sounds like (no pun intended) that you
>have similar loss, it is in the audible speech range that you do not hear
>all the frequencies.  When the highs are chopped off the words sound like
>mush.
>
>Things like E B C D G all sound the same.  There, care, stare, bear, bare
>all sound alike but mean totally different things.  In a conversation I am
>always trying to figure out what word or words were used a sentence ago and
>sometime I will answer a question totally wrong as a result.  When that
>happens I get a strange look for who ever I am talking to and then have to
>say, can we start over and slower because I think I missed something
>important.  And that is with the aids installed.
>
>Little kids are the worst, especially girls.  I have learned with them that
>if I don't get it the second time it is not going to happen.  Getting them
>to lower their voice and speak slower is not something that is possible for
>them.
>
>On a serious note.  Hearing aids do help.  Don't let the sales person tell
>you otherwise, they are not perfect.  Every individual is different and some
>will do great with them.  I am better because I have them but I know the
>limitations and work with it.
>
>The sad part is to get them to be a good as they can be serious dollars need
>to be spent.  My first set cost me $2,500 and were expected to last 5 years.
>I pushed it to 10 years.  The second set $5,000 and just starting my second
>year with them.  I can say that the latest are much better than the first.
>
>For those reading this I hope that I have answered some of the questions and
>cleared up some of the concerns even though you were not asking.  If you
>need them, get them.
>
>For the younger crowd(if there are any here) take care of your ears.  My
>time of little guns, very big guns, loud cars, model airplanes, and 22 years
>of working in loud manufacturing all with out any hearing protection
>delivered what I have today.  Can't go back and fix it.
>
>Have a Happy New Year.
>
>Les
>


I hear you (pun intended)!

I've steered clear of hearing aids, mostly due to the high cost, and
the fear of losing/damaging one or both. To me it seems that the
hearing aid industry is ripping off the older folks; whether the
criticism is justified, it's just how I feel.  I'm familiar with
amplifiers, printed circuits, chips, speakers, and all that stuff; as
a teenager and into my 20's I bought, built, and operated sound
equipment, etc. for recording, record hops, back in the mid 1950's.  I
know that the material cost of building small amplifiers today can be
fairly inexpensive, so when I compare the cost of a small amplifier
with the going rates for hearing aids, I question the honesty of the
industry.  I have never been able to reconcile the high cost for such
a small device.