Need an idea for Holiday Gift or Anniversary Present? See what one couple did!

By Liane Kupferberg Carter December 18 at 8:00 AM (Washington Post)

My husband, Marc, and I celebrated our 35th anniversary this year. Did we mark the milestone by scuba diving off the Great Barrier Reef? Zip-lining through the rain forest in Costa Rica? Rafting the Colorado River?

Nope, nope and nope.

We got His and Hers hearing aids.

I’m 62; he’s 64. Our lifelong love of rock concerts, cranked-up stereos and bass-heavy boomboxes has taken its toll. For the past year we’ve been having too many Emily Litella moments. Recently we were driving past a row of new houses when Marc said, “Look at all the silver towels.”

I craned my head. “What?” He pointed. “Right there.”

I looked for laundry flapping in the breeze. “Where?”

“There.”

“WHERE?”

Annoyed, he waved at the roofs. “Right there!” he shouted. “Don’t you see the solar panels?”

Oh. Never mind.

Hearing aids are now a boon to us both at work. Conference calls and meetings are easier to navigate and less fatiguing.

Ambient noise in restaurants has become less challenging. While our dinner companions whip out smartphones to show off photos of new grandkids, we discreetly pull out our iPhones to adjust for voice direction, noise reduction and wind rustle.

Hearing aids aren’t perfect. As good as they are, they can’t fully replace what you’ve lost. We still have  moments. Even though I know Creedence Clearwater Revival is singing, “There’s a bad moon on the rise,” lately it sounds suspiciously like “There’s a bathroom on the right.”

Or maybe it just indicates a whole different problem.

Noise and Football Season

When announcers and scoreboards at football stadiums say "MAKE SOME NOISE!" be careful.  Stadiums have become so loud that hearing may be damaged in as little as fifteen minutes.  Efforts to rev up fan excitement have included enhanced sound effects and loud music at some arenas.  Be careful.  Use disposable ear plugs when needed and protect yourself!

Hearing Aids Can Be a Life Changer

Matthew Solan, executive editor of Harvard Men's Health Watch, states on 11/25/16 that 1/3 of men age 65 could benefit from hearing aids.

Chalk one up for exasperated women everywhere. Odds are the older men in their lives actually don’t hear them and need a hearing aid. Some estimates suggest that by age 65, about one-third of men need hearing aids. However, only half of this group wears them.

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... reducing listening effort, by use of appropriate amplification, has been shown to support cognitive function.  

Fact...

The NIDCD (National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders) states that about 2% of all adults ages 45 to 54 have disabling hearing loss.  The rate rises to 8.5% for adults 55 to 64.  Between ages 65 and 74, the rate is approximately 25%.  After age 75 the rate rises to 50%.