Have you ever tried to convince someone they can’t hear? My Sweet Al and I go ‘round and ‘round with his hearing situation. He believes he can hear just fine, but I’m here to tell you he can’t.
When we get together the kids say, “Make sure Daddy has his hearing aids so he will be a part of the evening.”
I ask them, “Do you know what it takes to get those hearing aids into his ears? It’s an arm-wrestling bout and a knockout fight every time.”
He says they hurt, too big, too loud. They fall out when he takes off his glasses. I think it’s a way to check out. I’ve heard every excuse. It doesn’t bother him that he can’t hear, but it bothers me.
In 2014, I noticed I couldn’t hear and was missing out on important conversations. I’ve been around people who can’t hear. They sit there grinning like Cheshire cats, nodding their heads and pretending they hear. Everyone has to repeat everything, and talk louder and louder.
I said, “I’m not going to do this to everyone.”
I took tests, bought a pair of good hearing aids and had no problem.
My daughter said, “I’m buying hearing aids for me and I’ll take Daddy and get him some too.”
So, she did. She made an appointment in Albuquerque and took him. They tested his ears. He needed them and we purchased them.
That should’ve taken care of the problem. It didn’t. From the beginning, Al said they didn’t fit and he refused to wear them. She recently ordered another pair for her dad and we are waiting for them to be delivered.
Meanwhile, we had a relative from the East Coast over for dinner. He came with our children to our home. We hadn’t seen him for over 28 years and were thrilled to see him again.
We welcomed him and asked him about his flight.
“I can’t hear.” He shook his head.
“Nothing?”
He shook his head no.
I thought to myself, “Oh me, this is going to be a long evening.”
He pulled a box from his pocket and showed us some cheap hearing aids he bought from a televisions ad. These hearing aids fell out of his ears and wouldn’t keep a charge. He was in a dilemma and didn’t know what to do.
During the evening meal, most of the conversation continued at one end of the table, leaving our guest out of the fun and laughter. I said I had an old pair I bought 10 years ago.
“There’s nothing wrong with them, I just replaced them last year. Let me get them, they take batteries and I still have extra batteries. No problem with charging them.”
I put in new batteries and he tried them on.
“Can you hear?”
“Not really.”
That evening the children had asked me to make sure Daddy had his hearing aids on. After back and forth and some strong convincing, Al was wearing his.
Knowing Al had new ones coming, I said to him, “Take your hearing aids out.”
Shocked and with no response, Al sat there refusing to move.
I said to him, “You said you could hear. You didn’t need hearing aids.”
“I don’t.”
“Let me have them.” I took them from him, cleaned them and handed them to our guest. “Try these on.”
Our guest put them in his ears.
I said, “Can you hear?”
He nodded his head, “They’re too loud. I can hear myself.”
Our daughter jumped up. “They’re just like mine, I know how to adjust them.” She fixed them.
“These are not cheap. You’ll need to charge them every night.”
“Oh, I will.”
“Are they comfortable? Do they feel like they will fall out?” I asked.
“No. They fit perfectly. I can hear fine.” He smiled, enjoyed the rest of the evening, and interacted with everyone.
The conversation, with a lot of laughter as to what just happened, shifted back to the end of the table where our guest was. My poor Al sat there baffled and wondering what just happened.
Our other daughter said to our guest, “Welcome to the family. You are a part of us now.”
The next morning, Al said, “You gave away my hearing aids.”
“Don’t worry, he needed them and you said you could hear just fine.”
Final brushstroke: Our guest needed hearing aids more than my Sweet Al thought he did. Al’s hearing aids are in the ears of a new family member and on a flight back to the East Coast.
Sometimes you have to lose it before you know that you need it. Welcome to the family.
Send your comment to bettyslade.author@gmail.com.
Views expressed do not necessarily represent those of The SUN.
