I went into it expecting to be told that, maybe, I was borderline in one ear and to come back in two years for another test. Boy, was I wrong.
The audiologist put me in a soundproof booth and had me click a button whenever I heard a series of five tones, delivered at different frequencies and volumes. I couldn't hear many of the high notes, especially the ones at low volume. Uh oh!
Next came the word test. A voice would tell me to "say the word _____" which turned out to be single-syllable words like which, bridge, broke, miles, trust--words that ran the spectrum of highs and lows. Again, I did not do well, especially in high-end sounding words that started with th-, s- or ch- like thick, sink, chip, etc.
The third test sealed the deal. My wife of 29 years came along and was asked to say a list of 30 words printed on a card. I was now out of the booth and sitting five feet from her, so all I had to do was repeat the words. Easy.
I scored 76% on that one, which put me in the mid-moderate hearing loss for that test. To finish it off, the audiologist fitted me with hearing aids and had my wife repeat the test. I aced it!
Reality time:
I'm hearing impaired. There is no other way to say it. I'm 58 and can't hear like I use to. I've been wearing my new hearing aids for a little more than a week and the difference is absolutely amazing. I had no idea what I was missing. There are sounds around our house that now jump out at me. I can hear conversations across the room if I focus on it. There is an app on my iPhone that allows me to adjust the settings to the current situation, like normal conversation, outdoors, restaurant, or music. Hearing aids are Bluetooth compatible, so I can listen to music or podcasts through them and no one else can tell. I don't miss a thing.
I'm fortunate enough to be able to afford these hearing aids (by the way, I don't refer to them as "audio enhancers" or any other PC name--they are hearing aids) and lucky that my insurance covers a pretty good chunk of it.
Once they are in, I don't even realize I'm wearing them. I feel nothing, either inside the ear or above it. They're virtually invisible. I'm not self-conscious about having them and make a point to show others I'm wearing them.
Bottom line: I deserve to hear everything and so do you. I ask all of you to please get your hearing checked and take appropriate action. This is a major life decision!
Spoiler
I heard that!
