This one landed hard because, at age 79, my wife just started wearing a hearing aid. She fought buying it for years, but she finally realized that saying "What?" all the time was driving her friends and me crazy.
As someone who teaches pickleball, I see this all the time — people think they’re “just missing words,” when really they’re slowly losing the clarity that keeps them connected. You captured that quiet drift so well. It’s a good reminder that getting a hearing check isn’t about volume, rather it’s about staying in the world with the people we love.
Thank you, Bob. That’s exactly it. It’s so easy to frame it as “just missing a few words,” but over time it becomes a real distance from the people around us. I’m glad your wife found something that helps!
Yes, it certainly helps, although there are many days I have to remind her to put them in. She is either forgetful or still fighting the fact that her hearing is deteriorating.
Love this article.❤️ I also started missing out on conversations beginning in my late thirties. Being a teacher, you definitely need to have good hearing.😄 I was diagnosed with hearing loss at first in one ear back in 2005(in my early forties). Six years later, hearing loss in both ears. My hearing loss is possibly due to having rheumatoid arthritis, ear infections growing up. I have been wearing hearing aids since 2011. Unfortunately, my hearing is too severe to use otc aids. I can only get them through my audiologist. Bummer! Currently saving funds to go with Medicare to get new aids later this year. Thanks for sharing.
I love your articles. They're informative and really well written. Thank you! I'll be sharing this with my husband who does say, "I can hear that you're talking, I just didn't catch all that you said." and can't hear high pitched sounds that I can hear.
However, while I think hearing loss may be a part of this, I also think he may be managing a bit of auditory processing disorder that can come with ADHD because I've seen some of this in the 40 years I've known him. I'll be curious to see if it's actually the ability to hear or if it's the ability to process what he's hearing that is more the issue.
Very nice article. I've just ordered my first pair at almost 70 years old. It was my daughter in law that was the first to encourage me to look into my hearing.
I had started realizing that others could hear people speaking in a room when I couldn't. I've been using subtitles on the television for quite a while and also noticed I have become lazy about listening. Hopefully, this will be an easy transition.
Thanks for your precise information of all the reasons that support my decision. They were expensive! $1600 for the pair.
Congratulations on taking that step, Suzan. It sounds like you noticed the changes gradually and paid attention to them, which isn’t always easy to do. I hope the transition is smooth and that the hearing aids help you reconnect with some of the sounds you’ve been missing. Thank you for sharing your experience. ❤️
This is spot on. In my early 50s I started having trouble hearing what people were saying. I didn't realize it at the time until a colleague mentioned how nice it was to hear the birds singing outside; it was spring time and we had started opening the office windows. I couldn't hear them.
I immediately made an appointment for a hearing check and discovered that I was unable to process the higher frequencies any more. This had likely been progressing for several years. It wasn't until someone mentioned the birds singing that I even realized that I was experience hearing loss.
My audiologist explained how the brain processes sound and how important it is to continue providing it with input!
Thank you for your well written article. This is a very important topic and people need to understand that hearing loss can happen at any age, not just in seniors.
Thank you, Kathy. I love this example, especially the birds. It’s such a simple thing, but it really shows how gradually this can happen before we notice it.
And yes, such an important point that hearing loss can happen earlier than people think, not only much later in life. Thanks for sharing this!
I'm the one who's hard of hearing in our house. The part describing adding a background noise is spot on, I can barely make out what the person beside me is saying. The other was hearing a person's voice fine, but not being able to make out words. I have an additional factor, tinnitus. And it's loud inside my head all the time. The hearing aids bring back the high end treble, but do almost nothing when I step outside and into the world. The hardest part is my wife not accepting my hearing issues. I get flack all the time (that I can almost hear), but she won't even try to adjust. I can hear her tone and know under her breath she's b!tching at me. It's SO frustrating.
Oh, but an upside, I found a tinnitus simulator online. It's so much fun setting it to what I hear, then turning it on. Did this at a gathering of friends, everyone was sticking their fingers in their ears, writhing in pain, and telling me to shut it off. Welcome to my world! 😆
Thanks for sharing this. The tinnitus simulator story made me smile, but the rest sounds really tough, especially not feeling understood by the people closest to you. ❤️
I need a hearing aid badly - cannot make or receive phone calls any longer (am 87). What has kept me from acquiring one is the cost. Didn’t know there are otc ones
Oh Tuula, I’m sorry. That must be so frustrating, especially not being able to use the phone anymore!
Yes, the cost can be a real barrier. OTC hearing aids may be worth looking into, though it’s still a good idea to get a proper hearing check if you can. Thank you for sharing this.
Yes as we get older we have to maintain all our senses as well as we can.
This one landed hard because, at age 79, my wife just started wearing a hearing aid. She fought buying it for years, but she finally realized that saying "What?" all the time was driving her friends and me crazy.
As someone who teaches pickleball, I see this all the time — people think they’re “just missing words,” when really they’re slowly losing the clarity that keeps them connected. You captured that quiet drift so well. It’s a good reminder that getting a hearing check isn’t about volume, rather it’s about staying in the world with the people we love.
Thank you, Bob. That’s exactly it. It’s so easy to frame it as “just missing a few words,” but over time it becomes a real distance from the people around us. I’m glad your wife found something that helps!
Yes, it certainly helps, although there are many days I have to remind her to put them in. She is either forgetful or still fighting the fact that her hearing is deteriorating.
Love this article.❤️ I also started missing out on conversations beginning in my late thirties. Being a teacher, you definitely need to have good hearing.😄 I was diagnosed with hearing loss at first in one ear back in 2005(in my early forties). Six years later, hearing loss in both ears. My hearing loss is possibly due to having rheumatoid arthritis, ear infections growing up. I have been wearing hearing aids since 2011. Unfortunately, my hearing is too severe to use otc aids. I can only get them through my audiologist. Bummer! Currently saving funds to go with Medicare to get new aids later this year. Thanks for sharing.
I love your articles. They're informative and really well written. Thank you! I'll be sharing this with my husband who does say, "I can hear that you're talking, I just didn't catch all that you said." and can't hear high pitched sounds that I can hear.
However, while I think hearing loss may be a part of this, I also think he may be managing a bit of auditory processing disorder that can come with ADHD because I've seen some of this in the 40 years I've known him. I'll be curious to see if it's actually the ability to hear or if it's the ability to process what he's hearing that is more the issue.
Very nice article. I've just ordered my first pair at almost 70 years old. It was my daughter in law that was the first to encourage me to look into my hearing.
I had started realizing that others could hear people speaking in a room when I couldn't. I've been using subtitles on the television for quite a while and also noticed I have become lazy about listening. Hopefully, this will be an easy transition.
Thanks for your precise information of all the reasons that support my decision. They were expensive! $1600 for the pair.
Congratulations on taking that step, Suzan. It sounds like you noticed the changes gradually and paid attention to them, which isn’t always easy to do. I hope the transition is smooth and that the hearing aids help you reconnect with some of the sounds you’ve been missing. Thank you for sharing your experience. ❤️
This is spot on. In my early 50s I started having trouble hearing what people were saying. I didn't realize it at the time until a colleague mentioned how nice it was to hear the birds singing outside; it was spring time and we had started opening the office windows. I couldn't hear them.
I immediately made an appointment for a hearing check and discovered that I was unable to process the higher frequencies any more. This had likely been progressing for several years. It wasn't until someone mentioned the birds singing that I even realized that I was experience hearing loss.
My audiologist explained how the brain processes sound and how important it is to continue providing it with input!
Thank you for your well written article. This is a very important topic and people need to understand that hearing loss can happen at any age, not just in seniors.
Thank you, Kathy. I love this example, especially the birds. It’s such a simple thing, but it really shows how gradually this can happen before we notice it.
And yes, such an important point that hearing loss can happen earlier than people think, not only much later in life. Thanks for sharing this!
I'm the one who's hard of hearing in our house. The part describing adding a background noise is spot on, I can barely make out what the person beside me is saying. The other was hearing a person's voice fine, but not being able to make out words. I have an additional factor, tinnitus. And it's loud inside my head all the time. The hearing aids bring back the high end treble, but do almost nothing when I step outside and into the world. The hardest part is my wife not accepting my hearing issues. I get flack all the time (that I can almost hear), but she won't even try to adjust. I can hear her tone and know under her breath she's b!tching at me. It's SO frustrating.
Oh, but an upside, I found a tinnitus simulator online. It's so much fun setting it to what I hear, then turning it on. Did this at a gathering of friends, everyone was sticking their fingers in their ears, writhing in pain, and telling me to shut it off. Welcome to my world! 😆
Thanks for sharing this. The tinnitus simulator story made me smile, but the rest sounds really tough, especially not feeling understood by the people closest to you. ❤️
I need a hearing aid badly - cannot make or receive phone calls any longer (am 87). What has kept me from acquiring one is the cost. Didn’t know there are otc ones
Oh Tuula, I’m sorry. That must be so frustrating, especially not being able to use the phone anymore!
Yes, the cost can be a real barrier. OTC hearing aids may be worth looking into, though it’s still a good idea to get a proper hearing check if you can. Thank you for sharing this.