Some know this, most don’t.
My hearing is at the same level as the average 85-year old.
I have awful hearing.
Some attribute this to the thousands of hours of music I listen to while working; others attribute this to my inherited traits.
Regardless of its innate cause, my hearing loss is real and present in my daily life.
5 years ago, my hearing doctor (that’s right—they have those) gave me hearing aids. He looked me in the eye and said, “wear these.”
Let me tell you people something about hearing aids, because I’m guessing less than 1% of you (and that’s being generous) understand how hearing aids work.
Hearing aids are NOT a cure for hearing loss. They are NOT a CURE. They’re nothing more than an AID that works for SOME people with hearing loss.
When a disabled person is paralyzed from the neck down and has an aid to assist them with daily tasks, can they suddenly walk again? Yeah, I didn’t think so (I’m not trying to compare the difficulties of hearing loss to those of paraplegia, but the analogy worked too perfectly to not use).
Hearing aids amplify sounds but don’t aid in the distinction of sound, which I have the most difficulty with, aside from hearing high-pitched tones above 5,000 Hz (someone my age should typically hear up to 20,000 Hz, for your own reference).
I wore the hearing aids for the first few months religiously. I found that, in addition to the discomfort, my biggest issue was the fact that I listen to SO MUCH music, so every time I wanted to pop in my headphones, I’d have to remove my hearing aids, which was a massive pain.
Another issue—the world is so much louder than I thought. Hearing loss allows me to live in “my own world,” to an extent, without the constant buzzing of everyday life. I’d rather be alone with my thoughts that immersed in the shouting of others.
Ultimately, I chose to not wear hearing aids. I was born this way (unless it really was caused by music, in which case this was totally self-inflicted), and I’m going to continue living this way. I’d rather listen to music than the useless crap that most of you people talk about.
Trash. Total trash.
Until next time,
Michael J. Erickson, CEO & Co-Founder
