BoomerGirl Diary

This morning my parents were off to adjust the hearing aids.

Before they kill me for that last statement, let me further explain that they were adjusting my father’s brand-new, state-of-the-art hearing aids to recognize my mother’s voice clearly (why any man would do that — I am not sure). All things considered though, in my millennial opinion, iPods have nothing on hearing aids that can recognize a specific voice.

For a few years now we have sat through family dinners, gatherings, traveling in the car all speaking at a higher decibel level than necessary. Alas, my dear father could and could not help it; and like most families, we adjusted to it, commonly shouting instead.

With this sound advancement in my fathers hearing, I am left thinking about my own hearing (as I have tiny little ear-bud headphones lodged into my ear canal streaming music from an iPod with a repertoire of pulsating music). This obviously damaging practice doesn’t even begin to describe the casualty my ears have endured.

There was the Walkman when I was 9 or 10. I vividly remember listening to Marky Mark, Poison, Cher and Guns & Roses albums that would now have an M for “Mature.” Clearly my parents were oblivious that my brother and I were humming along to Paradise City. Nope. Instead they watched us slip the headphones on before the ignition was turned on.

From there the headphones grew and we abandoned the Walkman all together for the Discman, another invention that kept us tuning in to ear damaging music and tuning out our parents. After that I think I bought an FM radio to run with and before long an iPod. Of which I have now owned three.

And of course I have tried to get my parents iPods, thinking they would enjoy spinning their golden oldies via mp3 player (which I know they may not even know what it is). But neither one of them wanted an iPod. My mother did once, when we were in the Apple store; she thought they were cute.

Looking back I have had earphones on my head in one form or another for the last 15 years. If genetics has anything to say about it, I could begin to experience hearing loss around 50 (give or take); much like my father. But when I analyze at what technology has given me, I am sure to be part deaf by 30 and possibly completely deaf by 50.

I suppose I am not worried, if technology is going to diminish my hearing it’s obviously going enhance it again. Maybe my father and I can get a two for one deal.