After numerous tests and bunches of conversations with my wife that went something like this: Her: Could you let the dog in? Me: What? Her: For God’s sake, GET HEARING AIDS! I finally went and did just that.

I went to a wonderful audiologist, Dr. Holli Lish at the Audiology & Hearing Aid Center in Warminster, who fitted me for a pair of hearing aids a few days ago. They’re extremely comfortable and darn near invisible. The difference is incredible.

Now, I have a mild hearing loss, significantly worse in the left ear than the right. I have trouble picking up a number of letters, particularly T, H, R, and S, which happen to be rather common sounds. I can usually hear the middle and most of the end of what someone says, but hearing the beginning is difficult. I often had trouble in meetings whenever someone not sitting next to me was talking.

To help her decide which style of hearing aid I should have, Dr. Lish asked me a bunch of questions.

“Do you have to turn up the television to hear it well?”

“Oh, God, yes. All the time.”

“Do you have difficulty locating the direction of a siren?”

“Constantly.”

“Do you have an active social life, or do you tend to spend most time quietly at home?”

“Have you not met me? (She laughs.) Yes, my wife and I are always going out with friends or having them over to our house, or going out to dinner and what not. Yes, we’re on the go quite a bit.”

“What is the most important goal you want hearing aids to achieve?”

“I just want to hear what my wife says!”

And so it went until she had a clear idea of which product would work best for me, and damned if her choice wasn’t dead on!

I hear so much better now. I can hear the dog ringing her bell to go out from two or three rooms away. The water flowing out of a faucet now sounds like a jet engine. Best of all, I can hear my beautiful wife’s voice clearly and immediately without having to be in the same room.

PLUS: These little buggers tie right into my phone, so when I get a call, it comes right into my ears. And I can play music through them too!

The coolest part is that if I go somewhere that has a hearing loop, or telecoil, system, my aids will automatically click in to help me hear what’s being said. Example: Our local Wegmans has a hearing loop over the pharmacy and cashier areas, so when I’m within one of those areas the hearing aids begin picking up the pharmacist’s or cashier’s voice. Our local theater, Town & Country Players, is one of the few theaters in the entire state with a loop system.

These little aids have already improved my life, and I hope they continue to do so for many years to come. Wheeee!