Hearing aid (singular)

A dozen days ago I took a leap and bought a hearing aid at Costco. Yes, singular. Since high school, my left ear hasn’t heard as well as my right. It has gradually gotten worse. Three years ago I had mild loss; now it is moderate. When I told my daughter, R’el, that I was getting just one, she said, “Classic under-buyer”, the terminology Gretchen Rubin uses in describing personal styles and preferences. Yup, that’s me. (Though I just looked at her Over-buyer/Under-buyer Quiz and she doesn't describe me at all: I have a basement full of storage items: soap, shaving cream, food: things I use; no late-night trips to the store for me. I do consciously put off purchases and cut corners, like buying just one hearing aid.

After the fitting, as I walked through Costco, the aisles seemed noisier and more crowded, though they weren't. As my brain adjusts to the new input, I notice it less and less.

In Portsmouth, NH, after we passed a couple on the sidewalk, I could still hear their voices deep in my ear. I felt like a spy with a covert listening device. Last week in the temple, I could hear a whispered conversation behind me. I turned around, expecting they were just behind my chair, but they were across the large room. It felt like eavesdropping.

Buying a hearing aid is a rite of passage. I’m definitely in my  60s now. I’ve worn trifocals for about 12 years and didn’t feel any reluctance to start, in fact, I asked for them: being able to read anything instantly, without searching for my ‘cheaters’ and getting them on my nose, is more important than looking young. 

Trifocals don’t make me feel old; a hearing aid does. Maybe that’s part of the reason I only got one: makes me half as old, right? I discovered that my hairstyle makes the aid is nearly invisible (though I’m blowing my cover now, aren’t I?). Completely accidental, but I’m quite pleased. I will probably ask my hairdresser to keep the style.

When a nurse sticks an otoscope in my ear, I have to concentrate on relaxation breathing. I've heard some people enjoy the sensation (do you?), but for me it’s barely tolerable. The worst part of getting fitted was that the audiologist had to put thin probe tube in my ear to verify the effectiveness of the aid. I made it worse by cringing: she had to adjust it three times.

So much of interpersonal communication is by voice: I have felt isolation as I've lost my hearing. I’m grateful for the improvement.