Hearing aids are becoming necessary for senior citizens who continue leading active lives as I discovered two decades ago when I was in my early sixties. My association with Wan -IFRA, a
newspaper body with headquarters in Germany used to take me to Frankfurt every year to attend the Annual meeting of all the Country Heads for a review meeting. Thirty managers from different parts of the world would be seated around a rectangular conference table in the conference hall. There would be no public address system. While I could hear speakers with
loud and clear voices, I found it extremely difficult to hear anyone with a soft voice. Sometimes during a discussion, the Chairman of the meeting would ask me about my opinion on issues raised by some speakers whom I could not hear. It was embarrassing to tell the chair that I had no opinion as I could not hear the speaker.
I had no problem in India, as we use the public address system for meetings with less than 25 people. After I faced the problem in Germany on a couple of occasions I decided to go to an ENT specialist who referred me to an audiologist who recommended Siemens hearing aid. Those days expensive hearing aids using high-end digital technology were yet to make an appearance. I went for an inexpensive set which was not very effective. As soon as I wore the hearing aids the first sound I would hear would be the `Caw.. Caw` of the crows followed by other noises drowning the voices of the people I was conversing with. For this very reason many senior citizens do not wear hearing aids and continue to live with the hearing problem much to the annoyance of the near and dear ones. I have seen several movies in which the scriptwriters have exploited this problem to provide some fun moments. Let me tell you that it is no fun being hard of hearing.
Research has shown that one of the causes of depression in senior citizens is the hearing problem. When they find that they are hard of hearing and hearing aids are not giving them the expected solution, they tend to withdraw themselves and avoid socializing for fear of making fools of themselves. Idle mind is the devil`s workshop and such people lapse into self-pity and depression.
Today hearing aids using high-end digital technology are available which not only eliminate unnecessary sounds but give precise tuning of the system to suit every user. I found this out
seven years ago when someone recommended me an American brand of hearing aid called `Starkey`. When I wear this brand of hearing aids not only am I able to hear people talking to me but also can hear the voices of people talking away from me. I feel very confident in engaging in any conversation individually or at meetings. This has improved my confidence level. Without hearing aids I am as good as deaf.
Such hearing aids, however, are expensive. They cost a bomb. Each piece can cost anywhere from Rs.50,000 to a few lakhs. Mine cost me Rs.1,00,000 each. I tell people in jest that I am
wearing `Vaira Thodu` (diamond earrings). If you want to lead a quality life and if you can afford it, do not hesitate to go for such hearing aids.
One warning. If your hearing faculty is very low, even the most expensive hearing aids will not
be of any use.
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