Pilot Needs New Kind of Headset
I could use your expertise in selecting a set of wireless headphones to be used for TV reception. I am a retired Air Force pilot and many years of flying has left me with a
hearing impairment. The VA has issued me hearing aids but through no fault of the agency, I find the aids unsatisfactory. I have been told not to expect miracles. Incidentally, “VA Faces Demand Crisis, Audiology Holds the Line,” (Winter ’03) was a most informative article.
Maj. Ed Friedman, Retired/Cyberspace
SI Comes in Loud & Clear
“Softness Imperception, Defining a Puzzling Problem” in the Spring ’04 issue was very interesting to me. Although I am not familiar with all of the audiology lingo, I grasp the author’s idea and think it explains why I have difficulty getting hearing aids that do not make certain sounds too loud. Dr. Mary Florentine’s article should help audiologists understand that many of us do have different experiences of loudness.
Max L. Holycross/Columbia City, IN
Pieces Fall Together
I will always cherish the installments of my book printed in Hearing Health (“Missing Pieces,” Winter 1998 through Winter ’99). You planted a seed and it is germinating.
A new version is in print and a promotional campaign underway. I am excited to finally get Missing Pieces out to a larger public and have the chance to advocate for children’s rights in foster care and adoption and to protect against child abuse. I always mention my hearing loss because that’s an important part of my story. My adopted parents and I were never told about genetic hearing loss in my biological family.
Sherry Cochran/Cyberspace
Editor’s Note: Congratulations, Sherry! A new edition of Missing Pieces: A Woman’s Search For Her Birth Family is available through any bookstore using ISBN number 1-931195-09-9 or online at www.amazon.com or www.bn.com.
Willing but Unable to Get Hearing Aids
I’m like survey winner Paula Esterle (“Who’s Reading Hearing Health?” Winter ’03) because I was born with a hearing problem in both ears. As I read Paula’s story, I had a tear in my eye because it reminded me of myself. I’m 23 years old. I finished school late because I could not hear and understand in class. My hearing loss is profound and I need hearing aids to be able to hear my children. Unfortunately, I cannot afford hearing aids and I have no insurance.
Michelle Harvey/Eupora, MS
She Said, He (Mistakenly) Heard
My grandfather became so hard-of-hearing that he often mistakenly heard what was said to him. He refused to wear a hearing aid because he said it was for “old people.” He never heard clearly and he lived to be 91!
His hearing was a problem but could be comical. Right after I had my second child, he came to see us and asked me what we had named the baby. I told him Kristen Faye.
He heard Christian Faith and complimented me on such a fine name. I never had the heart to tell him differently.
Kaye Harrell Roebuck/Gordonsville, VA
Editor’s Note: See page 45 for more about/from grandparents with hearing loss.
Better Now Than Never
I have had hearing loss for 83 years and this is the first copy of Hearing Health I ever saw. I never knew such a publication existed! “Never too old to learn,” that’s me. Thanks!
Irene Setlak/Harrisburg, PA
Write to:
Mailbag at Hearing Health
1050 17th St., NW, Suite 701
Washington, DC 20036
mailbag@hearinghealthmag.com
