When ya get “old,” something is gonna break.  I’m glad to have hair on my head, but my hearing certainly has gone to hell.

Now, there are a few things that you don’t get told when you are younger about hearing loss, at least in any of the circles I ran in.  You’ve got two factors, first the noise levels you are exposed to, which you have control over, and second, your genes, which you have no control over.  While I know by the hearing loss of my parents, particularly my dad, that I’ve got some hereditary hearing loss, I also know I subjected myself to a lot of noise over the years without using any hearing protection.  Mostly five years of construction in my 20’s and ten years driving a soft top Jeep as my only vehicle.  Ok, with the stereo usually cranked up.  I can remember driving for half a day and having my ears ring for another day.

Here’s the nasty secret of hearing loss.  You don’t just loose hearing, you gain a few things.  Constant ringing and/or clicking noises in your ears, which can get quite pronounced.  But I find the real hassle is sensitivity to noise.  In a sense,  as you hear quiet sounds less, you hear loud sounds more.  The ear becomes less tolerant of loud sounds.  In fact, loud sounds become painful.  Literally.  “Young” people like to fault older people who don’t like loud music.  Well, the problem isn’t whether or not they “like” music loud.  The problem is anything loud, even the clanking of dishes, is literally painful to a person with hearing loss.