MORE ON HEARING PROBLEMS

By Harvey Tobkes
Ear
Many hearing problems involve word discrimination, because many words do sound alike. That’s why even headsets are minimally effective. For example, one night a few years ago, Anita and I were watching the news telling about all the atrocities committed by Saddam Hussein and Anita said, “They should put him in a shredder.” Puzzled, I asked her, “Why do you think they should put him in a sweater?”

When my children were small, we were driving to a vacation in Lake George, New York; Eight-year-old Scott asked a question about Lake George, and I said, “What dead dogs?’ ” We all still laugh at that one whenever it comes up.

Volume is also a problem because some actors mumble and when the actors are Brits speaking with a sharp accent, it makes it difficult to hear the dialogue.

Bored couple Anita tells me that she attended an opera at Lincoln Center in New York City, and the seat back in front of hers had closed caption in English so that the patron could follow the spoken words, no matter the language. What a great way to enjoy an opera!


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