Okay, I know you’re out there. I was one of you once. When I was with my friends, I laughed when everyone else did even though I wasn’t sure what was so funny. I didn’t realize that the volume on the TV was blasting eardrums. When riding in a car, even a quiet one, the engine noise drowned out all else. I ignored all suggestions that I just try out a hearing aid. I was convinced it would be uncomfortable and noisy.

How wrong I was:

I got a hearing test. The hearing aids were exactly tuned to the tones of my loss. I put in the aids and I went home. I was warned that noises would seem amplified until my brain adjusted. It took about a day and a half and the joy of hearing without strain soothed the minor inconvenience. The hearing aids are small, they are inconspicuous, they are charged in a nifty little charger every night and I, once again, enjoy quiet language subtleties and a good laugh because I can hear the story and the punch line.

Even with the hearing aids, please don’t get me started on customer service calls:

IN A MANNER OF SPEAKING

My hearing is not was it was in my youth.

I’ve come to terms with this evident truth.

When dealing with telephone customer service,

As one might assume, I am just a bit nervous.

First, may we take up the question of speed:

A verbal Daytona is not what I need.

Accents are charming, I cannot remand them.

The problem at hand is I can’t understand them.

FACTS OF LIFE

This is a fact of life

That I have tried to evade,

But now that everyone mumbles,

It’s time for a hearing aid.

A SOUND CONCLUSION

The day has ended

Without a doubt

The minute I take

My hearing aids out.

This photo of Pat D’Amico, longtime contributor to Northwest Prime Time, was taken the day of her 70th high school reunion. “I kept my mom’s house in Bellingham and the renters are wonderful. My daughter snapped the picture while I was looking around with great pleasure,” says Pat