Hard of hearing lament

“Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears!”

Young woman with hearing loss or hard of hearing.

This is the first line of a speech by Mark Antony in the play Julius Caesar, by William Shakespeare.

Well, Mark Antony, I am willing to listen, but unfortunately, it becomes increasingly difficult for me to lend my ears to anybody. Particularly to people who speak in whispers, who talk too fast, or  mumble.

And I am not alone. According to the National Institute on Deafness “Approximately 15% of American adults (37.5 million) aged 18 and over report some trouble hearing. Mar 25, 2021

 I don’t deserve this. I never went to any thunderous Rock concert whose only goal is to ruin your hearing or to any Far-right rally.

On average, rock concert decibel levels are between 90 and 120 db. This decibel level is concerning as it can threaten your hearing health. Sounds above 85 dB are considered harmful to human hearing.”

 It is more than obvious that Rock musicians are in cahoots with hearing aid companies. Make everything shake, they preach  and you  shall get a nice cut of our ridiculously high profits.

Hearing aids are extremely expensive, but my main complaint is that they don’t stay in your ears.  No matter what, soon or later, they will attempt to escape… and they do it the English Way. You don’t feel anything, but two thousand dollars (a piece) just disappeared catimini. And it can be replaced only once! After that, you are on your own.

The other day I went to see the latest James Bond flick (No Time to Die) and the sound in the theater was so loud that I had to cover my ears… But when I uncovered them, I still could not understand much of the dialogue. And the plot was so far-fetched that even if heard it I would not understand what was happening. I like Daniel Craig, but the movie is more about car chases and shooting than anything else. We left before the movie ended.
Why don’t they have subtitles in movie theaters? This way  we could cover our ears and still enjoy the show.

A quick word of advice: if you absolutely want to see this movie, first go to the Internet  and read the script. It might help you (a little) to understand why all these people are trying to kill each other. On second thought, with the abundance of guns in America, you probably can stay in your neighborhood and witness the same carnage for free.

But every cloud has a silver lining.  Sometimes, not hearing what people say is a big plus. Why clutter your mind with insignificant gibberish?

 Alain