Mr Magoo

[Frankenkubota]

1st...

this is pretty much tongue and check but.....lots of truth here too.

I'm becoming one of my favorite cartoon characters of all time, Mr Magoo. Actually his main problem was eye sight and mines great but, like Magoo, every other system is failing. I bet most you male geezers out there know just what I mean, you youngsters have it all to look forward to. No clue re females.

Here's my point......I bet every where in the world, virtually all handicapped people are looked at with sympathy etc. etc. etc. When I was a young, handicapped meant in a wheel chair or blind or something like that. It's morphed a bit but that's not my point.

There is one handicap, when applied to a certain group, that gets no respect.

Hearing loss in old men! Hearing loss in any other portion of the population would get sympathy. Hearing loss in old men is either laughed at, scorned, ridiculed and in some cases, other people actually get POed.

Honestly, I think it's pretty funny too. We play bluegrass music. It's all pretty simple but the singer chooses the song and the key we play in. I'm sure you all know but, that's done to match the singers vocal range. Down here they say...what chord, not what key.

There are 7 notes, do, rey, me, fa, so.......etc etc. Also referred to as the key of A, B, C, D. E,F, AND G.....Then back to A.

The funny part is, B, C,D,E and G all sound the same. For virtually every song you see 4-5 old guys looking at each other saying D?, G ?, C? The bass player and i have a code. For instance, if the songs in C, he points to his eye. If in A, he grabs his ear. Ehhhhhh?

Maybe you gotta be there but, i think it's funny.

 

[cqaigy2]

I hear you, so to speak. I was reading part of the hearing loss is a processing issue in the brain. Apparently slower sampling rate, which means we miss some if the information like the sounds with a quick rise time, those that differentiate those sound like B, C, D, E, typically consonants.

Off shoot of poor hearing in older males is loss of social interaction, the decline in mental acuity and possibly depression as a result of these effects. I'm guessing playing music and interacting with people in your band will counteract some of those negative effects.

 

[k0ua]

What? Huh? speak up!. No, it is not particularly funny. And yes it is happening to all of us in varying degrees. It is kind of like an old car where parts start becoming defective and it seems like very day there is something new to deal with.

 

[stuckmotor]

Thank you Frankenbota. I honestly didn't understand the relationship between cord, key, and note and infact, will have to let it stew in my head for a while to fully comprehend it.

 

[MossRoad]

I remember my father in-law not wanting hearing aids. He thought it made him look weak. His wife finally talked him in to it and they both got them. He ended up being really happy with them. My wife and I have noticed us saying "Huh?" to each other a lot lately. We know our time is coming, however, our main issue right now is tinnitus. Yikes. It gets loud sometimes. I downloaded a tone generator to my iPad and it's right at about 5900Hz. Annoying as heck. TV and radio, car window open, etc., tend to drown it out, but as soon as those stop, the tinnitus pops right back.

 

[MossRoad]

...

The funny part is, B, C,D,E and G all sound the same. For virtually every song you see 4-5 old guys looking at each other saying D?, G ?, C? The bass player and i have a code. For instance, if the songs in C, he points to his eye. If in A, he grabs his ear. Ehhhhhh?

Maybe you gotta be there but, i think it's funny.

That is pretty funny, and yes, similar sounding letters are tough as your hearing starts to diminish. Our last name is difficult to pronounce, and has three of those letters in multiples. Trying to spell it out to someone while they write it down or enter it in a computer gets comical.

 

[Jstpssng]

I've had tinnitus for as long as I can remember, so am somewhat accustomed to it. I've worn hearing protection somewhat religiously for years which seems have kept it in check. What I do notice more and more though, is how hard it is to understand somebody when there are other noises nearby.

 

[Frankenkubota]

I hear you, so to speak. I was reading part of the hearing loss is a processing issue in the brain. Apparently slower sampling rate, which means we miss some if the information like the sounds with a quick rise time, those that differentiate those sound like B, C, D, E, typically consonants.

Off shoot of poor hearing in older males is loss of social interaction, the decline in mental acuity and possibly depression as a result of these effects. I'm guessing playing music and interacting with people in your band will counteract some of those negative effects.

Im a lost cause! My brain is a cinder.

I read years and years ago......one simple way to exercise your brain.

Old folks used to walk in big shopping malls early in the morning for exercise. The article suggested that every few yards, step up on a curb or anything with a different level.

Apparently that forces your brain to make adjustments and calculations etc etc. which helps keep it healthy?

Just FWIW

 

[two_bit_score]

Im a lost cause! My brain is a cinder.

I read years and years ago......one simple way to exercise your brain.

Old folks used to walk in big shopping malls early in the morning for exercise. The article suggested that every few yards, step up on a curb or anything with a different level.

Apparently that forces your brain to make adjustments and calculations etc etc. which helps keep it healthy?

Just FWIW

Just walk through the pasture or woods or along a creek.

I walked over 10,000 steps yesterday in one building, many stairs, long hallways. It was 7 am when I went inside and 8:30pm when I walked out. I prefer the pasture, woods and creek bank.

 

[tallyho8]

What drives me nuts is movies that play fairly loud music while the players are talking. I can never understand what they are saying no matter how loud I turn the volume. Then the commercials are so loud they hurt my ears and I turn down the volume and have to turn it back up when the commercial is over. If the actress is one of those with a high squeaky voice I have to turn on closed captions because I can't decipher those high tones.

 

[stuckmotor]

What drives me nuts is movies that play fairly loud music while the players are talking. I can never understand what they are saying no matter how loud I turn the volume. Then the commercials are so loud they hurt my ears and I turn down the volume and have to turn it back up when the commercial is over. If the actress is one of those with a high squeaky voice I have to turn on closed captions because I can't decipher those high tones.

I'm pretty sure some company used to make a TV that automatically turns down the volume of loud commercials. If anyone has one, please tell us how satisfactory it is and it's brand and model.

My wife keeps the living room TV turned up and the loud commercials aren't helping our marriage.

 

[Frankenkubota]

Just walk through the pasture or woods or along a creek.

I walked over 10,000 steps yesterday in one building, many stairs, long hallways. It was 7 am when I went inside and 8:30pm when I walked out. I prefer the pasture, woods and creek bank.

3-4 miles a day, every day, rain or shine, deep in the woods. I've busted my azz a bunch of times and i am paying attention!

 

[Frankenkubota]

What drives me nuts is movies that play fairly loud music while the players are talking. I can never understand what they are saying no matter how loud I turn the volume. Then the commercials are so loud they hurt my ears and I turn down the volume and have to turn it back up when the commercial is over. If the actress is one of those with a high squeaky voice I have to turn on closed captions because I can't decipher those high tones.

I didn't know you could watch tv without closed captions!

 

[Frankenkubota]

I don't understand but, i was outside my camper last nite, about 7. I live alone (2 dogs).

The tv was so loud i could hear it just as good as when i was inside.

Hearing is bizarre, far more complicated than, just turn it up.

I had my hearing tested at the Portland Oregon Blues Festival. It used to be the biggest and best but, i've been watching the talent line ups in the last few years and, they been slipping a little. Interesting notion and very much portlandia to have your hearing tested at a music festival.

I am profoundly deaf in one ear, i don't remember which. I love the label, makes me feel important.

 

[Jstpssng]

What drives me nuts is movies that play fairly loud music while the players are talking. I can never understand what they are saying no matter how loud I turn the volume. Then the commercials are so loud they hurt my ears and I turn down the volume and have to turn it back up when the commercial is over. If the actress is one of those with a high squeaky voice I have to turn on closed captions because I can't decipher those high tones.

I have that problem also, which I believe comes with hearing loss. I find the same thing though when I'm out checking a harvest job and the machine operator doesn't shut his engine off; I can't understand a word he says. The worst though is the on Harleys; they often intentionally will use those straight pipes to p*** people off.

 

[MossRoad]

I'm a pretty good lip reader. I really didn't realize how much I relied on it until the masking situation came up.

 

[stuckmotor]

I keep smiling at people with my mask on.

 

[MoKelly]

I keep smiling at people with my mask on.

It’s ok. Most can tell by your eyes - at least I’ve picked that up over the last year.

MoKelly

 

[Alan W.]

I agree that the music in movies drowns out the speech. Could be me.
Had a hearing test years ago. While setting there with my thumb on the button waiting for the tone, I remember thinking it was taking them a long time to get started.
When all of a sudden the technician comes up behind me and pulls off the headphones and screams, you had to have heard those tones because I could hear them in my booth.
Sorry my upper frequencies are gone. Dog whistles have no affect on me.

 

[MossRoad]

It’s ok. Most can tell by your eyes - at least I’ve picked that up over the last year.

MoKelly

Most people aren't smiling under their masks. They're squinting trying to read your lips through your mask.