This past weekend, I'm walking/birdwatching at the Greensprings Trail (red-headed woodpecker, juncos, bluebirds, cowbird, red-winged blackbirds) and I hear this loud, insistent and very clear bird call. I look around, asking myself what it is, and decide it must be a carolina wren. So, I stand there looking for it in my binocs and tweeting back at it. Finally, gave up and decided it must be hiding in the brush.
As I neared the parking lot, I heard my cellphone signal to me that I had a message. "But why hadn't I heard the phone ring?" I wondered. I programmed it with a nice, clear, bird-call ringtone. Kind of like.....a carolina wren....
Oh, okay. Duh.
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Hearing-Impaired Moment #3
At the neighborhood pool one afternoon, I was reading and huddling in the shade, waiting for "adult swim" to start. Finally, the lifeguard blew the whistle long and loud. People started getting out of the pool, as they always do, and I got out of my deck chair and jumped in off the diving board.
When I surfaced, my friend Jill was at the side of the pool, gesturing to me to get out. I soon (but not soon enough) realized that the lifeguard had blown the whistle to get everyone OUT of the pool because of a thunderclap, which I didn't hear. He must've thought I was a recalcitrant scofflaw; jumping into the pool just as he ordered everyone to get out.
When I surfaced, my friend Jill was at the side of the pool, gesturing to me to get out. I soon (but not soon enough) realized that the lifeguard had blown the whistle to get everyone OUT of the pool because of a thunderclap, which I didn't hear. He must've thought I was a recalcitrant scofflaw; jumping into the pool just as he ordered everyone to get out.
T-Coils: Not Just for Telephones Anymore
Most hearing-aid wearers know what the T-Coil, or "telephone setting" is. It's normally a button on the side or a hearing aid, or sometimes an automatic mode that the aid goes into when it's next to a telephone receiver. It picks up the telephone signal and then your hearing aid amplifies it.
Well, T-coils are not just for telephones. When you attend a meeting of the Hearing Loss Association of Williamsburg at the Downtown Library, you can turn on your T-coil and hear everything that is said into the microphone. As a new member of the HLA-W said, "This is the first time in years that I've been in a meeting where I can hear everything!"
And it's not only the Library. Several churches in the area have loop systems. Williamsburg Drug Company has one for facilitating private consultations between the pharmacist and hard-of-hearing customers. Some systems require a neckloop for good reception of the audio signal, others work at the touch of a (T-coil) button.
That's why it's very, very important for people to get hearing aids that have T-coils. Some of the tiny, "open-fit" (no ear mold) aids, and those that fit completely in your ear canal, are too small to accommodate T-coils. Hopefully, miniaturization will fix this problem in the foreseeable future. But in the meantime, make sure you, and others who ask your advice, insist on aids with T-coils!
Don't miss out!
Most hearing-aid wearers know what the T-Coil, or "telephone setting" is. It's normally a button on the side or a hearing aid, or sometimes an automatic mode that the aid goes into when it's next to a telephone receiver. It picks up the telephone signal and then your hearing aid amplifies it.
Well, T-coils are not just for telephones. When you attend a meeting of the Hearing Loss Association of Williamsburg at the Downtown Library, you can turn on your T-coil and hear everything that is said into the microphone. As a new member of the HLA-W said, "This is the first time in years that I've been in a meeting where I can hear everything!"
And it's not only the Library. Several churches in the area have loop systems. Williamsburg Drug Company has one for facilitating private consultations between the pharmacist and hard-of-hearing customers. Some systems require a neckloop for good reception of the audio signal, others work at the touch of a (T-coil) button.
That's why it's very, very important for people to get hearing aids that have T-coils. Some of the tiny, "open-fit" (no ear mold) aids, and those that fit completely in your ear canal, are too small to accommodate T-coils. Hopefully, miniaturization will fix this problem in the foreseeable future. But in the meantime, make sure you, and others who ask your advice, insist on aids with T-coils!
Don't miss out!
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Hearing-Impaired Moment #3
I was talking with a friend of my son's who knows I'm HI, and I must have gotten that blank stare of I have no idea what you just said, when I "heard" him say "Why don't you have earrings in"? Looking a bit puzzled, I reached for my ears and replied "I don't know, I usually do". Of course he immediately started laughing hysterically and repeated what he said "Why don't you have your hearing aids in"?
Chris Reedal
Chris Reedal
H.I.M. #2
The other day, I was trying to remove my left hearing aid to talk on my cellphone in the car (never a good idea), and instead removed my glasses. All of a sudden, things got really blurry. When that happens, it is REALLY time to stop using your cellphone in the car. When it's moving, that is.
H.I.M. = "Hearing-Impaired Moment"
You've heard of Senior Moments? Had one or two? You might get a kick out of the "seniormoment.blogspot.com" where you can share your own or chuckle at other peoples'.
Well, today I coined a new acronym: Hearing-Impaired Moment (H.I.M.). It's when someone says something, and you hear something completely different, and continue to listen to them, trying your very best to make some sense out of it. A Pilates instructor told me a good one today:
"A friend was telling me a story about what happened to her the other night. At one point, she said, "And then "nature called." I heard "And then Rachel called." So, there I am, listening to the rest of the story, and it's not really making any sense, so finally, I ask, "Who's Rachel?" She said, "Rachel who?" Well, that was good for a laugh!"
Do you have an HIM you'd like to share?
Well, today I coined a new acronym: Hearing-Impaired Moment (H.I.M.). It's when someone says something, and you hear something completely different, and continue to listen to them, trying your very best to make some sense out of it. A Pilates instructor told me a good one today:
"A friend was telling me a story about what happened to her the other night. At one point, she said, "And then "nature called." I heard "And then Rachel called." So, there I am, listening to the rest of the story, and it's not really making any sense, so finally, I ask, "Who's Rachel?" She said, "Rachel who?" Well, that was good for a laugh!"
Do you have an HIM you'd like to share?
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