Classroom III

Last night, my daughter, my wife, and I attended a wonderfully pleasant wedding. At the reception, the DJ spun his magical mix of jazz, rock, hip-hop, Top 40’s from the 70’s, 80’s, and 90’s. I am not sure how close my old ears got to the speakers, but my ears are ringing a little louder today than usual. My hearing is not what it once was. Add to that loud music and I know I missed some really interesting comments made by fellow attendees at the wedding reception. I could see lips and mouths moving and could catch parts of what was being said. The people at my table must have thought I was ignoring them, but I could not hear what they were saying. The stress from trying to hear conversations made having a conversation a real challenge.

Not to be a grouch, I actually enjoy all kinds of music. So, if I cannot hear well, why not get a hearing aid? My excuse is they are not cool. Call it vanity if you want, but IMHO, hearing aids equate old age.  It is like realizing you are too old to ride a Harley without  everyone in town laughing at you.  Look at that Old Fool, they would say.  My father paid several thousand dollars for a set of hearing aids. He would not wear them. He complained that they did not fit right. He kept leaving them here and there. My mother constantly complained about him not wearing them.  He had a battery for them.  I do not mind wearing ear buds while at the gym working out. IMHO, hearing loss is the redheaded stepchild of the worthwhile diseases, but it is a personal issue to me. This is a depressing predicament for aging Baby Boomers.

While reading the article linked below, it hit me: iEar.  Someone please design your fellow Baby Boomers some cool hearing aids. Maybe Apple could launch a set.  How about iEars.  Imagine “digital hearing appliances” from Apple.  Taking design clues from the products like their original iBook and how it transformed the boring black laptop into a cool “must have” tool.  Then it was the iPod. They are fabulously popular and user-friendly.  Steve- your fellow aging Baby Boomers need a favor- design us a cool hearing aid. If you are planning it already, could it have bluetooth, so we can hear our podcasts, music, iPhone, video, and Apple TV? Also, whip up support and the cool factor by celebrity endorsements.   Maybe folks like Bono, Ozzy, Mick, and James Taylor could lend a hand to raise awareness for “iEars for Baby Boomers”.  I can see the ads for it now: [wide-shot] Are you tired of the what? huh? Tell me that again? [two-shot] I’m PC and I cannot hear a thing you are saying. I’m Mac, and I am wearing the new iEar from Apple, Inc. I can listen to my iPhone, and all my Beatles music without having to drag around my laptop and iPod. [fade-to-white] iEar, from the corporation that damaged you hearing, we now offer these products to you at a low cost of 99 cents.
[TagLine] iEar: hear like a hawk. Now available at an Apple Store near you, or online at Apple.com.

While reading my RSS feeds on Google Reader, I skimmed across a post from WIRED Blogs about hearing being a worthless cause.
WIRED Blogs: Bodyhack

As one scientist just put it at a briefing for reporters at the AAAS annual meeting, “hearing is considered to be the sort of poor cousin of vision. It also doesn’t have the sex appeal of aids and malaria and other worthwhile diseases.”

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