Now I Am Less Senseless Than Last Week

CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
I have mentioned in the past on these threads that I lost my sense of smell 6 years ago (+/-). When I got into that alleyway discussion in Aug. 1981 the neurosurgeon remarked at being surprised my sense of smell wasn't lost. Our Creator saw fit to leave the sense of smell in OEM condition for 35+ years longer, for which I am grateful. C. 2018, smell went hors de combat, and my sense of taste diminished markedly at the same time. Things happen......such is life. I never expected to see age 60, and I'll be 69 years old in another month or so. I've already won the lottery (so to speak).

Another of the five senses that has not been up to OEM standards has been my hearing. I'll wager that a lot of us in the shooting sports have significant hearing loss, and until recently I've considered hearing loss a mixed blessing/loss......by the time you're my age, there are a lot of noisy, obnoxious ideas and concepts getting traction that I would rather not have inflicted upon me.

Mama CZ had another perspective, though. My hearing loss was WEARING HER OUT--having to repeat what she said a whole lot. Mama works her aspirations off taking care of me and our home, and if a set of hearing aids will ease her burden then WRAP IT UP.

I picked up my hearing aids Tuesday afternoon, and HIJO LA! My world opened back up markedly! Hence the thread title.
 
Cadillac Jeff

Cadillac Jeff

Well-Known Member
Congrats Mr Cz..
At 63 & work history of power line tree trimming ( chainsaws & mostly chippers) then linework for more than 40 years of it...I am in need of a little help.

My Pop at 85 has been helped by those little things for a while now!!
 
Gary

Gary

SE Kansas
I lost a good deal of my taste and smell following the WoTang Bird Flu (Fauci invention) of the recent past. Sometimes I am able to smell things and I can taste some foods. Bummer, but I'm working on 79 and eager to reach expiration date by 80.
 
Snakeoil

Snakeoil

Well-Known Member
My taste is not what it used to be. Also seems to be related to the first strategic Chinese attack. But I also kinda remember that ice cream was losing flavor before COVID so it could be more a sinus/allergy thing than COVID.

I sprung for hearing aids last August. I'm glad I did. I don't know I have them on and I rarely make people repeat anything anymore. I really was convinced that everyone had started to mumble. Needless to say, it was not them. I am so unaware that I have them on that more than once I've climbed into bed only to hear the rustling of the pillowcase on the aids and have to take them off and put them in the charger.
 
JWinAZ

JWinAZ

Active Member
@CZ93X62 a win all the way around! A big benefit of hearing aids for me is for the use with the phone. Bluetooth linking works wonders. They help my hearing to some extent, but context and seeing the mouth are really important to me now. Too much chain saw and small engines, although I almost always had hearing protection.
 
smokeywolf

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
Lots of shooting as a child in the '50s (no ear protection). A little less shooting in the '60s. 30+ years in a machine shop took its toll. Age finished it off. Started losing my sense of smell off and on, 20 years ago. Thankfully, I can still smell coffee brewing and bacon frying very well. Wish we ate bacon more than once a year.

Not quite ready for the hearing aids, but Mrs. smokeywolf has been very gently and diplomatically campaigning for them.

Good on you for keeping your sweetie happy. I will likely be following your example in the not-so-distant future.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
CZ93X62 said:
......

I picked up my hearing aids Tuesday afternoon, and HIJO LA! My world opened back up markedly! Hence the thread title.
Click to expand...

I've been secretly planning to pursue this same thing for some time for the same reasons. The mixed blessing,... yeah. SO much I just do NOT want to hear.

We'll see how things pan out with this last family medical emergency episode, as far as what it's going to cost before I make the leap I've planned for this summer since LAST summer, when another family medical emergency episode set everything on its head. Maybe I should take a hint and forget the idea... Ma gets exasperated with me though.

Gad you posted that. I'll keep tryin'.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
By the way, I've NEVER had any TASTE, covid, no covid. I've had a leg up on y'all for decades.;)

EDIT: EXCEPT IN WOMEN!

Had to edit that. When people die, their wives and kids get on their computeRS and see stuff they've said and done.
 
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RicinYakima

RicinYakima

High Steppes of Eastern Washington
Hearing aids are great for those of you who are "hard of hearing" across the range. My problem is I am deaf from high B on up. Aids don't help but the midrange is going, and they sure help there.

Take them out, and the world is a peace. :)
 
CZ93X62

CZ93X62

Official forum enigma
My losses in the Smell and Taste Departments preceded the Scam Dem Ick by more than 2 years--I first noticed their departure about Thanksgiving 2017.

In another context, my Tastes in all things are venue-dependent. Vehicles, tools, firearms......I have some ability. Art, architecture, music, literature......I know what I like. I'll leave it at that.
 
Rick H

Rick H

Well-Known Member
I have the high frequency hearing loss. The high range of high pitched female voices is lost to me. I was trying to watch a movie on TV but couldn't understand the dialog, seemed the background music drowned it all out.

There is a price to be paid for playing with guns, working in factories and steel mills, and tinkering with high performance engines. I did all of that and more without giving a thought to hearing protection. The good news is I can't hear all the folks trying to tell me "I told you so".
 
Winelover

Winelover

North Central Arkansas
Purchased my hearing aids at Costco, back in Michigan. Haven't worn them since moving to Arkansas. Been sitting in the drawer for the last eleven years. More trouble than they are worth, IMO. Yes, you don't know you're wearing them but that can also be a disadvantage. You have to remember to take them out before you shower. Especially, if you don't shower as soon as you arise. I've dropped/knocked them out while bow hunting, taking off my face mask, in the tree stand. Lost them once in the woods, when a branch glanced off the side of my head. It's a fiasco, trying to find them in the leaf litter.
 
P

Petrol & Powder

Well-Known Member
Rick H said:
I have the high frequency hearing loss. The high range of high pitched female voices is lost to me. I was trying to watch a movie on TV but couldn't understand the dialog, seemed the background music drowned it all out.
Click to expand...
It’s not just female voices but movie dialog in general. It’s how movies are currently made, and I noticed it about 20 years ago. The music score completely drowns out the dialog. Like you, I first assumed that it must be me, but I found that others with perfect hearing had the same complaint.

I have found that if I use headphones to listen to the movie, I can play it at a reasonable volume and isolate the spoken words from all that ridiculously loud background music that so many sound editors seem to love.

It’s a shame that sound mixers and sound editors have ruined the most important part of a movie. It is the dialog that supports character development. It is dialog that builds the plot. It is dialog that drives the theme. The biggest problem with the musical score (in my opinion) is that the editors elevate the volume (insert a crescendo) just as the actors are speaking. Instead of emphasizing the drama of the scene, they drown out the very dialog that makes the scene important. It’s as if the director put a 13 year old boy in charge of the sound and then never checked his work.
 
smokeywolf

smokeywolf

Well-Known Member
I agree with Petrol & Powder on background music drowning out dialog. It's ridiculous. There is however a solution. If you have your TV signal first going through a stereo receiver, then out to the TV you can often isolate the center dialog channel and turn it up. With the exception of the occasional off-camera character speaking, all dialog comes through the center channel with most effects and music coming out of front left and right and rear left and right channels (assuming a 5.1 soundtrack). You can also turn down music and sound effects that come through the other channels.
 
J

Jeff H

NW Ohio
Petrol & Powder said:
It’s not just female voices but movie dialog in general. It’s how movies are currently made, and I noticed it about 20 years ago. The music score completely drowns out the dialog. Like you, I first assumed that it must be me, but I found that others with perfect hearing had the same complaint.

I have found that if I use headphones to listen to the movie, I can play it at a reasonable volume and isolate the spoken words from all that ridiculously loud background music that so many sound editors seem to love.

It’s a shame that sound mixers and sound editors have ruined the most important part of a movie. It is the dialog that supports character development. It is dialog that builds the plot. It is dialog that drives the theme. The biggest problem with the musical score (in my opinion) is that the editors elevate the volume (insert a crescendo) just as the actors are speaking. Instead of emphasizing the drama of the scene, they drown out the very dialog that makes the scene important. It’s as if the director put a 13 year old boy in charge of the sound and then never checked his work.
Click to expand...

So, it's NOT just me!

Very often, the "music" is just PAINFUL- some of the ugliest noises rendered on musical instruments or synthesized for dramatic effect.

We sit poised with remote in-hand and just mute it. Closed captions fill in the blanks, but some of the foreign movies,... neither of us can read as fast as some of those folks talk, Spain, Italy...
 
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