Doonesbury by Garry Trudeau for February 16, 2020

A bearing aid might be a nurse that will help Kim look after you.

I resembled this comic. But my spousal unit was sitting on my “bad” side for a change, whacked me when she thought I was ignoring her, got my first aid several decades ago. Had to save that ear. Eventually ended up with aids in both ears, they are “peacekeepers”. (usually)

I have both hearing sensitivity and discrimination problems. Hearing aids can make things louder, but can’t do too much for the discrimination. I told my doctor that I can now hear more things I can’t understand.

Ladies and gentlemen… the most banal punchline in the history of Doonesbury.

Mike will probably be in denial for a while. Nobody wants to admit to losing any of their faculties. But he will be better off when he accepts it.

And here I thought Kim had become a low talker.

Guy tells a friend, “I just got the best hearing aid on the market!”

“Oh, yeah, what kind is it?”

“Half past four.”

I’m getting new aids in a couple of weeks. New features since the last pair: rechargeable batteries – just drop them in a charging box at the end of the day – and an attachment for the back of the TV: tap a button on the aids and it tunes in the attachment for better speech quality. (If I’m hard of hearing, why are the music and special effect sounds so LOUD and clear? If I could just get my wife to sing to me instead of talking, I wouldn’t need aids.)

Old Age creeps apace, even in the comics…

Things would have been a lot different if John Lennon had worn a hearing aid instead of granny glasses.

Wives MUMBLE! They all do. There. I said it. Someone had to.

Sixty-six years old. Constant tinnitus. Prisms in the lenses of my glasses to correct double vision issues (not perfect, about an 80% correction). Can’t wait to see what starts to break down next.

So far no hearing aids, but I do say “What” a lot more than I used to.

Am I fearing aids?Yes.Isn’t everyone ;)

Of course, I remember when sitting at a table with someone, especially at a restaurant, meant that you were paying THEM attention, not your phone!

What can I say? I’m a fossil!

At Trudeau’s age, I’m sure he is probably facing this same issue himself.

My eyes are fine. My arms are short.

My time is coming. But for now, I just pretend I’m okay and everyone else is using their indoors voice everywhere.

Eh ? Whuzzat ? Shpeak up, young feller !

I recently bought a pair of Aftershoxz® bone conduction headphones, and really like them. My hearing is fine, but these are extremely light and do not block my ears, so I can converse with someone without removing the headphones. I wonder how many people with hearing problems would find these helpful? In case you’re interested, I found them at “Fleet Feet”, a running/sports store.

how can he hear her when she is mumbling? i hate seeing couples at a restaurant not paying attention to eachother. one Thanksgiving my sister and i went out for breakfast and there were numerous couples at their tables, each on his / her phone texting or talking to other people. one day they will look back on thier lives and wish they had paid more attention to their significant other.

I’m blind in one eye and can’t hear out of the other!

Just for grins: https://mynoise.net/bestOnlineHearingTests.php

I was in the heavy artillery and went to a few hundred concerts but I was always very protective of my hearing. Now I’m 64 with three young (11, 7 & 5) very active boys. There are times when I wish I didn’t hear quite so well.

Given his age, I wonder if this scene took place with the Trudeaus.

Hearing aids are worse than nothing in crowded restaurants.

This fellow starts to worry that his wife is losing her hearing, so he decides to test it. He walks up behind her chair and says “Honey?” No answer. He says it a little louder: “Honey?” Still no reaction.

Now he’s worried. He says it still louder, and she turns around, annoyed, and says “For the third time, WHAT??”

My bad hearing is not a handicap it is an entertainment source.

I figure as long as I’m still looking down at the grass, it can’t be too bad.

Growing older with Mike D. & friends, and the Pattersons. At least I’m in good company.

Well, great, I am now expecting various family and friends to send this strip to me. It has its upside, though—makes it easier to ignore people you WANT to ignore.

Gettin’ old, babe. ♥

Love the scenery changes in the window!!

Ah, the story of my wife…er, life. Sorry sweetheart.

Seven years ago I thought I was going deaf. Loud sounds hurt my ears and things sounded a bit muffled. I knew I have psoriasis in my ears so I went to my regular doctor to have my ears checked to see how bad the psoriasis was. While there they said it wasn’t too bad, but informed me that I had wax plugs in my ears, and asked me if I wanted to have them removed? I said, ok.. we went through the ear washing process, and WHOAA!! I found out I was NOT going deaf after all! I also found out my fingers make sounds, rubbing my fingers together near my collar! I’ve had multiple cleanings over the years, nothing quite so bad as the first one, but due to my psoriasis I do have to get regular cleanings to keep things in check. So if you think you are having a hearing problem, get everything checked.. it may not be as bad as you think!

Nice seeing Kim

NOT a criticism, just noticing:

1. How the scenery in the window is way inconsistent. (Mountains do NOT flow! Buildings seem to be changing from panel to panel.)

2. Where did Kim’s potato (roll?) come from in panel 3?

ha ha ha sooo true

My BF needs glasses and hearing aids. He refuses to get either. Driving with him is getting a be a scary, scary experience.

Our poor hero is getting a bit decrepit.

How long before he joins Cohen the Barbarian and the Silver Horde in their assault on the Gods?

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/1/1f/The-last-hero.jpg/220px-The-last-hero.jpg

What did you say? Read louder!

The way the news is today, I’d rather no hear anything and just be able to read the comics.

Mike got the best of t he swap.Still don’t get what wife No.1 sees in Zeke The Slacker.Kim aged far faster than anybody else in the strip.She was adopted during a Vietnamese Babylift when Mike was a full grown adult!!ALso,Kim was adopted by a Jewish family.Her upbringing must have been interesting,but Garry has never “milked” the idea.

You lose the high frequencies first, and consonants, which are made with the tongue against the teeth, are at higher frequencies than the vowels, which are vibrated in the throat. So you can hear someone talking and it makes no sense. Hearing aids make everything clearer because they give you the consonants back. Been wearing them since my twenties.