Pickles by Brian Crane for May 23, 2019

And to think Earl messes with his hearing aids in order to get away with something from Opal.

I got hearing aids and my husband is stalling. It’s getting really tiresome!

Hoo, boy! Does this ring a bell! I have to repeat things up to four times before I get a response from my hubby. He bought really expensive hearing aids years ago and refuses to wear them. My sight is terrible and he can’t hear – we make a great pair!

There is a new “thing” in our home. Those smart devices. A lot of times she or me are talking to google home to turn off lights or stream music and the other thinks that the mumbling is meant for them and asks for a repeat. Lord help you if you don’t respond; and responding well enough to be understood usually has to be shouted if the other is in another room. Include the repeats and google responding and it can get complicated.

On the other hand. Gives me another excuse not to respond when I hear mumbling in the next room—NOT!

Payback is a pitch with a “B” ;-)

At your age, Earl isn’t everything “old”?

Methinks Opal has selective hearing….as Earl walks away grumbling….

HUH?!? WHAT?!? DID YOU SAY SOMETHING?!? NOPE! OKAY! and yes it is large letters to represent yelling LOL

My wife talks to the cats. I say “what did you say?”. She says " I was talking to the cats". I go about my business and she comes into the room and says " I asked you a question…" I look to see if the cats are in the room, before I answer.

This is everybody in my house; they’ll say ‘huh’ first, whether they heard you or not…

It saves a lot of frustration in a household when the rule is followed to always say the name of the person one is addressing first. Wait for a reply, then ask the question.

Even with the excellant hearing aids,I often have to repeat things.

The “huh” is required to get the person to repeat what they said while you are looking at them. Most deaf people read lips. I went deaf over years and didn’t realize I was learning to read lips at the same time until I realized that I could be having a conversation with someone, understanding what they were saying, but they would start mumbling if I closed my eyes.

Hearing aids are for “old people”. You know, people who listened to the Stones, Who, Led Zep back in the 60s which make them . . . old.BTW My Great Aunt LOVES them now with Bluetooth! TV & phone are clear and just turn them off with annoying people.

I don’t bother waiting for the “What?” anymore. I just repeat it.

If I didn’t hear what my ex said, it was my fault for not listening. If he didn’t hear what I said, It was my fault for not speaking up. GRRRRR!!!

A man noticed he and his wife recently seemed to have trouble communicating. He suspected she was losing her hearing, so decided to test it. When she was cooking, he stood in the kitchen entry, and softly said “Honey, what’s for dinner?” Not getting a response, he moved halfway into the kitchen and said “Sweety, what’s for dinner?” Not getting a response he moved right behind her and said “Dearest, what’s for dinner?” She replied “Meatloaf — for the third time!”

Second panel – Another woman’s response might have been “You don’t need to yell at me” spoken at very high volume.

I ask a question; get no answer, so I raise my voice and get asked, “Why are you shouting?”

In my house, it’s more like 4 times. Eventually, he says, “You don’t have to shout!”

My kids had selective hearing, they only hear what they want to hear!

If a person with hearing loss fails to hear what you say, bear in mind that it might be your fault as much as his/hers. Do NOT say “Oh, never mind” or “Forget it”. If it isn’t worth repeating why did you say it in the first place ? And how does it make the deaf person feel ?(I say this from the experience of being the deaf person.)

My wife complains that I won’t get hearing aids and complains when I ask her to repeat with both the first few and the last few words spoken clearly. But when she doesn’t hear me clearly, she just ignores the whole thing, then grumps when I ask if she heard me. She has hearing aids, but mostly won’t wear them. At least we still have our vision… as long as I blow the print up to double size and she doesn’t drive at night.

I answer questions that have never been asked

I learned a long time ago that if my wife says anything to me from the other room that I can’t understand, I just pretend I didn’t hear her at all. If it is important to her; she will come to where I am to say it.