Hearing loss

Wogpotter - this is a well known effect known as phonemic completion in speech perception. It is a top down effect where your knowledge of words and normal phonemic pairings fill in interruptions in signal.
 
Exactly, and it can be good for some laughs - among friends.

E.g. when my wife asks if I forgot my hat and I assure her that yes, I fed the cat, she shakes her head and we both laugh.

Wogpotter - yes, my current hearing aid is digital (most are these days) and it does enough signal processing to screw things up so my brain has to re-decipher words. This is actually a good thing, it exercises the brain and promotes active, conscious attention to what people are saying.

And it has a clipper circuit, like the expensive muffs, that is supposed to shield the ear from loud noises. I don't know how well that works, I use plugs and muffs at the range, aid stays in a case in my truck, and I smile and nod a lot. And the RSOs know that tactile input is appropriate in the event of an emergency "cease fire!" - a push or kick is appreciated.
 
buckhorn_cortez said:
Cell phones (a bit of a misnomer since it is really a voice activated radio) make things more difficult than they should be.
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No. The term "cell phone" is NOT a misnomer. Cellular telephones are part of the wired telephone network. While the handsets are radios, they work on short range transmissions to a local antenna system creating a discrete sector - a "cell."
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Thanks for confirming that what we call a "cell phone" is really a radio.

The pertinent part is that the "send" command is voice activated, much the same way it is on a speaker phone, so that the ordinary simultaneous communication so easily achieved on an ordinary telephone seems impossible on a cellular phone. Couple a speaker with poor elocution and a listener with worse than average hearing, and it's a problem.

Your explanation of cellular telephone networks was informative and riveting. Many thanks.
 
I've been in metal bands for the past ten years...

The music industry has been worse than shooting for me personally. As well I don't think many concert goers understand what they are being exposed to.

Now at shows I wear earplugs, especially since I work security as well.
 
Dayam! As a "deef coot", this explains the gibberish that I spew forth and the stares that are returned more often than not.

But as Popeye has said "I yam what I yam" and I ain't planning on changing as I head down the final stretch. But I will say to those who still have full ability of their senses, take care of them! I should have used hearing protection 4 and 5 decades ago. I should have used breathing protection whilst as a young whipper-snapper shoveling chicken dung for use as fertilizer and later while scrapping at a brewery with asbestos cover pipe. But almost as important, pay attention to spending: buy what appreciates in value (guns!!) and do not buy what turns to trash in six months (clothes).
 
IMHO too loud music, especially of the R&R variety is more harmful. Also a proper hearing exam can help discover any quirks or anomalies. At my last hearing exam the doctor determined that I have a much wider than normal hearing range, when I thought I was "hearing" things I actually was hearing things.
 
A question for ALL YOU DEEF COOTS
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Hey, I resemble that remark.

Do you find that your brain "fixes" gibberish words that the blurred hearing cant actually her as spoken?

Mine tends to "insert what it thinks it heard" when what I actually hear is *mumble mumble*
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When you talk to someone with hearing loss you will find that they (read "I") often reply more slowly that you are accustomed to. Be patient - we are thinking about what we heard and trying to fill in those gaps and make sense of it. Sometimes it works and sometimes not. People with hearing loss often say that their hearing gets worse when they get tired; my guess is this is why.

Do all you can to keep what you have.
 
Well to be fair this thread wasn't really about muffs & other protection. There have been lots on those topics though.

I have Peltor tactical 7's they work fine, but I'm unimpressed with some of the features of them. When they get replaced it'll be with something else.
 
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