The hearing Test

The ear doctor asked questions (Do you turn your television up REALLY loud?), Mummy P. said 'no' and Plotnik wrote 'yes' on the checklist. They were ready for people who are in denial about their hearing and were extremely understanding during the examination. And we were only ten minutes late.

Yes, indeed, Costco has a hearing center just like they have a vision center, and though Plottie has never been convinced about the Costco eye doctor, the ear exam was thorough and state-of-the-art. It was way nicer than old Dr. Earbottle down the street.

Different for sure than Plotnik's abortive army physical all these years ago -- when he tried so hard to fail the hearing test and all the other tests too, but all were unfailable. You only had to answer "yes" to the question: "Are you breathing at this very moment?" and you were in.

So now, Mummy P. knows she needs hearing aids. Her high end is gone (women's voices, music, anything soft). We will try to convince her to follow through. But the most important thing the doctor said was "If the patient doesn't really want these, you are wasting your money. She won't wear them and she'll never get used to them." By last night she had already forgotten much of the test and was saying, once again, that she didn't think she had a hearing problem and didn't understand why everybody else kept telling her she did.

One thing is certain: if she gets hearing aids, the quality of her life will go 'way up and that will lead to better health. She'll be able to do things like listen to music that she has stopped doing. She says she understands all that. So, all right then.