Random 3 for October 6, 2024 – Hearing aids, doo wop, loss

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There are just three today.

Interim update on the hearing aids – Three may not be the charm. The new pair I recently bought is great except that I have a lot of difficulty pairing it with my phone. When I get it paired, it doesn’t last. It drops connection. My cell phone is the only way I can make adjustments other than louder or quieter. There will be discussions with the manufacturer this week (I’ve already had one. They can get me connected but then after the call is over, bloop, it’s gone). My phone is an android which seems to be problematic. I can’t believe in this day and age, a company would make a product that only pairs with an iPhone! Seriously? I don’t need a new phone. I’m starting to think I’m not destined to have hearing aids.

Courtesy of Luciana Ruivo via Flickr

A way back concert – Our PBS station had a “Doo Wop” concert on TV. It was music from the late 1950s and 60s. This was music from when I was in high school. As soon as the songs started, I remembered the lyrics word for word. (The beloved husband will vouch for that. He listened to my off-key rendition of favorite songs.) It took me back to dances in my high school gym and old friends I’ve lost touch with. I can’t remember what I had for breakfast, but I can sing a song from the early 60s. The mind is a mysterious thing!

A season of loss – Maybe it’s my age or maybe it happens in groups but there had been a lot of loss lately. Today we are going to a celebration of life for a neighbor who died during the summer. We have two dear friends who are in a critical health crisis now. The situation for one looks hopeful but the other looks grim. These are contemporaries. It could be us in the that situation. It’s sobering and making me treasure each day.

So how was your week?

52 thoughts on “Random 3 for October 6, 2024 – Hearing aids, doo wop, loss”

  1. I’m sorry the hearing aids are not working out! It is weird that they would only make them to work with iPhones. Does another company possibly make the same thing but for Androids? I immediately sing along with 80’s songs too, so I know what you are talking about! It is always sobering when people your own age pass on or are in serious health crises. It definitely makes you appreciate every day!

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  2. My wife picked up her new hearing aids earlier this week. She’s previously refused to use an app on her phone to adjust them, but this time the audiologist insisted she try it out because he said she’d really like it. You may be onto something because his first question was phrased, “ I hope you have an iPhone.” She does thankfully. She’s got a better attitude about the app this time around because it has bells and whistles she likes. Most interesting is that she can allow the audiologist to remotely log in to adjust them, which I find both alarming and amazing all at the same time. I hope you get a handle on yours soon! – Marty

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    • I have decided to keep them. They do what I need. In the next few months, I’ll upgrade my phone. I can connect with the one I have but it drops off frequently and is a hassle to reconnect. I also have to reboot the phone frequently. I have a setting called noisy indoor which I am dying to try. Noisy indoors is an issue with me. Unfortunately it’s not helping me decipher accents. I like British mysteries but I miss a lot of the dialog and it’s not because I can’t hear it. I can’t figure it out.

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  3. You’re right that brains are amazing, albeit arbitrary when it comes to what I remember. I’m sorry to read about your contemporaries, yet am happy to know that you’ve taken it as a sign to enjoy what you have even more. That seems sound to me.

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  4. I can remember the lyrics to all the Partridge Family/David Cassidy songs (my hero when I was 7-8), but not what I had for breakfast. You’re right, the mind is a mysterious thing.

    Hugs to you for the loss of the neighbor. And I understand what you mean about how these things are sobering.

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  5. I remember my late father had a great deal of trouble with his hearing aids and their connection with his phone (also an Android). I never understood the technicalities (does anyone, I wonder).

    Loss – quite apart from the tragic loss of my sister and brother-in-law in a dreadful traffic accident last month, I am reading this on October 7th. I can’t even think about this right now. But yes – I do think quite a lot now (like several times a day) about the fragility of life and the need to treasure every day we have, every moment with our loved ones. They are too precious to waste.

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    • I read about you sister and her husband on your blog. So very tragic. A friend of mine was killed this past weekend in a car accident. You never know when your last day is.

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  6. I am the same way about hearing songs on oldies stations, when I may not have heard those songs in decades – then I sing the lyrics word for word. In high school, a friend/classmate had a 50s band with his brother and a few other guys. Along with the five girls I hung around with, we would occasionally go when the group played at local high schools – we’d dress up with 50s-style clothes and just dance with one another and had a ball. In doing so, we got to know all the 50s songs they played and I even remember those by heart. Yes, the brain is amazing – can’t remember what I went downstairs for, but remember the music. Sorry about the hearing aids not working out. I remember a high school friend had a tough time getting used to hers and she got them around the same time she had cataract surgery and opted for prescription lens implants and had issues with them too. It’s rough hearing about our friends who die or those with serious illnesses – it gives you something to dwell on for sure.

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      • Yes, we all had such good times with them. My friend is a judge her in my City and he still has the band; his brother, the City attorney, has an orchestra-type band that does weddings. They have concerts in the park every Thursday night, mostly take-off rock or country bands – they have high attendance, so these guys do not … no appeal to younger folks I guess.

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  9. I hope the manufacturer can help with the hearing aid. I was in high school in the 80’s, but I have always enjoyed the music from the 50’s and 60’s. My Mom and Dad were always playing the records during my childhood.

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  10. I remember playing the radio in bed when I was a preteen so I could keep up with the newest songs. And, of course, I still remember them. High school and junior-high dances were the greatest. Also there was a Saturday night dance the next town over that was open to everyone. (I don’t remember any “old” people there or any alcohol, so maybe it was for a younger group.)

    You’d think they’d be able to make their hearing aids work for all cell phones being as how there are only two companies. I hope you can get that to work out for you.

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    • We didn’t have weekly dances but maybe once a month. When I was in high school there weren’t a lot of activities outside of sports. Cell phone companies make me nuts. I haven’t decided what to do yet. The ones I bought at half price are not full price through my healthcare so sending them back means paying twice as much for any other pair.

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  12. For all that technology can accomplish, it’s more than a bit disappointing when it fails to deliver consistently. If it makes you feel better, iPhone connectivity with CarPlay has all sorts of glitches. Sheesh. 🤦🏼‍♀️

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    • You would think some of these things were standardized (said by someone who doesn’t understand technology all that well). I’ve been looking at the “compatible” cells and the ones offered by my cell service. Yikes! We’re looking at $800 for a new phone. Seriously, I don’t use a phone for much more than basic functions.

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  13. Pairing your hearing aids with your phone sounds complicated to me. Seems everything has to be compatible. I am sorry you have lost a neighbor and may lose friends. At least the doo-wop brought back fun memories. Have a good week. All ok here.

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    • I’ve been researching and a lot of cell phones are not compatible. You need the compatibility because that’s where you adjust when you go into different environments. Doo wop was more fun than we expected.

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  14. I’m sorry people you care about are reaching their end.

    I, too, resent hearing aid companies ignoring Android phones. If I bought an Apple, I wouldn’t be able to afford hearing aids. Thanks for the warning.

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  15. I’m sorry I can’t offer some advice, but I have a relatively older iPhone, and mine pair with it. A couple of times a year, I have difficulty and end up turning off Bluetooth, turning it back on, and magically it works. Hope the Mfg can help you. Yes, more people we know are definitely dealing with health issues or passing on. It does make one appreciate each and every day that our feet hit the floor in the morning.

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    • I have a whole routine I can do to pair it up but it doesn’t last more than an hour and it’s tedious. Works best if I take out and put in charging case, then reinsert. I’ve rebooted the phone multiple times. I don’t understand why it sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Technology — great when it works, frustrating when it doesn’t. Thanks for your experience. The cheapest new iPhone I could find retail for more than the hearing aids cost.

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  16. The older we get, the older the people around us get. But I don’t think about them aging, they tended to get an age attached to them in my brain and that’s where they stay. Like my mom was forever 42, an unlikely age of course but so be it. A lot happened during that year and that’s where my mind goes when I think of her. Never mind that she was closer to 84 when she died. When children of friends grow up and have babies I can’t believe they are old enough for that. Their parents are my age and I am not old enough to have children having babies. Then I do the math and realize I could have grandchildren and at a mild stretch, great grandchildren and I get old and depressed for a while.

    I was looking at the new Apple earbuds and their noise canceling and wondered whether that might be more what you’re looking for rather than traditional hearing aids. People seem to wear them all the time but I’m not sure they can be made to “hear” room conversation.

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  17. So sorry about the hearing aid issues…..I’m not even sure if I needed them that I’d be able to get them since we don’t use cell phones! Anyway – so far so good with hearing – – – the rest of me is falling apart but the hearing is OK. Losing contemporaries is a reminder and not the kind we like to get……but maybe it just makes us really TRULY value our “now” time even more.

    Hugs, Pam

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    • The death parade gets weary. I feel like when the music stops grab a chair or you are gone. Fortunately, my hearing isn’t too bad. I could use vocal enhancement but I can do ok if I have to.

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  19. Maybe you need to d/l an app for the hearing aids?? Like I have an app that is available on both Android and iOS for my diabetes. I have an iPhone but I hear that they are very hard to figure out. 😮 Check the Google Play store.

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  20. Barely a month goes by sometimes when there isn’t a loss, whether it be human or critter. I guess we have gotten to “that age.” Sigh.

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