Hearing and telephones

All of us here spend time on the range. Some of us older folk spent time on a range when hearing protection was not considered absolutely necessary. We know better now, but we are still saddled with moderate to severe hearing loss.

I, for one, do not hear very well on a telephone unless it is on speaker and the volume turned up.

Why then, do people call, mumble (my wife, with normal hearing, can't understand them), and then get upset and rude when you ask them to speak up?

I had a call this morning that I presume was someone looking for a person I don't even know (at least I didn't recognize the name). I presumed it was a collection agency from the way the person sounded and informed them that my number was on the do not call registry. When they got bent out of shape, I wished them a good day and hung up.

Is there a better way of dealing with this? I don't like to get rude, crude, and socially unacceptable, but this gets tiresome very quickly.

If using a headset for cell phone or if your land line supports it have a custom earmold made for it. I knew someone that did that for his Bluetooth. It blocked out all outside noise pretty well and concentrated the sound to his ear. I am working on getting one done for mine and also a set of just plugs for the range. You can get just plugs or the noise filtering like some of the competitive shooters have. The basic mold for a headpiece should be fairly cheap.

I've been 40% nerve deaf since I was 3 years old. I do hear SOUND, but do not differentiate it well, especially in a noisy environment. I mostly lip read in that case.

I also do not understand many people over the telephone and an increase of volume is no help. Without any facial clues or body language, it is very difficult to understand on the telephone, but almost impossible if the person does not enunciate clearly or goes too fast.

I use full electronic ear protection when shooting, and double that with regular soft plugs if I shoot indoors. I keep a set in my bedside table and pray I'd have time (and the presence of mind) to insert them if there was an emergency. More hearing loss I do not need.

As for telemarketers and others who call uninvited, I have no reason to be courteous or listen to them at all. Most telemarket calls are now a recording, for pity sake, expecting you to call THEM!! I don't think so.

Real people who call get to tell me who they are and what they want. If they start out with anything else but self identification, I hang up. Otherwise, they will be told that I'm not interested, and THEN I hang up.

Installing a telephone does not obligate one to actually answer it, or talk to anyone who calls. It is for OUR convenience, nothing else.

So there!

The last time I purchased a set of portable phones, I made sure the phones had a good Consumer Reports rating with respect to clarity and volume. Even so, on occasion I'll be talking with someone, usually some operator at some place of business, who either has a crappy headset/mic setup, or who can't figure out how to adjust it so I can hear him/her.

When that happens, I simply become obstinate, alternating between "I'm sorry, but I did not understand what you just said" and "can you please adjust your headset, as I'm having difficulty hearing you."

I feel justified in doing so because when I talk with friends and family on the phone, either local or LD, I have no problem hearing or understanding them at all!

I haven't used a land line phone in years, 8 out of 10 calls at my home, weren't for me. I recently discontinued service, and saved myself 50 bucks a month.

I keep the ringer turned off. No one I want to talk to has that number anyway.

Although come to think of it, I usually don't answer my cell either. I've never been much of a "talk on the phone" kinda guy. When I do answer, I give them two hello's to say something. Usually I hang up as the computer is switching me to a live operator.

It's all about enunciation. More people DO mumble and use sloppy enunciation and bad diction these days. I have this same difficulty with people talking FTF sometimes, and my hearing has been tested as being nearly perfect...

When people think it is cool and normal to talk like they have a handful of marbles in their mouths, or like they are trying to hold half a dozen toothpicks between their teeth, it's no wonder you can't understand them. And when these people breed, their children will develop even worse speech habits, and it just gets worse and worse...

Eventually, there will be an entirely different dialect of English in the US that will be barely discernible to anyone who speaks "proper English", and it will sound like mumbles and squeaks, but people who grow up hearing and speaking it will hear it as no different than "proper English". Mark my words...