MY ETD IS MADE BY SIEMENS:THANKS TO RON

[Ric Brekne]

Hi Diane.

Hmmmm... this is the year 2006 yes ??  Sorry if I seem a bit offy in 
this reply, and as I've tried to convey earlier I dont think anyone has 
anything but praise for the hearing aid element to Ron Mays post.  I 
mean... hear hear as it were.  Good stuff and echoes things recently 
printed in the journal.  But really folks... I dont see the need to get 
religious about things here.  Brother this and sister that.... reminds 
me of the middle ages and a brief period and segment of the early 
60's... :)  

Nor do I really understand why anyone in this day and age would have any 
real psychological problems with either concepts of protecting ones 
hearing or getting a hearing aid.  I mean hey... we work in a profession 
where we need to protect our hearing.  Not doing so would be about as 
brilliant as working in a coal mine without a filter mask.  This should 
be rather obviously self enlightening to thee degree. Hardly any great 
risks involved in reminding each other about this. 

Hearing aids have been around for a very long time in one form or 
another. Remember the pictures of the old trumpets from ancient school 
books ?  And why ???  because we get old, because our hearing fails, and 
because  the only thing we can do about it is make the best of life 
despite that.  Nothing to freak out about.  Sheeshh... what woulda 
happened to Beethovens 9th if he had gone bootshakers in the face of 
loosing his hearing.

Cheers
RicB

------------------------------------------------
List friends,

I have a lot of early Journals from the days when piano technicians called
each other "Brother Smith" , "Brother Farrell", "Brother McCloud", etc.  
(Today we would have to add "Sister Hofstetter")

I believe that "Brother Ron May, RPT" did a very brave and helpful thing in
posting about his hearing aids and the need to get our hearing checked. (I
would add, annually and at higher frequencies than the audiologists usually
check.)

You have no idea of the number of piano techs I have met at conventions who
have problems with their hearing and feel that they have nowhere to turn.  
How do they admit to their customers, their competitors, their families and
themselves, that they are having trouble hearing?  One man arrived to take
his hearing test with his hearing aid firmly implanted in his pocket.

My father was terrified when he was trying to decide to buy his.  He asked
"What will people think, if I arrive at their homes to tune their pianos
wearing hearing aids?"  I asked him what they would think if he couldn't
hear to tune their pianos?

He eventually did buy them, and told his customers he had "bionic hearing",
from the TV show, the Bionic Man.  He passed both "the old" and "the new"
tuning tests aurally, but used an Accutuner in his daily rounds.

When he started teaching me to tune, he could hear the beats far better 
than
I could. (because of his hearing aids and because he knew what to listen
for--trained hearing will always outperform untrained).

After he died, I used a goodly portion of my inheritance from him, going to
PTG conventions to get the word out that it is necessary to protect our
hearing.  I had seen first hand how cruelly people can treat those who are
hard of hearing.

And we all are at some degree of risk.

We owe Brother May a debt of gratitude for being brave enough to bring the
topic up in such personal terms.

Diane