Friday, November 13, 2009

That Explains Everything

Yesterday the Farmer and I did some errands together before his appointment with an ear doctor. He's been having pain in his ear on and off for a week and decided it would be a good idea to have it checked out.

Lately he's been driving me crazy because I'll say something or ask him a question, with no response. Many, many times I'm left standing there exclaiming, "I guess I'm talking to myself again." It's only at this point that he responds, "What? What???" It's frustrating.

The doctor performed the examination and couldn't find any infection and decided to give a full exam including a hearing test.

The Farmer listened to beeps and blips and raised his hand and pointed per the instructions of the person giving the test. The results were explained to him by means of a graph. They accurately predicted that he would have great difficulty following a conversation in a restaurant or say, a wedding reception.

I was sitting in the waiting room when he returned with a odd smile on his face. Something like this:

Photobucket
The Farmers as a kid

"What's up with you?" I asked.

"Well, the doctor explained something to me," he replied.

"When you read a certain age you lose parts of your hearing in certain ranges. There's certain bands of the range that you have great difficulty in detecting," he continued.

"Like what?" I asked.

"Well, actually a woman's voice is a higher range than a man's"

Can you guess where this conversation is going?

"It's very difficult if not impossible to hear that female voice if there's say, a TV on in the room."

HUH??

Did he just say what I think he said? Yep.......

Ladies, your men are not ignoring you. They simply can't hear you because of this special form of hearing loss.

It MUST be so, because the doctor said so.

But, then again, he's a man.


22 comments:

Stickhorsecowgirls said...

Sounds convenient...very convenient. C

Stuck on Sunflowers said...

FUNNY, my husband has the exact same hearing loss. But, if I am speaking softly on the telephone, he can hear every word I have said. HUMMMMM.................

Becky K. said...

Cute post!
Hope they offered him some help so he can hear you again.

Becky K.

horse loving lineman's wife said...

OMG, I love it. This explains alot in our household. Actually my husband grew up in a household where he father was almost deaf (really). And so everything was loud, and my husband Todd, can hardly hear a thing, or SO HE SAYS...hhhhmmm, I think something is fishy here.

Jayne Honnold said...

So many times we write LOL and we aren't really, but I am really LOL-ing!! It is such a convenient diagnosis! Love it!!

Still LOL-ing! :-)

Lisa D. said...

So... Did you suggest that all the T.V's in the house were going to have to go, if they were going to interfere with his being able to hear your voice? :)

Caterina Giglio said...

just found your blog and loved your post! I am laughing out loud!

Bindhu said...

LOL!
First time here, but going to be a regular. :)

Anonymous said...

ah yes.. you can listen as well as you hear:)

gp

Sarah - Kala said...

HA ha! That's hilarious!!

Mary said...

That is too funny. My dh just angrily repeats what he thinks we've said as if we are speaking gibberish. Once I said in respose "you need a hearing aid" he replyed "I don't have any insecurities" that about sums it up. NO hearing aids, but a good line to use when he's not hearing.

StitchinByTheLake said...

That's a likely story! I'm with Stuck on Sunflowers - my husband can't hear me ask him to do something but he can hear every word of a conversation I'm having on the phone with a friend. blessings, marlene

Jules said...

just another FYI - it starts long before they are married. My 11 year old hasn't "heard" me for the past few years.

life in red shoes said...

The Mr. and I are both 52 and we are already in the thick of this problem! We are constantly saying 'WHAT"? So annoying.
I must thank you for another wonderful comment. What you have done for your young man is so touching.
I ran into a man that lived in the neighborhood where I grew up not long ago. As a child I would look out our front window and watch his family, he went off to work at the same time every week day, came home at the same time, etc. He would be greeted by his children, friends of ours, and his wife. They would eat dinner together, all those things that in my mind normal families did.
This went on for several years, and during the chaos and craziness of my homelife I held onto that one hope, one day when I am grown up I will not live like this, I will live like the Palmers.
It was the example of that family, and many others that kept me on track during the hard times. I married a man that doesn't drink, goes to work every day, we pay our bills on time and even have a few bucks in the bank. Being rich to us is being able to pay our bills, buy groceries and still have a few bucks left for fun.
This may sound stupid, but I owe it all to the people in my life that were mentors. Those that without even knowing showed me the way to a better life.
We all have it in us to do this, and we owe our good fortune to someone that did it for us.
This is gift that money cannot buy, please give it.

Anonymous said...

Your husband has it right I think. My hubby's doctor told me the same thing after he went in for an exam. It has something to do with the tone that they hear after a certain time. I wonder if the same thing happens to the gentle sex sometime?

chris said...

We're on the same page at my house. As these men get older they get stinker and less able to use their senses unless they want to. I love my husband but if you mention that he should get a hearing aide he flips out! Meanwhile I am stressed from repeating and sometimes shouting all my communications to him. Does he care? Not really. And the Dr. even gave him a hand out for me that says I should face him and talk directly into his face so he can read my lips! I think that they just don't want to invest insurance money in hearing aides. They would rather give me a stroke!!!

Cindy said...

Oh, Suzanne, I fee your pain....Hubby has been deaf in one ear since he was 5, so I guess he's got a legitimate excuse. There are some advantages though, like being able to hear the TV clearly at the other end of the house, and getting to repeat yourself on a regular basis. If you're really lucky, maybe he'll learn to read your lips! Men - we gotta love 'em!

lisa said...

That's funny. I'm so forwarding that, because I know a couple ladies who can relate!

Mary Rex said...

Ha! That is a perfect excuse now, isn't it? But sometimes it is certainly that they hear but do not listen.
Someone did a study and found that if you speak into your partner's left ear, that they will "hear" better what you say because the right brain processes contextual language.
It is a problem that affects us all as we age. I am having the same problem...but I make an extra effort to hear people who are trying to tell me something.
That picture of the young farmer is too cute! I bet he still does look the same when he gives you that mischevious smile.

Anonymous said...

Time to buy a bullhorn, Suzanne! DO YOU THINK THEN HE WILL BE ABLE TO HEAR YOU?

Oh, sorry, was I yelling again?

Hubby tells me often that I am deaf and don't hear what he has said, but I really don't think he said anything to hear. I think these unheard conversations are just going on in his head.

Men, I swear.
Di

Michelle said...

Funny....this explanation sounds like something that would come right out of my own husband's mouth.

Jody Blue said...

maybe you two should just take a body language course;)