My father suffered from Meniere’s Disease, which caused dizzy spells and in the last 10-15 years of his life, a great deal of hearing loss. So I know something about talking to an older person who can’t hear. I went out in search of things to help him keep in touch and this is about just one of them.

See this below? Of course you do.

It costs allows people who are hard of hearing to communicate in detail with another person. I don’t know how well it works on hearing other things. It cost $179 and is on this site.

I didn’t know it existed when my dad was alive. But Radio Shack had one like it they were selling for around $35. I got one and my father was able to hear every nuance of my conversation as I spoke directly into the microphone part. It was a really, really neat thing and especially helpful during the time he was ill and dying.

They still sold it up until a few months ago (Optimus brand, I think) but it no longer seems to be available. Frankly, I think a company saw great potential in them, did a little upscaling and now are selling them for many times the $35 price. However, you can start off with this:

$14.99 and look at it at this site.

Even this little device can be very helpful in allowing people to communicate. I have preached it to a lot of Boomers with deaf parents . . .

We checked the email here at the Peanut Butter Cafe & Roadhouse and saw that Der Bingle had sent a reference to a certain newspaper article and remarked, “Words fail.” It is about the greenhouse effect and cow flatulence, and I have to add that everyone here is as speechless as he. Except for Norm, who guffawed and exclaimed, “Cow farts my eye.” Of course, I, AmeliaJake, shot him a “look” because I was always taught to say “passing gas” if I had to refer to the subject. To this day, if I utter the other word out of some desperate attempt to not seem a prudish old woman, I feel really, really sleazy, totally unwholesome and just a jerk.