Mumbling
August 28, 2012 | 07:38 AM

I have moderate deafness in middle frequencies, and have worn hearing aids since I was a young boy (apart from a period during my adolescence when I was too image-conscious, and preferred not hearing certain things).

Obviously the hearing aids do what they are meant to in terms of amplifying sound, but when someone is a chronic mumbler, all that gets me is amplified mumbling. In many ways the more important function of my hearing aids is that they serve as a signal to people that they need to speak up and speak clearly. (Obviously I wouldn't get the same benefit with discreet, in-ear hearing aids, but then they strike me as a waste of money anyway.)

Maybe Mr Card should look at getting some "fake" hearing aids...

Al