WHAT?

Hearing Loss An Aging Challenge

What?  Could you say that again, please?

A couple years ago when I was teaching some really  cute  little kids at REACH, our church’s hands-on ministry for students K-5, I found myself asking the  youngest ones  who had signed up for “Beach Time” to repeat themselves over and over.   I was kind of worried because   I knew that hearing loss was a common condition in aging.  One in three people ages 65-74 have some difficulty with hearing, and  nearly ½ of all those 75 years or older do.

The high-pitched chatter coming from excited preschoolers and kindergarteners each Saturday morning -- while they were collecting shells, scouring for environmental hazards, sculpting turtles, creating sand art and making hanging terrariums on our pretend beach  -- was absolutely delightful.  It didn’t always make sense in the lesson, and I’m not sure I always heard them correctly; but it was joyful. 

“Do shells poop?”

“We have a big raft in our pond.”

“My mom flushed my gold fish  down  the toilet last year.”

“Do dad turtles lay eggs?” 

Since I was already over 70 at that  time and worried about not being able to hear my beachcombers, I decided to take advantage of a  free hearing checkup at our local hospital. Honestly, I thought they’d tell me I needed hearing aides, but I was surprised when the audiologist reported my hearing was very  good except for the really high frequencies – where young children’s voices register. Oh!

I was reminded of the possibility that people may be hearing different things when Graham Wardle (Ty from the TV series Heartland) shared a Yanny vs Laurel video from the Ellen Show on his Time Has Come network recently.

Listen to this version. What do you hear?

The intriguing mystery of what is being said began when  vocabulary.com  hired an opera singer to record words for their resource website, and people began hearing two difference things with this one word. Why?

Some researchers think people have been primed to hear one of them. But Benjamin Munson, professor of audiology at the University of Minnesota, suggests most younger people hear the higher frequency “Yanny” and some older folks whose higher range has been degraded hear “Laurel”  in the lower range.

You guessed it:  I heard LAUREL loud & clear. My husband heard YANNY. And we’re the same age??? So I’m not sure about that theory. But…

Maybe that’s why I couldn’t  hear that sweet five-year-old say, “Potty, please.” Oops!

It’ll Be Ok.

~~~

Three old guys:  “It’s windy today.  No, it’s Thursday!  So am I.  Let’s have a beer.”   ~ Pinterest

COMMENT:  Did you hear YANNY or LAUREL?

PS. The actual word being pronounced by the opera singer was “laurel.”