Re: [Paddlewise] Prescription sunglasses - and hearing aids for paddlers

Great News Peter!  Sounds as though you went to the right person. Sunglasses
for paddlers, skiers, rafters, swimmers, etc. can be a major issue. The only
perfect solution I've found was the surgery but I had to come down with
cataracts to get it. Never thought I'd be grateful for poor DNA.

Another problem area for many paddlers is hearing. The price of a hearing
aid can make even the most expensive sunglasses seem cheap by comparison.

I share a common problem with many men over 55: high frequency hearing loss.
This has benefits as well as drawbacks. I don't hear my wife as well as
she'd like but movies are difficult to hear; especially when they insist on
having the characters whisper critical dialog to make it more dramatic. Ah
for the days when the director wanted the actors to speak up. I've also
noticed that the dynamic range (the difference between the quiet parts and
the loud parts) has become much greater over the past decade. My wife has
learned to compensate for my hearing loss by speaking to the windows,
mirrors and in another room. I have yet to convince the movie directors. I
finally resorted to hearing aids.

In a kayak hearing loss can be dangerous. This is especially true when
paddlers wear protective headgear. Wave and boat noises run the gamut of the
frequencies and can drown out conversations, buoy sound signals (typically
bells), the silly whistles paddlers are required to carry for emergencies
(almost always smack dab in the middle of the middle-age hearing loss
range), cell phones (oh, wait... that's a good thing), VHF radios, etc. It's
even possible that paddlers would give up the sport because they are
concerned about safety or embarrassed about the condition.

I look at my hearing loss as a badge of honor. Years of flying
piston-powered aircraft, shooting guns, and listening to rock-and-roll (and
samba.... oh, do I ever miss samba) music probably caused my hearing loss
but also shaped who I am today. The lovable curmudgeon everyone wants to
hang out with. Oh... wait.....

Members of paddling groups might want to keep all this in mind. Lots of
people with hearing loss don't even know they have hearing loss. It could be
a safety issue if other paddlers are not aware of it.

So far I have not mustered the courage to wear my hearing aids on the water.
I have, however, stumbled upon a couple of possible solutions. One is the
"throw-away"  or disposable hearing aid advertised on TV. They claim that
it's a "digital" unit but it's almost certainly - at about US$90 - not the
same as a high-end digital unit (which can be configured to enhance only the
groups of frequencies needed by the wearer). However it's supposed to last
for 400 hours which is probably as long as any of us would need it for a
year of paddling. Google for "songbird".

There is "MagnaEar" which sells for the ridiculously low price of US$16.95
for one or US$23.95 for two. These are "in the ear" units (ITE as opposed to
behind-the-ear (BTE) models) and do not look to be very small. But for the
price if they are effective at all then they'd be useful as throw-aways.
They are not water resistant. See for yourself at: (The link may be
fractured.)

http://www.thegearandgadgets.com/BROUS_MagniEar241Premier.htm?gclid=CPDx666GgZ8CFRwTagodGQNfsQ

There are a number of water-resistant hearing aids out there running in the
US$700 range and there is a "Hunter" behind-the-ear unit which is touted to
be fully waterproof (!) for about $350 (
http://www.advancedhearing.com/site/955817/product/WPBTE).

If you are not familiar with the jargon of hearing aids (BTE, ITE, etc.) you
can find a lot of information on the Internet. I discovered that actual
technical specs for various units are almost impossible to get as
manufacturers like to make up their own prose. Making a unit suitable for
paddling adds quite a bit to the complexity of manufacture. Making one that
also won't come off is even harder.

This little piece grew from an off-hand comment to Peter into this essay so
I apologize. I expect regular readers of Paddlewise are not very surprised.
I have not yet actually bought anything to use while paddling but I think
for next season I will try to find something suitable.

If anyone has something to add to this I would greatly appreciate it.


Craig Jungers
Moses Lake, WA
www.nwkayaking.net
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