Timothy Leary’s rallying cry for hippies of Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out has new meaning these days. Turning on has lost some of its rebellious cachet now that weed has been legalized in Ontario and boomers are tuning in on a different frequency. If you’re like me, many boomers are now committed owners and users of hearing aids. Just as surely as we all needed glasses when we turned 50, we now rely on hearing aids to keep ourselves in the conversation.

Hereditary issues dictated that I needed assistance with hearing when I was in my fifties and still working. I started with one hearing aid for my right ear, and a couple of years later I decided I wanted to hear in stereo so I acquired a second device—teeny, tiny, and very expensive little things that tucked invisibly behind each ear. I clearly remember walking out of the audiologist’s office and for the first time in ages and being able to hear my flip-flop sandals slapping on the ground with each step I took. Then, I went to the bank and miraculously overheard what the teller at the next desk was saying to her customer. Eureka!

So, for more than twenty years now, I’ve been a fan and promoter of hearing aids. I am also a huge fan of British TV shows and a subscriber to both Britbox and Acorn. I watch their streaming services almost exclusively. My enjoyment of Shetland, Derry Girls, Bad Sisters, Motherland, and so many other excellent programs would be greatly diminished if I could not follow the heavily accented dialogue with on-screen captions.

Even North American shows can benefit from closed captioning. Many actors no longer project their voices the way theatre actors do which makes it difficult to follow every word of dialogue. Whispering, mumbling, and too-rapid delivery means we could easily miss vital words and sentences that could be crucial to the plot.

Reading the captions can be entertaining in itself as some of the captioned words must be interpreted by someone who speaks English as a second or third language. Hilarious malapropisms, misspellings, and wrong words abound and often leave me gobsmacked. I can somewhat understand mistakes on live TV where it can be a challenge to keep up, but prerecorded programs have no excuse for all the errors.

When I first developed hearing issues, I resorted to watching television with large wireless Sony headphones that allowed me to focus on the sound without distraction. Now, I have a marvellous pair of Blue Tooth hearing aids that pick up the television’s sound directly through a little box attached to the TV. I understand this can work for telephone calls too but I haven’t advanced that far yet.

Hearing aids are not as perfect as the hearing we were born with, but they sure make life much easier to join in and understand conversations. It becomes tricky in public places like restaurants with a lot of background noise because the devices are not quite as efficient as natural hearing, even though they have adjustable settings designed to accommodate special situations. When we turn down the background noise, it sometimes makes it difficult to hear the people sitting across the table from us.

When I got my first hearing aids twenty years ago they cost approximately $5,000.00. The Canadian government reimburses users a portion of the cost which helps enormously, but I’ve recently been getting my hearing aids from Costco*. Their service is excellent and with the rebate, my out-of-pocket cost was only $1,000.00 total. At that price, I could afford to treat myself to the little $350.00 TV Blue Tooth box.

Even though I now get television sounds transmitted directly into my ears, I still feel the need for closed captioning. Not only does it make watching British television shows understandable, but I leave the captioning on for everything, including those times I watch local programming. Most of the news is so stressful, so anger-inducing and depressing though, I try to avoid it as much as possible. British humour is infinitely better for my mental health. And, thanks to closed captioning I don’t miss a word. Have you tuned in?

*Disclosure: I receive no benefit or reward whatsoever by endorsing Costco for the purchase of hearing aids (if only!). I simply wanted to share a positive experience with fellow boomers.