>> Some ignorant (expletive deleted) hearing people think
 >> if you are
 >> wearing a hearing aid you should be able to hear
 >> perfectly.

 >> It's not like with eyeglasses. More is involved than

 >  BM> Eyeglasses aren't any better or different, really.  For some, they can
 >  BM> make vision normal or at least better.  For others, nothing helps.

 > OHmmm... to a point but you must admit we can often
 > get away with not
 > seeing too well far better than not being able to hear
 > very well tone
 > wise that is.

I suppose, if you consider colors to be equivalent of tone. It's sort of an
apples and oranges thing, though.

 > Say you're in a restaurant and cant read the menu
 > because the print is
 > too fancy and or small and the lighting isn't good. SO
 > you have a
 > little magnifying glass with a light. That solves the
 > problem.

Maybe.  After surgery, your vision is fuzzy, and nothing sharpens it except
eventual healing.

 > Now if you can't hear well and can't read lips ...
 > hmmm. Harder.

Yup.

 > Here's a funny. When hubby and I eat out he can never
 > 'hear' what I
 > say. But I can often read his lips... SO I say, honey
 > you should learn
 > to read lips. He says he doesn't too. I toss up my
 > hands...  why not?
 > You'd htink he was ashamed of this talent. As if being
 > able to read
 > lips were a sign of weakness instead of just another
 > way to
 > communicate.

 > My glasses btw let me see clear but I still can't see
 > well far away. I can
 > still read up close though, without them. But with
 > hearing well SPEECH
 > interpretation is far more complex than sight.

 >> just volume. No
 >> hearing aid no matter how fancy can deal perfectly
 >> with tone loss and
 >> background noise.

 >  BM> Also, no hearing aid can make you hear what you are unable to hear at
 >  BM> any volume--just as glasses can't help a person who is unable to see
 >  BM> light.

 >  Exactly. And yeah I see your point a bit better.. I
 > suppose though as
 > suggested, it's easier to get away with poor sight
 > than poor hearing.

It's hard to say.  I think it depends a lot on the circumstances. 
Communicating with people, probably (orally at least); driving and reading,
not.

 > ...................

 >> sister and mother in
 >> law were the only ones who could do it right. I used
 >> it only once to
 >> conduct business (calling our vet) and got hun g up on
 >> because the
 >> receptionist thought I was as a telemarketer...

 >  BM> Family, friends, and co-workers, yes.  It's nice to be able to hear
 >  BM> the voices of family and friends, but it wears very thin very quickly
 >  BM> when you have to keep asking for repetitions, and many times still
 >  BM> can't understand the critical word even when they spell it, with
 >  BM> regular telephone communications.  These people lots of times disdain
 >  BM> email or more than the one annual Christmas letter.

 >  I have two younger brothers who won't communicate
 > with me at all in
 > any shape or form simply because it's TOOO much
 > trouble to even do
 > email with me. So... hmm. Pffft.

 > They only think of THEIR discomfort as if....

If your problem is hereditary, they may have an unpleasant surprise waiting for them.

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