The Wonderful News!!

Posted on September 24, 2009
Filed Under Hearing Loss | Leave a Comment

One of my first experiences with how embarrassing a hearing loss can be to someone was over 25 years ago.  At the time I was working as a hearing aids specialist in a community in Oregon. One day the pastor of a church in a small town nearby that was known for its local lumber mill came in asking for help.
The pastor came by himself, which is unusual.  Many times men his age (mid 50’s to early 60’s) come unwillingly, practically led in by a wife or family member, tired of repeating things! In this case, the pastor had suffered one of those acutely embarrassing moments that motivated him to take action.
The previous Sunday, as was typical in his denomination, the pastor had announced that now was the time to share any praise reports, or something they felt was an answer to prayer. He asked anyone that wanted, to stand and share with the congregation their good report.
There were always new and unexpected bits of trivia for the congregants to hear in this part of the service.  After several people had shared their “good reports”, one lady who had a soft voice stood and said “I know this isn’t a praise report, but I really need your prayers and support. My husband has left me and the children this week and moved out, and I don’t know what to do…”
The pastor, who had worked in the local lumber mill for quite a few years and suffered from a severe high frequency hearing loss,  had no idea what she had just said, but assumed it was another praise report and responded, “Well praise the Lord, isn’t that wonderful news!”
The pastor’s wife tried to mitigate the damage by jumping up and saying “Pastor, I don’t think you heard what she said. She said…. “(And repeated it). Of course, that helped for the moment, but the incident was soon told to everyone who lived in the entire community. Now, twenty five or more years later, it is still being retold! I did omit names to protect the embarrassed, but I wanted to illustrate how one misunderstanding caused by a hearing impairment can create havoc!
If you have an interesting or humorous experience to relate, send me an email. We can put together a collection of “You heard What?!” stories. Send your anecdote to suggestions@hearinghaven.com
Fortunately, many of those situations can be prevented by foresight and working to rehabilitate your hearing and understanding. If it’s been a while since you’ve had a well conducted hearing evaluation, consider scheduling one soon. Try to get a copy of your hearing test for your records, so you can save it for comparisons to a future test, or for a second opinion.
Thanks for sharing a bit of your time with me. Until next time, have a pleasant and blessed day!
Bob Bare
http://www.HearingHaven.com
http://www.HearingAidsForLife.com
http://www.expertclick.com/19-3158

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