How to tell my friends I won't be able to attend the annual pre-holiday dinner.

[marble falls]

4. Have you tried a sound cancelling unit? Before I got my aids, I couldn't hear anything in a restauraunt clearly ...

... now I can't hear my whole table (I found out I read lips very well), but I can hear what a table near us was saying very clearly.

But the airplane noise cancelers work fine in crowds.

My aids are good, though. I never realized how loud I was for someone who was proud of how silently I could live around others.

I wasn't the considerate one: everyone else around me was!

The problem with giving up things is that it is a slippery slope and if we aren't careful we slip all the "juice" out of our lives. I used to ride long distances, bike and wind noise would screw up my inside hearing for an hour or so when I'd stop for a meal or at night.

I'd still be riding, but I have a good marriage and she tolerates more from me than I ever thought she would already.