My mothers hearing worsened as she aged and she never quite adjusted to using hearing aids. I know that it effected her daily life and lessoned her abilty to interact with people and lead to depression. I did not mean to be insenstive and you might very well be right. At 59 I have some high frequency hearing lose and at times can not hear things that others around me can.

parkison shit spread about Hillary...I was please to see that posters who supported a variety of candidates did not find this post to be worthwhile.

treat as fact Biden being hard of hearing. It raised the same question this OP did in a different post. A major difference is hearing loss is not particularly disqualifying where someone truly suffering from Parkinson's would not be ready to stand up to the rigors of the US Presidency. If you think that speculating on the possibility that Biden is hard of hearing this OP has done the exact same thing.

Biden is clearly in great physical condition

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which doesn't indicate or preclude hearing loss.

Hearing loss is not a bad thing.
It's about as inevitable as far sightedness but typically develops quite awhile later. Hearing aids should be viewed the same way as reading glasses... and as inexpensive and readily available.

It just hit a nerve and people over-reacted.

My favorite candidate is 70 and is the only candidate on stage in the debates wearing glasses. If she had a hearing aid too, I would not care.

Our bodies change as we age. Best to adapt and use what is available to make it easier.
I am of the mind that we would benefit from having a younger candidate. But, Warren is most appealing to me right now. I think there is some risk to electing an older candidate because there is a real possibility of an age related disruption complicating the presidency. Anything can happen to any of us because of our basic biological vulnerabilities. But the odds increase with age. I think it is just sensible to acknowledge it.

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used it that way.

was expressing the idea that hearing aids are inexpensive just that they should be. Hearing loss is a bad thing as you point out, but correcting it should not be a source of shame. Since all of my Father's side of my family have, or did have when they were alive, profound hearing loss I understand how difficult it can be for the person suffering and those around. With all that, I still wouldn't think twice about voting for someone who is hard of hearing.

As in everyone who lives long enough will lose some hearing ability. It's normal rather than reflective of some kind of unusual problem or deficiency. It's also very normal to lose hearing with prolonged exposure to loud noise. It's a simple neutral fact that our bodies are vulnerable.
My dad ran an artillery gun in Vietnam. The hearing loss itself was not as much of a problem as the long struggle he had to go through to get the VA to pay for hearing aids. After he got them he was thrilled and has become quite comfortable with wearing them.
My point was that hearing loss should be accepted the same way as our very ordinary need for reading glasses, which is a marker of being over 40. They are affordable and available on the rack in retail stores.

Thanks for your post. I didn't recognize his problem at first. I've been trying to figure out why he was so hesitant when he raised his hand (only halfway with his index finger pointing up). That explains it. He didn't even "hear" the question. He heard and saw enough to know there was a question but instead of asking for it to be repeated (drawing attention to his hearing loss) he just assumed all the words he didn't quite hear. This is very common for people suffering from hearing loss.

One on one it's not bad. My doctor convinced me that I utilize lip reading more than I realized. In a large group of people all chattering it's very hard to deal with. I noticed he turned full face to Kamala while she was talking. Likely so he could attempt to lip read in order to supplement his hearing disability.

He won't get a hearing aid though. It's a vanity thing, like trying to hide the fact that you're bald with a combover (i.e. trump), a hair piece or hair plugs.

I couldn’t understand why she’d care. I’ve seen people with obvious aids. So what?

I wear glasses, but I could never convince her. Now I feel terrible that I tried to tell her she was being silly. It was how she felt, and that was that.

My issue is that it's almost a total loss in one ear. They have hearing aids that broadcast from the "total" loss side to the one in the better ear. I said no way because I'd lose all sense of directionality with a setup like that. It would make a bad situation worse for me. Plus they're around 8 or 9K and I retired now anyway!

After she died, I knew she was flinching somewhere when I disposed of them.

She wore glasses from 3 years old, and I know she hated that. I should have been more understanding, but it was so frustrating to see her not be able to hear. She often pretended she heard what someone said, even when it was clear she didn’t. Makes me very sad now.

You were just looking out for her, I am sure she knew that deep down.

All the best.

Means a lot.

I would guess Trump does, too. I'd be surprised if Biden didn't. Maybe not significant, but somewhat.

Perhaps he does suffer from hearing loss. There are sounds that I can't hear in one ear but it isn't in the range of human speech.

I probably need them, but as long as I don’t go to loud restaurants, etc., I can get by.

I don’t think it is disqualifying, but Biden is showing a little age and trying a little too hard to hide it. I hold my breath when he tries running up steps to the stage.

People will take it as a unfair criticism because it implies something "wrong" that the candidate is hiding or that could be used against them. So even if it is no big deal to you, other people might not see it that way.

I suffered a major hearing loss in my early 30s due to an infection during pregnancy. Because I was pregnant the doctors were conservative in the antibiotic treatment, and then I developed a penicillin allergy. I had a partial restoration after additional treatment, antibiotics and steroids. But it flared up again about ten years ago. Between the initial damage and scar tissue found on an MRI, there wasn't much to be done. But, it is what it is. I have difficulty in restaurants and at social events but I make due. Hearing aids? Well, I also have tinnitus and have found hearing appliances more annoying than helpful.

Could Biden have a hearing loss? Sure, it's possible. And yes, that hesitation or pause in answering is something I do as well.

But you certainly do not owe anyone an apology, peacetrain. As you said, you were sharing a thought.

a thought.. then someone tried to make it a thing to slam Biden's debate performance as an added perk.

It's getting righteous pushback, though.. like I said to Peacetrain.

Sorry about your hearing loss due to infection, Peggysue!

And thanks for the thoughts. As I said, it is what it is. And the pregnancy went on without a hitch. That was the most important thing.

My husband wasn't thrilled though--he had to wake up to wake me up to feed our youngest son Bryan. I never heard a peep. LOL!

someone ran with it and tried to make it a thing.. slamming Biden's debate performance as an added "perk".

Getting a lot of righteous pushback, though.. thank goodness.

Sorry about your hearing loss, Peacetrain.. I don't hear as well as I use to, either.. that or everyone is talking a lot softer.

mr magoo

We had Russia spread stories about Clinton health last cycle. We do not need this again

Biden is in great physical shape. Today, Joe is busy out jogging Beto

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