As soon as I heard the chain saw fire up, I swore softly. I had a choice of hardhats to bring this day and I brought the one without ear muffs, because the chain saw cutting I thought we would be doing would be on the bridge further down the trail and not here, where I was working on building steps to replace the ones burned by the Bedrock fire two years ago.
The Crew was again at Fall Creek, repairing bridges, steps, and trail burned by fire. A few years ago, I was at the far east end of road 18, maybe 10 miles from here, helping to clear 30-50 inch diameter logs that were felled because of another fire and landed on the trail. I spent 19 days working Fall Creek that year. The Bedrock fire started four days after I left the 19th time, negating all the work I did all those days. I’ve been at Fall Creek for years trying to build trails around or through mudslides. It’s a never ending task that will continue far beyond my lifetime.
I covered my ears and put my fingers over my hearing aids, but nothing seemed to change. Fortunately, the cutting was brief, and I was able to get back to my work.
That night, if I hadn’t misplaced my phone in the house, I never would have learned a few fundamental facts about my hearing aids and why putting my fingers in my ears didn’t work.
But I did—I misplace my phone often—and called it several times, because I had the sound turned down on it and couldn’t hear. I have hearing aids, but that doesn’t mean I can hear normally with them. When I found the phone, I accidentally held the landline phone up over my right ear and noted that it sounded different, duller, than it did in my left ear. That was with the hearing aids in. When I took them out, the difference remained. This was strange.
So, the first thing I did was to be a good boy and change the filters on the hearing aids, because that is what I was told to do by my audiologist. There was a sign over her desk in the office that said, “Did you change the filter?”
I next made an appointment to be seen and explained my problem. I told the audiologist was that I had changed the filter. The first thing the audiologist did was to clean the hearing aids and reprogram the firmware. She said that the vents were not completely open and had needed some cleaning. She asked me if I had noted any hearing loss. I couldn’t be certain, but things had seemed a little duller. I wasn’t hearing a cat lap food as loudly, and I seemed to be asking people what they had said a little more. She looked in both ears and they were fine. No wax issues.
When the hearing aids seemed OK, and she was convinced I hadn’t had a stroke, because there had been nothing sudden occurring in my story. I mentioned that I had been out with the trail crew and closer to loud noises when we were cutting planks for steps on a nature trail at Fall Creek, but I was still probably 15-25 yards away. She seemed puzzled. She thought it might have to do with the vents, but it didn’t explain the dial tone issue. She said that we didn’t have a good test to try.
I noted the landline phone behind her. I’m not really sure she ever used it. I picked up the receiver, heard the dial tone, and put the receiver by each ear in turn. There was still a difference.
“But look where you are holding the phone!” She said..
“Well, yes,” I replied, a bit surprised,” I’ve been holding a phone that way for more than 70 years. I remember when one picked up a phone, a female voice said, ‘Number please!’”
“But the phone is not in the right place!” Now it was my turn to be confused.
“Where should I hold it?”
“Behind the ear. That’s where the speaker is.” Oh yes, I remembered something like that when she told me when talking on my phone to hold it behind my ear, not in the auricle. But I still do that until I remember to move the phone further back.
I then tested both ears with the dial tone, held her way. I heard the same with both.
“What did you do when you heard the saw?”
“Covered my ears.” I showed her..”Stuck my fingers in them.”
“OH, now I understand. When you stick your fingers in your ears, you are actually increasing the sound by pushing the dome further into your ear. Did it help?”
I thought again of the spot on Fall Creek: “Well, now that you mention it, no.”
“The dome only transmits the sound. What makes it louder is in the part behind the ear. By the same token, holding a receiver to your ear will not make a difference, and you will have the same deficits hearing as you have without hearing aids.”
She said she would call in a week and see how I was doing. I could get another hearing test if I wanted, but she wanted to be sure I did want one.
I fed the cat when I got home and could hear the lapping clearly. I hear purring again, too. Both are nice.
Boreal B[l]og 
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