Who Hears the Hoot?

Some silver linings to hearing loss.

By Vince Mathews

I have hereditary reverse hearing loss, which means that it’s challenging for me to hear and understand the male voice range (lower-frequency tones). Hearing aids help but I am still challenged to understand what I hear. 

Vince’s hearing loss means he sometimes cannot hear the calls of owls—but he’d ask the birding group he’s leading around to help him locate the bird. Credit: @derobi/Unsplash

Growing up, we five children thought my mother had selective hearing—hearing only what she wanted to hear from us. When she worked at our local high school in the business office she had a hard time understanding Black male students. This was during the time when there were race riots in town and at the high school, and she truly wanted to understand and help students.

Unknowingly I modified my behavior to address my hearing loss. During my undergraduate studies I would sit in the middle, up front, and focus on the professor's face. I was probably one of the few students in the 200-seat lecture hall who showed an interest in the lectures. 

When I did not understand what was being presented, I would seek out the professor for clarification. Again very few students would seek out the professor. When I did connect with the professor, I was assigned a teaching assistant to help me.

During my career as a seasonal and permanent park naturalist I would lean on others during bird hikes. I cannot hear the call of a great horned owl or other similar owls. What I would do is ask those who did hear the owl to point where the bird was. 

So one benefit of having a hearing loss is that in my work I found that the direct involvement of visitors made it a worthwhile event for all. Another benefit of my hearing loss was that I spoke loudly, which worked well with large groups of 100 to 200 park visitors. 

When taking science classes like botany in college I struggled to repeat the Latin names. I would listen and then make up my own pronunciation to help with identification. Many times I made a joke or song. Luckily the tests were written and not verbal. 

How did I discover my hearing loss? I established a volunteer organization for our local nature center and the president of the organization spoke in low tones. She would get angry with me when I asked her to repeat or speak up. I saw there were free hearing tests at a nearby university so I arranged to be tested. 

After completing the test the university professor conducting it asked if I would meet with his students. I had no idea why. With the group of students the professor asked if I lived in North Dakota. I did not, and he explained that during his doctoral work he had found a community in North Dakota with a reverse hearing loss similar to mine. I learned about my reverse hearing loss in my late 20s, early 30s. I am in my 70s now.

Starting with analog hearing aids back then, which were a disaster for me, I advanced to digital hearing aids. I have had three different brands of hearing aids. They help, but I still struggle to hear.

With my wife I will indicate or say I understand instead of saying I do not understand. I know I need to be more proactive and maybe repeat what she is saying so she knows I do truly understand.

And I am still challenged to understand a male with a low voice who speaks softly. I worked with many of the Native tribes in Alaska and the male Elders speak low and softly, so many times I missed what they were trying to tell me. They often knew I did not understand but that I wanted to learn from them, so we managed. 

Vince completed a bike ride across Iowa in summer 2023. The RAGBRAI is a 500-mile bike ride from the Missouri River to the Mississippi River. He says, “Tradition has you dip your rear tire in the Missouri River when you start, and your front tire in the Mississippi River after completing the seven-day ride.”

One dear friend and Native Elder was very hard of hearing. When I visited him we would be yelling at each other and having a good laugh. His wife would join in with a good laugh too. My understanding was the Indian Health Service would provide hearing aids, but the service was a plane ride away costing several hundred dollars plus needing to stay overnight. So he hasn’t treated his hearing loss. 

All of my children have been tested for reverse hearing loss. My two sons do not have it but my daughter does. We have encouraged our nieces and nephews to be tested. My youngest son appears to have a hearing loss and he is also an auto mechanic working in a noisy environment. I will encourage him to get tested and to test our grandchildren. 

And that may be yet another benefit, that I can help spread awareness about healthy hearing and the importance of taking care of our ears.

Vince Mathews lives in Alaska.

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