All in the Family: How Hearing Loss Affects Everyone
Video Transcript
JAN PECK: I think everything
we do now
is easier because of his hearing
aids.
The fact that he's in the room
and he can hear me
is a wonderful thing.
BRYANT PECK: I'm just glad he
can hear.
You know, it's not like giving
special attention to somebody
anymore, because they're already
taken care of.
JAN PECK: I first noticed
that Ron was having hearing
problems many years ago.
And I probably wouldn't have
picked up on it as easily,
except his father was living
here, he was hard of hearing,
and his mother was
hard of hearing.
The things I did to compensate
was to talk slower, to turn
the volume of the television,
to talk louder.
BRYANT PECK: As he got older,
it was definitely more
noticeable.
I would try to get more in front
of him visually
so that he could see me.
And I'd try to get his attention
or speak really loud.
JAN PECK: I always felt that he
was missing out because he would
only hear parts
of the conversations.
And he didn't realize he was
only hearing parts
of the conversations.
So I think
that's frustrating for him.
And sometimes it's
frustrating for the people
around him, because they're
trying to have
these conversations,
and Ron's only picking up
portions of it.
BRYANT PECK: I could sit here
right here and just talk normal,
and I'd be like, hey, Dad.
Dad?
He missed out on a couple
things.
It's definitely
frustrating, for sure.
JAN PECK: I kept telling him,
go and get your hearing checked.
Go and get your hearing checked.
BRYANT PECK: There were
definitely a couple times when I
would ask my dad to go get
his hearing checked, he was
a little bit
dismissive about it,
and would put it off,
or whatever.
And it may have been just a time
in his life
where he didn't think it was
something that he needed to do.
But it sure would have helped
improve our lives.
JAN PECK: A thousand people can
tell him to do that,
and he's not going to do it.
But Ron figured it out.
He would go down to see
his father after work,
and the television would be up,
and we were screaming at him.
And he'd come up to the house,
and he'd say, oh, is that how
this is with me,
that you have to scream at me?
Ron didn't want to be like that.
He really decided that he needed
to get hearing aids.
When all of a sudden he could
hear things --
he could hear the gravel
below his feet.
He could hear the birds.
The volume in the car went down.
I no longer have to turn to look
at him.
Life is so much better
because he actually can hear all
those things,
and he can understand people
when they're talking to him.
BRYANT PECK: When my dad first
got hearing aids,
it was like a normal person,
like you and I just talking.
And I didn't have to talk
louder.
He didn't ask me to say anything
again, or to repeat anything.
And it was awesome.
It was definitely
a life-changing event.