The Curse of the Squeaky Audio

I have a quirk. At least, that’s what my friends tell me. The problem is that it’s not exactly a quirk.

I hate talking on a phone.

You can text me, email me, or write me a letter (don’t see much the latter anymore, though) but unless I know you and the number you’re calling in from, I’m not picking up the phone. I also rarely make a phone call.

People have wondered why that is and it comes down to one simple answer.

I have hearing damage and audio quality on a phone, even with a special headset, is hit or miss. Considering my hearing loss, it trends to being more of a miss. On a phone, the audio will fade in and out, depending on which way the phone is held, or the way someone is pointing the microphone on a phone to pick up their voice to background noise on either side. Even call quality from connection (or lack thereof) will make it impossible to pick up what a person is trying to tell me without getting them to repeat themselves over and over again.

Which makes the whole experience not just incredibly frustrating to me, but also the other person on the phone.

Honestly, it’s not you.

It’s me.

Too many years in a loud working environment destroyed my hearing.

The real problem is that it’s not just me. There are quite a few people not only in my age group but in younger age groups that currently work, live, and play in loud, noisy environments without realizing the damage it’s doing. In fact, plugging in a set of ear buds and then having them turned up a touch too much will do the same amount of damage as standing next to a jet plane (okay, maybe not that dramatic, but it’s still quite damaging).

Do yourself a favour.

Wear the hearing protection and keep up on hearing tests. Like many things, catching damage early can help stop it as then you can identify what is causing it and stop further damage.