[maho]

Worry not, dear author! Being mindful of your inner-ear health is certainly a good habit, but (moderate) hearing loss is not as scary as you might think.

I have oteosclerosis with accompanying inner-ear damage after stapedectomy or -dotomy, I forgot. I lost 10-20dB on one ear, 20-40dB on the other. I am amazed how much psychoacoustics save the day. Music does feel a little different, but it is no less beatiful to listen to. In some pieces I discovered brass sections I never truly appreciated, but most songs did not change by much. More importantly, my kids and I are still able to sing together as before.

The bothersome bits about hearing loss are having to ask "could you repeat that?" a lot, not hearing quiet sounds (kid's breathing at night, oncoming cars at a distance), and being more sensitive to loud noises. But so far, music stayed beatiful.

ps: If anyone from Netflix is reading this, it would be amazing if I could set a N-second delay for subtitles so that they don't spoil the jokes for me and everyone else. Even better would be if I could view them on my cell phone while we all watch on the big screen. I don't need subtitles all the time, just occasionally, for the bits I didn't understand.

[badpun]

Hearing loss is one thing, but the tinnitus that often goes with it can at the worst destroy your career and your life (people do commit suicides because of it).

[nefitty]

I second your Netflix suggestion. I can't watch dialogue-driven comedy with subtitles on, due to the timing.