Hearing Loss

April 5th. 2006
Sent to but not published in the New York Times

How insensitive of Maureen Dowd (Two Worn-Out Diplomats, One Fold-Out Bed, Times, April 5th, 2006, Page A23) to chide Walter Cronkite for complaining "that women on TV talk in 'too high a register.' "
Is Ms. Dowd unaware that with age, hearing in the higher registers declines sharply?
As an aging Canadian, my hearing is perfectly good in the lower registers, but at the highest registers it is only about 60% of normal.
However, I support strongly the opportunity for women to move into any jobs they wish -- including Television Anchoring. The women in my life are an Astrophysicist, an Emergency Room Physician, and a language developer for voice recognition software.
For Cronkite and me, there is an easy technological fix: the hearing aid.