When you are a teenager, you want to listen to loud music. When you are a parent, you want to avoid loud music. When you become a grandparent, all of a sudden loud music sounds good again. Here is how teenagers and grandparents are alike, and the pros and cons of it.
Teens Like It Loud, Grandparents Like It Louder
While teens like to listen to loud music for the stimulation (and to annoy parents!), grandparents often want things louder just to hear them. When teens listen to music with grandparents, it can work out pretty well, considering that both want loud music for different reasons. If grandparents are pretty "hip" to the music teens are listening to, it can form a really nice bond between these two generations.
Grandparents May Need Hearing Aids
Unfortunately, if grandparents need to hear the music as loudly as their teenage grandchildren play it, it may be because they have hearing loss. As a grandparent, you may want to have your hearing checked and look into the possibility of hearing aids.
Hearing aids can help you in other ways with regards to attachments to your teen grandchildren:
- You can actually talk to and listen to your grandchildren without asking them to speak up or yell
- You can hear, clearly, what your teen grandchildren are saying, even if they mumble
- You can have meaningful conversations about their music choices
- You can always turn the hearing aids off or down if their music is suddenly too loud for you and still listen as before
In fact, hearing aids may help you hear more of what is important to hear when you interact with your adolescent grandchildren. As such, you may find a stronger bond with them than you thought possible prior to getting hearing aids because of your inability to hear them talking no longer frustrates you and them.
Having Hearing Aids May Help Your Grandchildren
While some hearing loss is age-related, a lot of it is also due to loud noises in your youth. When your grandchildren see you with hearing aids, you can use this as a "teachable moment" by telling them you have hearing aids now because of all the loud music and noise you heard at their age. It may take a while to sink in, but your teenage grandchildren may not see your hearing aids as a sign of you getting old, but rather a warning sign that continuing to play loud music might lead to hearing loss in their future.
Contact a doctor or a hearing aid service like County Hearing And Balance to learn more.
