Baby Boomers: Hearing, Health and the Art of Listening

The art of listening is a gift

You are listening, but are you really listening? Is it active listening or passive listening? Do you know the difference? Do you hear what is going on around you or what others are saying? Do you hear their cries for help? Do you just listen or do you respond to what you hear? Is the sound muffled in the wind? Or has it been smothered by the busyness of your day? Maybe your day-to-day business is taking precedence to your listening?

The art of listening is something that most baby boomers have learned over the years, but there are some who have forgotten what it really means to really listen to others. Paying attention to those who speak to us, or cry out to us is vital, particularly in this time of global economic decline. We have not become stone gods who do not hear others or an all-knowing God, who chooses to not listen to His children. Listening to others, on the divine level and listening on a human level can be totally different. On the level of the divine, it would be perfect listening, the ideal kind of listening. On a human level, it would be less than divine and less than perfect.

Here are some secrets with regard to the art of listening. Pay attention to whoever is speaking to you, whether it is God or man. Listen closely to all of those around you. Make a point of recalling or repeating to yourself or others, what you have heard. It will help you to improve your listening skills, as well as your short term memory. You may find that you have excellent hearing, but less than perfect listening skills. You may have excellent listening skills, but you have become hard of hearing. Is it really hard of hearing or do you a have hardening of your heart? Perhaps you have hardening of the arteries. That would not be an uncommon problem for a baby boomer. Yes, it could affect your hearing, but it should not interfere with your listening skills.

Immediately forgetting what you hear could be symptomatic of short term memory loss. While this could be the result of a physical illness, it may be something that can be resolved by medical treatment. It could be related to poor circulation, medication or a lack of vitamins. Smoking or using drugs like marijuana can bring on short term memory loss. It can be related to stress, fatigue or depression. In a more serious scenario, it may indicate pending Alzheimer's disease or dementia, if it appears to be in conjunction with the loss of touch with reality.

Selective hearing allows us to hear some things and not to hear others. This could be associated with alcohol, nicotine or drug abuse. It could have something to do with your range of hearing diminishing, as you grow older. Perhaps the background noise is drowning out the voices of people, when you listen to your television. If you find that you are having hearing problems and can only hear certain ranges, tones or levels of sound, it may be a good idea to have your hearing checked. Ask your physician for a referral to an audiologist. Some kinds of hearing problems can be resolved by using hearing aids.

If you are showing a marked loss of hearing, you may need further tests or examinations, to be certain that there are not other physical problems present. Do you have ringing your ears? That may be associated with an overdose of a medication, like aspirin. Do you have other physical symptoms that you are worried about? It may be time for a complete, physical examination.

The art of listening is something beyond the actual physical hearing of sounds. The art of listening is a gift; some have that gift, while others do not. Perhaps you remember your mother or father always listening and responding appropriately to everything you said, as a child. Even your grandparents understood when you tried to tell them something, in spite of their obvious hearing problems. Your friends and neighbors listened to you too, as you related the tales about your adventures, your school projects or special hobbies and various interests. They listened.

In our era, there are too many over-bearing sounds. We are bombarded in every direction with excessive volumes of an extremely wide, range of sounds. Sometimes, it is simply noise of various kinds that we are continually confronted with. Attempting to hear anything can be difficult, especially when there is too much noise. Trying to listen to anyone when it is too noisy, can be even harder.

Can you remember the last time when you heard the sound of geese honking overhead, as they headed back north for the winter? Do you recall the chirping of robins, as they began building their nests? Do you remember the sound of the babbling brook? Can you think of a time when the crunch of leaves and twigs under your feet as you hiked, was something that gave you pleasure? Perhaps you even heard the sound of a fluttering butterfly? Nature has such wonderful sounds.

Do you recall how wonderful it was to have someone whisper a secret in your ear? The words, "I love you," were something that meant a lot to you, no matter who said them. Do you remember happy sounds of children laughing as they played in the yard? You listened to all of those sounds and you heard them.

Now the sound of planes, trains and buses, as well as trucks and cars on freeways, tends to drown those kinds of sounds out. How about motorboats, snowmobiles and lawnmowers?

The art of listening has not been lost; it can be re-learned. In order to really listen, it may be necessary to turn off the television, turn down the loud music and claim back your real world. Take an extra moment to listen to everyone around you. Are they speaking too loud and too fast? Are the sounds happy or unhappy? Perhaps others need to claim back the quiet calm of the day and night, too. Silence can be a blessing, but closing our ears to others in order to attain silence, is never something that should be a priority for us, at any time, day or night. Earplugs help to drown out loud noises, but should be used to keep us from listening to others.

"Be still and know that I am God," the Bible tells us. In the midst of all of the toils of the day, take time to listen to God. He will guide you with regard to both listening and hearing others. You might even hear yourself think for a change. Take some time to re-develop the art of listening. Don't settle for just hearing noise. Listening is so much more fun.