If you are running for prez, and you wear a hearing aid,

[proud2BlibKansan]

don't you think you could afford one that WORKS? I mean, isn't it odd that Tommy Thompson claims his hearing aid was the reason he answered the question about gay rights the way he did?

Or is he referring to the hearing device he was wearing that all the candidates were wearing at the debate? But then again, wouldn't the equipment work better than that?

[babylonsister]

1. That was such a ridiculous excuse! No one bought it for a second;

in trying to save face, he got egg all over it.

[proud2BlibKansan]

4. Well I didn't know much about him before

but now I know he is a twit.

[Why Syzygy]

2. The hand.

The hand made him do it.

[jody]

3. I have major hearing loss that no hearing aid will solve. I often misunderstand words and that can

cause problems because my answer was correct to the question I heard but, completely nonsensical to the question that was asked.

I'm not defending Thompson, just stating the facts for those of us with hearing problems.

[proud2BlibKansan]

5. Ok, let's say you are running for prez

Would you not make sure your hearing aid is in perfect working order before your first debate?

[jody]

9. Again, I'm not defending Thompson and again no hearing aid solves my problem. n/t

[magellan]

26. My father is the same way

He has nerve damage and no hearing aid helps much anymore.

If Thompson admits to a hearing problem even with a hearing aid and he isn't a skilled lip reader then he should consider himself unfit to run for president.

[jody]

29. Whatever. Perhaps FDR should have also been disqualified.

:shrug:

[magellan]

30. A large part of the job of president is COMMUNICATION

FDR had no problem in that area. Do you honestly think someone who claims to have hearing problems even with a hearing aid and can't lip-read or sign should be president?

[jody]

31. She/he would be much better than * or perhaps you don't agree. n/t

[magellan]

33. I don't agree.

[jody]

34. I'm surprised to see you admit such support for Dubya. Goodbye. n/t

[magellan]

36. I'm afraid I don't see any good

...in exchanging Bush** for someone who isn't willing to learn how to work past a disability as critical as hearing so they can do their job effectively. Be real. The president won't learn to sign or lip-read so everyone will just have to write him/her a note? Why would anyone want another obstinate brat for president?

:crazy:

Good-bye yourself.

[LiberalFighter]

13. The other factors to consider

These are factors for my type of aid. It is a body-aid type attached via a cord to the head band with a oscillator.

Acoustics -- My particular hearing-aid there is nothing I can do about it.
Wind noise -- I have to shelter my hearing-aid to reduce or eliminate the wind noise. But then that also reduces the sound of one talking.
Clothing noise -- Movement can cause noise to be heard from clothing.

Hearing-aids require adjusting to the environmental sounds. You can get adjusted to the sounds in your home and office environment but then go into a new environment that is different would make it difficult. It takes more than a day to make the adjustment.

My hearing aid receives interference from some cell phones. I know when someone is going to get a phone call before they know.

Sometimes, when I have my hearing-aid on while driving I get electronic interference from the engine. Had the same thing when I use to work in the plant driving a fork-lift truck.

Given that I have learned how to get around some of the difficulties with my hearing loss. 50 plus years hearing loss.

When posed with a question I may asked the person to repeat the question. Sometimes, my brain finally interprets what the question before the person repeats the question. I just need a few seconds longer to hear when the environment isn't right.

I watch the person's lips to help in translating the words. It doesn't help if the person has a moustache or if they are talking facing away.

Ask the person if this is what they stated.


What could Thompson had done? Make sure the battery was fresh. Have the questioner closer to the debaters.

[recoveringrepublican]

21. It's not like putting on a pair of glasses!

I not sure how severe his loss is, but hearing aids only help me on one on one conversations, hearing alarms/sirens. One can spend crap loads, make sure they are in perfect working order, and the aids are only going to help a certain amount.

[SoCalDem]

6. I think he was also referring to the earpiece the show gave him

Those things fall out of people's ears all the time..

he's still a doofus though :)

[jody]

10. Agree re doofus. n/t

[Frank Cannon]

7. And your hearing loss causes you to say stuff that...

independently of the context of the question asked, makes you sound like a fucking dumbass?

I don't think so.

[jody]

11. Again, my answer to the questions I hear may not be reasonable answers to the questions asked. n/t

[Frank Cannon]

17. But they still make sense independently of the question

Like you said, you're sensibly asking the question you THINK you were asked.

Tommy's bullshit story is the equivalent of someone asking you, "What do you think we should do about high gas prices in this country?", with your response being, "Blacks shouldn't be allowed to vote in this country."

Tommy's saying that his answer was out of context with the question because his hearing aid was malfunctioning. Well, what context does his dumbass answer make sense in?

ON EDIT: What am I saying? His answer makes perfect sense in the context of the question that he was asked. It was just an incredibly stupid and bigoted response.

[jody]

28. Again, I'm not defending Thompson. I was pointing out that some people with hearing problems cannot

use a hearing aid effectively.

[recoveringrepublican]

22. yes it can

I'm not sure of what was asked or how he replied. I have to lip read, even when wearing my aids. It's not rare that I think I'm responding correctly to a question asked, when, to the person who asked, my response made no sense.

[Frank Cannon]

27. See post #11 above

Tommy said--twice, when pressed on it--that employers should be able to make their own choices about whether to hire people that are gay. Now maybe he thought that the questioner said "making hay", or maybe he meant "fire" people that are gay, or maybe he thought they meant "gay" in the old sense of "happy", or maybe he thought they meant hiring people who use too much Ben-Gay, or who eat at Café Olé. But what he said is pretty stupid regardless of whatever the original question was.

[countingbluecars]

8. What question

did he think he was answering? I missed his explanation.

[proud2BlibKansan]

12. He said it was okay for employers to refuse to hire gays

[Ino]

14. He never said what he THOUGHT the question was

His answer was perfectly logical to the actual question, so I wonder what he THOUGHT the question was. Of course, he never said -- so it's all BS. His handlers told him to backtrack.

[countingbluecars]

19. Yes, I want to know what he thought

the question was. What did he hear? Pretty lame handlers-not a very convincing lie.

[Telly Savalas]

15. "We've invaded China??!?!?!?!?"

"I thought you were asking me if we should go to the buffet!"

[undeterred]

16. Its not his hearing thats the problem its his SPEAKING, He needs a MOUTH AID!

Somebody get him a few of these:

[Blackhatjack]

18. "Hey, I screwed up... what you gonna do? Let's See... It was my Hearing Aid! That's It!!"

[recoveringrepublican]

20. I'm profoundly hearing impaired, hearing aids don't do much for me

In fact, in some situations they hinder a great deal. It not unusual for me to guess at what someone is saying, answer them, and find out they were saying something completely different. One can buy the top of the line, and will still miss a great deal of conversations, more so if they have a high frequency loss (as I do).

I haven't been following this story, so I'm not sure what was asked and how he responded.

[proud2BlibKansan]

23. Here

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/05/tommy-thompson-retracts-anti-gay.html

[DavidDvorkin]

24. There's a limit to how much a hearing can help

I have hearing aids in both ears. They improve my hearing greatly, but I still misunderstand people.

It's not a matter of what kind of hearing aid one can afford. It's a question of the kind and degree of hearing loss.

[maine_raptor]

25. "Could you repeat the question? I'm not sure I heard that right."

That's all he had to say.

Both my wife and I suffer from hearing loss. She wears hearing aids and I do not. But in a settling like that (public forum, etc), responding with such is perfectly acceptable.

I'm sure, that in his past, he's been in similar situations. Are there any examples where he "mis-heard" the question and had to go back and clarify back when he was Gov?

[uppityperson]

32. I would not expect any votes if I were unable to hear enough to tell wtf is going on.

Shoddy excuse.

[WinkyDink]

35. I thought he made a declarative statement that comprised a complete thought that stood by itself.