I finally did it...

Today I was put into the VA health care system. My hearing aids (issued in September of '92) are shot and I need new ones. They can't be repaired (one audiologist told me I was using the equivalent of an 8 track tape player in a world full of I-pods) The cost of replacement is sky high so to the government I go. You do what you have to.

I've dragged my feet on this over the years, ostensibly for different reasons at various times but the honest-to-God REAL reason is this: I've always felt the size of the money pie that the VA can cut into is limited. Therefore a soldier or marine who had his hand blown off in (pick your country) should have priority over a sub sailor whose job was too noisy at a time when there was no such thing as a hearing conservation program and EVERYBODY knew that if you stayed on subs long enough your hearing would suffer. It was expected and accepted!

But my kids need a father whom they can actually talk to without constant repetition, their father needs to hear them at all times. So for selfish reasons like that I got into the VA system.

Going down to the facility in Dallas this morning only made me feel justified in how long I waited. There are a lot of people there still dealing with mementos and souvenirs of Korea, Viet Nam, Iraq, Afghanistan, etc.

I know I did the right thing by signing up for new hearing aids, I'm still coming to grips with finally doing it.