Not enough ears

Contemporary technology poses an anatomical challenge.

I've been thinking about the interplay between my ears and my eyes lately. Sometimes I wear contact lenses, sometimes I don't. If I'm wearing contacts, I still need to wear sunglasses or reading glasses or reading glasses that morph into sunglasses. That's one set of temples atop my ears. No problem.

If I'm wearing glasses, it gets a little more complex. I am both astigmatic and far-sighted. (So far, laser surgery can't fix that, so it's not an option.) The lenses for my glasses are hideously expensive, so I didn't want to invest in prescription sunglasses too. I figured I could turn them into sunglasses with those little clip-on things. It didn't take me long to figure out that if I happen to be driving around, or have long fingernails or arthritic fingers (all of which I've done or had, at various times), it's almost impossible to get the clips fixed in the right position. Of course there are the cheap plastic ones that flip up and down, but when they're in the up position, they look ridiculous. Consequently, I decided on a pair of sunglasses that go right over your regular glasses. They're actually decent looking, if you like Hollywood style. But now I have two sets of temples squished between my ears and my skull. It's already an ouch.

I have pierced ears, and it's unusual for me to leave the house without earrings, even though I often forget to put on a watch and end up using my cell phone to find out what time it is. But the cell also adds to the equipment I'm supposed to schlepp around on my ears. Most of the time that I'm using my cell, I'm driving or shopping - activities for which I really need my hands. So I use my Bluetooth headset, which stays in place because it has a silicone attachment that fits in the same uncomfortable place as the temples of my glasses and/or sunglasses. Also, if I'm wearing big dangly earrings (the fashion conscious refer to them as chandeliers), there is a theoretical risk that they will get tangled in the functional parts of the Bluetooth. So far that hasn't happened, since I seldom wear chandeliers if I'm not going someplace special.

Still any of these combinations are at least possible, if uncomfortable. The problem is that I now have an iPod, and I love it. So at the same times that I'm likely to be using the Bluetooth, I want to listen to music. How I might do this totally escapes me, so I have to make a choice.

It's a good thing I'm not deaf.