Morris has nerve deafness. It is caused by listening to loud sounds, such as music or television, and it is a gradual hearing loss. In Morris' case, this type of hearing loss is hereditary.

"Both my mother and father had nerve deafness and had to wear a hearing aid."

Before technology evolved into what it is today, Morris often had to ask people to repeat themselves, but he didn't feel left out of conversations. He could tell what was going on, he just wasn't clear on what was being said.

For about 10 years, Morris periodically visited Faron Blakeman, a hearing instrument specialist, to find out if anything could be done for his hearing. Twice Blakeman had to give Morris the sad news that there was nothing that could be done to help him.

But Morris was persistent. As years passed, technology evolved and finally, after a long struggle, Morris received the instrument needed for him to be able to enjoy what he loved most: hearing his music, birds, trees, "anything and everything."

On March 24, Morris finally got his hearing back. The new hearing aids brought new sounds, sounds he couldn't hear before, like the d's, b's, c's and e's.

To Morris, consonants, especially high-frequency consonants, sound like mumble. He can hear some of the vowels, but the consonants are extremely difficult to understand. He can hear a person talk, but he can't understand them.

"I'd like to hear the birds sing again," Blakeman says Morris told him.

To make this possible, Blakeman inserted the new hearing aids in Morris' ears. Using a computer, he was able to take the results from the hearing test and run it through a software program to create a prescription just for Morris' hearing.

"It's just like going to the eye doctor. First they run a test, then they create a prescription for either contacts or glasses," Blakeman said.

Even though some don't think too highly of computers and technology, Blakeman said technology had brought back something special to Morris.

Now with the new hearing instruments, Morris can hear just about anything.

On his first trip back to fishing, he says he could hear all the trees and birds. "It was a great feeling and at the same time I didn't know there were so many birds."

When one can't hear, it's a silent world, and Morris knows how much he missed out on. He always loved to hear song birds, the water splashing, trees and things that had to do with fishing. Now he can.

It's only been two months since he received the new hearing aids, but he is still used to talking loud and asking "What did you say?" He also said his wife is always telling him that he talks loud on the phone. In addition, he doesn't think about the hearing aids being in his ears and sometimes he almost forgets to take them out before bed.

Morris not only has a hearing loss, but he also plays and teaches the mandolin.

According to Wikipedia.com, a Mandolin is a small, plucked, stringed musical instrument, descended from the mandora. Morris likes bluegrass, country and old time music. He plays those types of music on his mandolin. Since he couldn't hear the high-frequency notes, he had to change the sound of the tune to a lower frequency.

"He came in one day with his mandolin and I inserted the instruments in his ears and he was able to tune the mandolin back to the high notes," Blakeman said. "He was very excited."

He has been playing the guitar since he was a young child and the mandolin for about 11 to 12 years.

"A band needed someone to play the mandolin, so I bought a mandolin and taught myself how to play it," Morris said. "Some say I'm a lot better now since I got the new hearing aids and can hear better."

Morris has many different guitars and mandolins, and a couple of banjos. "I like different sounds," he says.

Morris even has a specially made left-handed guitar, which is a little bit tougher to play but he still enjoys it. In addition, he has built two new mandolins from old, worn-out mandolins. He also enjoys teaching people how to play the mandolin.

When he was seven, Morris moved to Campbellsville. He moved several more times, but he still called Taylor County his home. Here, he could go hunting and fishing. He worked in the Post Office for 30 before retiring.

The hearing loss was just a bump in the road, Morris says, which he overcame, and now he hopes others who have hearing problems will get tested.

"Some of my friends don't get hearing aids and they need them bad," he said.

Hearing loss is common. According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, at least 28 million American adults have hearing loss. And it seems this number will only increase as Baby Boomers retire by the year 2010.

"However, only 5 million or so wear hearing aids in the US," Blakeman said, "while many others come to me and say 'I feel left out.' Many people would go from feeling literally left out, to embarrassed, to not wanting any social contact with anyone afraid they might say something that is not correct or part of the conversation."

Before newer technology became available most hearing aids were bulky and uncomfortable. In addition, they gave the ear a "plugged up" sensation. New hearing aids opened up the ear for natural sounds to pass through. But Blakeman said it's important for this new instrument to be used in both ears.

"The importance is balance," Blakeman said. "If you just correct one ear and not the other, then the person feels unbalanced."

As for hearing instruments in the future, Blakeman, like Morris, hopes that people will become more accepting. As for the technology, he hopes that the sound will become more natural and the instrument more transparent and inconspicuous.

By Normaida Bright
http://www.cknj.com/articles/2006/05/31/news/04musician.txt