Is there stigma associated with wearing hearing aids? I’m about a month into that new stage of my life, and I haven’t felt any.

The adjustment has been easy. There are no batteries to replace. I just put the devices in a charger every evening at bedtime. I remove them before showering, and the volume is easily adjustable.

For several years my wife, Ginger, has said she thought my hearing was deteriorating, and I did nothing about it. Last fall during my annual wellness visit, my provider suggested I consult with an audiologist for a hearing test.

On the first visit, serious ear wax deposits postponed the test. A repeat visit the next week confirmed I had indeed experienced a hearing loss and that hearing aids could resolve the issue. After recovering from the sticker shock, I procrastinated.

Once I seriously began the process of getting hearing aids, it was very informative. The audiologist said that only about 10 percent of those who could really benefit from them are wearing them — because of the perceived stigma. He said the main benefit I would realize was more clarity, not necessarily more loudness. He differentiated with words such as leaf, leash and lease, saying they would become more distinguishable.

He also noted that many speakers contribute to the hearing problems of others, because they set up conversations improperly. He defined three ways to improve every conversation.

If one expects to be heard and get a proper response, be in the same room with the intended conversee. Shouting a request from a different room or down the hall is a set up for failure.

And even if you’re in the same room, there are two more ways to create a better conversation. Look directly at the people, so your voice is aimed at them.

Is your family member or friend ready for the exchange? Maybe not. You can rectify that situation by setting it up properly. Start by addressing them by name to alert them that a message is coming.

He also said the perceived stigma of wearing hearing aids seems to be declining. He attributes that to the earbuds that so many have been wearing to connect their ears with their cell phones.

Spring in Central Oregon seems more fickle than some other places, but regardless of the lingering chances of late season frosts, we don’t have tornadoes or the threat of other catastrophes. I used to joke that daylight savings time was advantageous, because one didn’t need to turn the porch light on to see the snow flurries. Global warming has minimized that.

I turned our irrigation system on recently, and the lawn is beginning to green up. I also rototilled a portion of the vegetable garden – and hit one of the irrigation lines, which created a geyser – and an unexpected DIY project.

The spring floods in Harney County are disheartening, but the snowmelt that has swollen the Silvies River has nowhere to go. Burns is in the middle of the Great Basin with no outlet to the sea, so the residents must rely on dikes to prevent flooding and evaporation or ground absorption as their remedies.

Congress is still discussing daylight time and the inconvenience of resetting clocks twice a year. Years ago, the legislatures in Washington, Oregon and California have all approved year-round daylight savings time, but Congress has to pass enabling legislation before implementation can occur — because it impacts interstate commerce. That wait seems endless. No surprise.

The clock setting chore has become a little less inconvenient, because the clocks on some devices — the computer and thermostat — reset themselves automatically.

I’ve been busy since January working on various aspects of the Redmond Kiwanis 19th annual Vintner’s Dinner and Auction. The May 9 event is on track to be a sell-out of 200 wine aficionados. It’s the service club’s largest fundraiser for its youth projects. The playground at the new pool and rec center is the major beneficiary. For more information and tickets, log on to www.redmondkiwanis.org.

— Carl Vertrees is a former editor of The Redmond Spokesman.