Mr Richards worked in a shop which sold,cleaned and repaired hearing-aids. One day an old gentleman entered and put one down in front of him whithout saying a word.
‘’What’s the matter with it ?’’Mr Richards said .The man did not answer .Of course Mr Richards thought that the man must be deaf and that his hearing-aid must be faulty, so he said again, more loudly, ‘’Whats wrong with your hearing-rid, sir? Againg the man said nothing, so Mr Richards shouted his question again as loudly as he could.
The man then took a pen and a piece of paper and wrote: ‘’It isn’t necessary to shut when you\re speaking to me.
My ears are as goodas yours. This hearing-aid is my wife’s ,not mine. I’ve just had a throat operation, and my problem is not that I can’t hear,but that I can’t hear, but that I can’t speak.’’
