Reagan Begins Using 2nd Hearing Aid for ‘Balance’
President Reagan, who has worn a hearing aid in his right ear for the last 18 months, has begun using a similar device in his left ear “to achieve balance,” White House physician T. Burton Smith said today.
The second hearing aid first became evident at a White House state dinner Tuesday night for visiting Argentine President Raul Alfonsin. It is similar in size and design to the device prescribed for Reagan after an Aug. 22, 1983, examination in Los Angeles.
Smith said Dr. John William House, the Los Angeles ear specialist who has treated Reagan for hearing problems since 1979, examined Reagan in California in December and recommended use of the second hearing aid.
“Amazingly, his hearing hasn’t changed in five years,” Smith said of the 74-year-old President. “But with the improved hearing in the right ear, this was recommended to achieve balance.”
Asked whether Reagan would wear the second device on a regular basis, Smith replied, “That’s up to him.”
Reagan has suffered for years from a partial hearing loss in his right ear. He has attributed the problem to the firing of a .38-caliber pistol near his ear while making a movie in the 1930s.
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