HikeArizona.COM

"A 72-year-old man from Green Valley is recovering after a rattlesnake bit him on both ankles while walking in the dark near his home."

"The man was walking along the roadway when he felt sudden bites on each ankle, accompanied by the sound of a rattlesnake's rattle."

In addition to it being night, when old eyes don't see well, even with corrected vision, I wonder about his hearing? I'm a few years short of this man's age and recently bought a hearing aid, because last year I noticed that I no longer can hear crickets with my right ear.

So I wonder if the snake was rattling early, but our guy couldn't hear it until on top of it?

(So do I need to put my hearing aid in when leaving the tent at 2 am to relieve myself?)

TooOld2Hike_EP wrote:I no longer can hear crickets with my right ear.

I'm a bit older than that gentleman and I hear crickets ALL THE TIME... oh wait, that's my advanced case of tinnitus.

But seriously, I DO hear a constant (24/7) cacophony of crickets (cicadas may closer to it) yet it's almost mid-boggling I am still able to hear and differentiate sounds... enough so I can hear a mosquito across the room, or even the twitch of a rattlesnake an instant before it sets off a full buzz while mountain biking by a dozen feet away.

As for leaving your tent at 2 am? That's what empty bottles are for.

@CannondaleKid
When I was a teen, I could hear the 15KHz flyback transformer in CRT TV sets. That stopped in college. Held okay until the last year or two, despite my early years of flying without ear protection.

FWIW, the hearing aid works fantastically well, especially for an OTC type. Last month I was walking past a neighbor's house at night during flood irrigation and suddenly noticed the chirping of crickets in my right ear. Night and day difference.

I use hearing aids, and they definitely increase my ability to hear outdoor sounds, such as birds. Haven't tested them on a rattlesnake yet!

My old pal Bob Cardell, (RiP), former prez of So Az Hiking Club, and original Crestate Saguaro-finding champion, could not hear a rattlesnake, not even a big nest of them that he accidentally rappelled into one time. That was a good story! Miss that old guy.