Bump in the Night Yet Again Unnerving phenomena I’ve had a few slightly unnerving experiences recently. As I must have mentioned before, due to age-related hearing loss, I wear hearing aids. Even with them in, I often have to ask Linda to repeat herself, which causes her considerable (and understandable) frustration. Recently, I have tried to reduce this frustration by turning up the amplification to its full extent, so that I am not saying ‘What? Pardon? Excuse me?’ all the time. It also means that I can watch telly without having the volume at a level at which it could be heard in Ely, fifteen miles away. This habit of having my hearing aids at their maximum sensitivity has a side-effect. I’m sure you’re aware that houses make noises. Water in the pipes, door and window frames expanding or contracting with changes in temperature, and so on. The trouble is that the hearing aids amplify these noises much more than human speech. On Tuesdays and Thursdays, when Linda is at wo...