My husband’s hearing aid was still switched on after he died

Dear Delyara, My husband died at home early yesterday morning. While waiting for the funeral director, I sat beside him and heard a faint whistle. At first, I thought it came from the oxygen equipment. Then I realized his hearing aid was still switched on. I removed it carefully. The tiny device squealed in my hand because it was trying to amplify a room for a man who could no longer hear anything. For the last ten years, I complained constantly about those hearing aids: batteries left everywhere, television too loud, the way he said “What?” before I finished speaking. In his final weeks, his hearing became worse, and I learned to put my mouth close to his ear. The last thing I said was, “I’m here.” I do not know whether he heard me. Tonight, the hearing aid is on the bedside table beside its little cleaning brush. I cannot bring myself to switch it off. It is using battery for nothing. I know. Still, the tiny green light remains on, and some irrational part of me wants one thing in this room to continue listening for him.