"The Golden Bachelor" Bonds with Contestant Over Hearing Aids

After more than 20 years of airing the "The Bachelor," "The Bachelorette," and "Bachelor in Paradise," ABC now brings "The Golden Bachelor" to television screens. The latest installment in the Bachelor franchise aims to showcase a “new kind of love story — one for the golden years.” It opens discussion about a demographic of daters rarely represented in media.

Turner is a 72-year-old father of two (and grandfather of two) from Indiana who defines himself as a hopeless romantic. A widower, he was previously married to his high school sweetheart for 43 years. Now, he’s looking for a second chance at love.

Making a connection

The women Turner will be dating at the Bachelor mansion range from ages 60 to 75 and bring a lifetime of experience with love, loss, and hopes for the future. Among the 22 contestants are a wedding officiant, a pro-aging coach, and 64-year-old fitness instructor, Leslie Fhima.

During Turner’s date with Fhima, she said, “If you ever want to whisper sweet nothings in my ear, I'll be able to hear you," and pulled back her hair to reveal a hearing aid. Turner later confessed to the cameras how much he enjoyed the moment. "It spoke to how sensitive she is and how warm she is.”

On the first episode of “The Golden Bachelor,” Turner pointed out that he is the first bachelor ever to receive Social Security benefits and the first Bachelor to wear a hearing aid.

In an interview with USA Today, he elaborated on his feelings about aging, saying “I don’t want anyone to feel like they have a disadvantage or that they have something to be a little bit embarrassed about… I don’t really care if people notice I have hearing aids. It’s something I need, and I’m happy to display them without any trepidation.”

Finding solutions you love

It’s not uncommon for people with hearing loss to put off treatment. If someone you know is still working up the confidence to try hearing aids or seek help for hearing loss, try sharing your story. To continue those special connections with others, they can check out whether CaptionCall and CaptionCall Mobile are the right match for them and keep the conversation going. Anyone with hearing loss that makes live captions necessary to use the phone can sign up for no-cost phone call captioning.