My father died when I was 4 years old, so I can't really say anything about his hearing.
“Ideas improve. The meaning of words participates in the improvement. Plagiarism is necessary. Progress implies it. It embraces an author's phrase, makes use of his expressions, erases a false idea, and replaces it with the right idea.”
“There are only two or three human stories, and they go on repeating themselves as fiercely as if they had never happened before.”