OK, we are getting older. Still, objectively I think, the volume was louder. We went to see Angels and Demons yesterday in a local multiplex. The movie itself was fairly loud, while the previews were louder still. I found myself putting bits of tissue in my ears to muffle the sound. I used to go to rock concerts years ago; they were louder, of course. But movies were never this loud. I think there is an age gap here. After years of ear buds blasting MP3 tunes, car sound systems rattling windows and car frames or whatever else the youth of today use to stoke the music receptors, it seems that theaters must ramp up the amps. I am 62 now, still without hearing aids. Not to be too much of an old fogy, I will boldly predict hearing aids a great long term investment. I suspect they will be big sellers in 15 years or perhaps even less. Get in now on the ground floor and profit from the coming auditory impairments of young to middle-aged Americans.