That could explain a lot. 
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The question now, is how long ago did it happen?
Who knows, they (aliens) must be pretty damn bored if they’ve chosen us as an entry point to humanity.
Humanity? No, just to Oz 
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I posted this elsewhere a couple of days ago, and am adding it here, with a few edits, in case it’s useful.
As some will know, I lost the hearing in my left ear in Spring 2020 during Covid. This was my good ear, and the right was pretty ropey. In late 2020 I bought Starkey hearing aids privately, as the basic aids I got from the NHS via their contract with Scrivens were pretty useless. The Starkeys are Cros aids, where the left sends sounds to the right.
Since 2020 I’ve found female vocals on folk and classical virtually unlistenable on the stereo, which was pretty upsetting as it’s one of my favourite firms of music. This is largely what led me to explore changing speakers earlier this year.
I recently bought the Unthank : Smith album and it made no impression as I really couldn’t hear the words, which are the heart of the album.
Anyway, a few months ago I read a post on here that the NHS could do Cros aids, which was news to me. I went back to Scrivens, who told me that they don’t have the contract for Cros aids. The contract in this area is with QA hospital. Setting aside the pottiness of NHS contracting, after a doctors letter and an appointment at QA, last week I got my new NHS Cros aids. Unlike the private supplier, the testing was done in a sealed room, and the fitting and programming was a million times better, with microphone probes put in my ears as well as the aids so everything could be set perfectly.
What a revelation. The improvement in sound quality and sheer engagement is astonishing. I listened to Unthank : Smith last night and could hear every word. I can listen at 31 on the Nova rather than 39, which Mrs HH is delighted about. My free NHS aids have given me a whole new stereo for free, and I’ll no longer have to spend £3,000 on new private aids in a couple of years time. Simply amazing.
The above is what I posted on System Pics, so it was deliberately hifi related. The new aids have given improvements all round and I can hear so much more. The way extraneous background noises are excluded is way better. I can hear speech better, the radio better, and they work in echoey rooms much better.
I’m an inquisitive person, and inspired by the improvement I rang Oticon and asked where the NHS aids sit in their range, and whether spending £3,000 on private Oticons would get me even better hearing than the NHS aids provide. Given that I was speaking to Oticon I expected an unequivocal yes. They told be that my aids were just as good sonically as their top aids, and that what you are getting is more bells and whistles. Basically I was told to save my money, which I thought was hugely refreshing.
As I understand it, the aids that you pay £3,000 for cost about £300, and the rest is paying for aftercare, running costs of the provider, and profit.
I’m not suggesting that the Oticons are better than the Starkeys, rather that it’s all in the fitting. My private appointment was done in a consulting room, the aids were tailored to my audiogram, and that was that.
The NHS test was done in a soundless room, which must make a difference, but it was the fitting that differentiates the two. They put probes in my ears and played tones through a speaker. This gave a trace of the sound that was being heard in my ears. They then put in the aids, which were connected to the computer, and set them so that the two traces matched. They then balanced the two aids using the same method.
Maybe some providers have this tech, but mine didn’t, and the results show very clearly. The downside of the NHS aids is that they take batteries, whereas the private Starkeys are rechargeable, which is much better environmentally. That said, the internal batteries of the Starkeys failed after two years.
As I wrote above, Scrivens have the NHS contract locally for standard aids. I ended up at QA - that’s Portsmouth’s Queen Alexandra hospital - because I have Cros aids. But whoever does it, don’t think that paying £3,000 for a swish private fitting will necessarily get you more than the NHS.
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