Gael Hannan

Gael Hannan is an author, speaker and advocate on hearing loss issues. In addition to her weekly blog at the Better Hearing Consumer, which has a passionate international following, Gael has written two acclaimed books, “The Way I Hear It: A Life with Hearing Loss”and “Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss”, written with Shari Eberts. She is regularly invited to present her uniquely humorous and insightful work to appreciative audiences around the world. Gael has received many awards for her work that advocates for individuals to become more knowledgeable and successful at dealing with their hearing loss and a more inclusive society for them to live in.

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Say, How’s Your Tinnitus Today?

Yesterday, my tinnitus was bad. Loud and constant. It roared and rolled, swooped and yelled, filling every corner of my cranium, wanting to escape to the outside world. I wish it could, so that people could better understand what I, and millions like me, go through. Tinnitus isn’t painful, in the way that stubbing a toe hurts like heck or

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Go Where the People with Hearing Loss Are

I’ve got my annual June blues – the feelings that always follow my time at the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA) convention. As much as I love my Hearing Husband and my wonderful Hearing Friends, after attending the conference I miss the connectedness of being with people – lots of people – who get each other. We understand

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Tips for Presenting on Hearing Loss: Part 2

Do you want to be a speaker on hearing loss? Yay! Whether you dream of being on a national stage or connecting with people in your community, there are people who need to hear from you. But if you’re new to public speaking, especially about hearing loss, I suggest you “start small”. At the start of my 30-year (so

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Got Something to Say About Hearing Loss? Let People Hear It

If you have hearing loss, have you thought about giving a talk or presentation in your community? Even if the thought of public speaking makes you nervous, or if you think you might not be good at it, you may still have an itch or even a burning desire to talk to other people about hearing loss. If so,

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Seen, Heard, Understood, Appreciated and Connected: SHUAC in Hearing Loss

What do a bad haircut and poor communication with hearing loss have in common? In a recent FaceBook reel, Mo Barrett, a humorist, corporate strategist, and author, spoke about the terrible haircut she had just endured. I thought it looked fine, although I would not have chosen that particular highly spiked, crispy-gelled look. Neither did she, apparently. The cut

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Seeing Ourselves Reflected On the Big Screen

Living with hearing loss is seldom addressed in film, but when a new documentary premiered last week – Heard, by Vancouver cinematographer Brian Ceci – there was an excited buzz in the local hearing loss community. How often do we get to “see ourselves” on film? Heard is an exploration of Ceci’s relationship with his lifelong hearing loss, stemming

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Do Your Friends Understand Your Hearing Loss?

Do your friends understand your hearing loss? As opposed to: do your friends understand that you have hearing loss? Even though your pals might know you use hearing aids or have a cochlear implant, whether they truly ‘get it’ is another issue. I thought after decades of communication with my friends and closest family members (such as the Hearing

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What You Really Need to Ask Your Audiologist

Last week, I gave one of my favorite types of presentations – to first year Audiology university students. My goal is always the same – let these future audiologists know about all the other stuff that we, their future clients, need to know. These chunks of knowledge, nurtured over time, will make journey with hearing loss easier. Stuff like:

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Hearing Loss – It’s a Way of Living

When hearing loss enters our lives, When it takes hold and grows roots, It becomes more than a medical condition or disability. It transforms into a way of living, of being. Hearing loss is what we have, not by choice, But because we are individual, organic creatures, vulnerable to change. So, we have it and will have it until

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When Asked to Repeat Yourself, You Have Options

The 10 most used words in the English language are the, be, to, of, and, a, in, that, have, and I. For people with hearing loss, however, this list might include the words pardon, what or even huh – yes, it’s in the dictionary! We use them frequently because we ask people to repeat themselves frequently. What? Wha? Huh?