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.

Featured image for “Yo, Santa, Listen Up!”

Yo, Santa, Listen Up!

Dear Santa, You probably don’t remember me, but that’s OK, I’ve changed a lot since the first time I wrote to you. I was the Canadian kid with mild to moderate hearing loss but now, I’m the Canadian senior who’s deaf without my hearing devices. Maybe that rings a reindeer bell? To start off, may I say that you are

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Hearing Holiday Tips For the Stars!

How do we, the people with hearing loss, overcome the noisy barriers and reclaim the joy of the season? When the sounds we love become noise and when the people become too many, how can we stay included? If you have hearing loss or tinnitus, I’m sure you’ve read more than one article on how to survive the noisy,

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6 Good Things About Hearing Loss (That You Might Not Have Realized)

The downside of hearing loss is clear: we don’t hear well, or at all. And that causes barriers in our communication, touching almost every aspect of our lives. But it’s nice to take a break from all that barrier-smashing and recognize that there can be an upside to living with hearing loss. Try taking a moment to reflect how hearing

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When We Live Under a Blanket of Noise

There are two ways to describe what we hear: sound and noise. Sound is the good stuff and noise is – not so good. And noise can be our external soundscape, or come from within, our internal head noise. What we consider as noise is individual; it’s our unwanted sound, the chaotic background to what we want to hear. If

Featured image for “Surviving 20 Months of Masked Communication”

Surviving 20 Months of Masked Communication

(Alert! If you don’t think people should be wearing masks – at all – perhaps this article isn’t for you.) It’s been a year and two-thirds since the pandemic became real. 20 months of obsessive hand washing and sanitizing. Of nervous distancing, sheltering at home, making too much food and watching too much Netflix. And then, finally coming out of

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Where To Turn for Hearing Help

People with hearing loss need help. That’s NOT to say we are helpless. But we can’t, simply through our own willpower, hear or communicate better without the input, support and skill of some important sources. There’s nothing wrong with needing and asking for help. In fact, it’s the smart thing to do. The way I hear it, there are four

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Getting Loopy About Hearing Loops

I’m a HoH (a person with hearing loss) and I’m a traveler. Last week, as a HoH On The Road, I went to Eugene, Oregon to participate in theatrical accessibility event called Traveling with Hearing Loss. (By now, you get what this article is about: hearing loss, travel, and hearing loops.) Eugene must surely be one of the most looped

Featured image for “Yup – Another Hearing Loss Book!”

Yup – Another Hearing Loss Book!

Tell me, however much you know about your hearing loss – where did you learn it? From your hearing care professional? Hearing loss-related websites? Facebook? From a book on hearing loss? If you’re like most people, including me, your answer might be All of The Above. But my ongoing and best source of useful information has always been the writing

Featured image for “Move Those Lips (So I Can Understand You)”

Move Those Lips (So I Can Understand You)

Whispery voices. Lips half-glued together as they make words. Speed-talkers. Speech manglers! It’s the classic struggle for the person with hearing loss: talking with someone who has ‘poor’ articulation. Even people with typical hearing can strain to understand when speech isn’t clear. For us, well-articulated speech is challenging enough to understand, let alone words with dropped consonants, too much breath

Featured image for “Getting Through a Bad Hearing Day”

Getting Through a Bad Hearing Day

Recently, I had one of those “bad hearing days”. I found an article of mine from February 2015 that reminded me that these days do pass. Here it is, an example of self-help and strict editing. Ever had one of those days? A day packed with hearing boo-boos and embarrassing moments? A day when communication brings more pain than pleasure? When you are