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 “How to Hear Those High Kiddie Voices”

How to Hear Those High Kiddie Voices

“Mo goo! Mo goo, Gigi, mo goo!” Ava, my 16-month-old granddaughter, clearly wanted “mo goo” from Gigi (Grandma Gael = GG = Gigi) ). There was no parental translation help nearby so I kept taking stabs at what Mo Goo might mean. My usual assumption was that I couldn’t understand her because of my hearing loss, but it seemed that

Featured image for “Why I Won’t Be Taking the Bird Box Challenge”

Why I Won’t Be Taking the Bird Box Challenge

We finally watched Bird Box, the new Netflix mega hit, because our son talked us into it, and Sandra Bullock has never disappointed us. It gave me the willies. Not a Spoiler Alert! Anyone who has even heard of this movie, or seen photographs and trailers filling up social media, knows that Sandra Bullock’s standout article of clothing is a

Best-Ever Post: The 2 Most Painful Words to Hard of Hearing People

I’m taking a bit of a writing break during the holidays, but I want to share with you the most-read, most widely-distributed article ever on the Better Hearing Consumer. Lauren Sherwood has since graduated and pursuing a career in communications but her words still ring true and still hit hard since its in initial publication over four years ago. Enjoy!

Featured image for “Finding the Silence of the Season”

Finding the Silence of the Season

“When I get home at night, the first thing I do is whip off my hearing aid and relax.” I was a little shocked at my friend’s comment. Another friend also takes off her cochlear implant sound processor at times during the day just to get the same noise-free peace. I fought hard for the sounds that I now hear

Featured image for “Santa – Can You HEAR Me?!”

Santa – Can You HEAR Me?!

Dear Santa, OK, Claus, this is IT! buy vibramycin online vibramycin online generic Year after year I write you, asking nicely for stuff, mostly hearing loss-related. And it’s like I’m writing to someone who’s not real! Have you been taking my gifts to someone else by mistake? I mean, how many people with profound hearing loss named Gael Hannan ARE

Featured image for “The Tests of Tinnitus”

The Tests of Tinnitus

When I tell someone that I have severe tinnitus, a frequent response I get is clearly intended to commiserate, to make me feel better. “Oh yeah, I have that too. A little dinging bell that never stops dinging – it drives me crazy.” A little dinging bell? I would love to have just a little dinging bell, but I don’t

Featured image for “The Amazingness of Hearing Loss”

The Amazingness of Hearing Loss

A human being is an amazing creature, capable of amazing things: we can think, talk, see, hear, feel pleasure and pain, show compassion, move forwards-backwards-sideways and, as the advertisements say, so much, much more. Perfect people would operate flawlessly on this scale of amazingness – but do such people really exist? Surely even the most perfect, got-it-all person has something

Featured image for “How CAN We Reduce Hearing Test Anxiety?”

How CAN We Reduce Hearing Test Anxiety?

Last week, in my article “Why I Dread My Annual Hearing Test”, I wrote about how hearing evaluations make us anxious even if – or especially if – we’ve had them before. Comments from readers ranged from “yeah, I don’t like them either” to this: “I can’t tell you how much I HATE hearing tests! I live daily knowing just

Featured image for “Why I Dread My Annual Hearing Test”

Why I Dread My Annual Hearing Test

This week, I’m scheduled for a hearing checkup and I am not particularly looking forward to it. Lekharna-Prague.com Odd, isn’t it, that a person with lifelong hearing loss and who’s had upward of 60 annual checkups can still feel uneasy at the thought of it? It’s not that I don’t like the audiologists who conduct the tests. Far from it,

Featured image for “The Best Time to Have Hearing Loss”

The Best Time to Have Hearing Loss

Do you suspect you might have hearing loss? Has hearing loss recently been positively, absolutely confirmed? Have you lived with it for some time? Whatever stage of the hearing loss journey you’re at, chances are you’ve hurled these questions at the universe: Why me? What happened? Why now? These questions are easy to ask, but the answers aren’t always easy