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 “Got Hearing Loss? Watch a TEDx Talk!”

Got Hearing Loss? Watch a TEDx Talk!

If you have not yet tapped into the world of TEDx talks, you’re missing out. These short talks, usually 10-15 minutes in length, are ‘ideas worth sharing’ delivered by experts from their lived experience. If you want a good source of information not corrupted by media or fringe conspiracies, try TED and TEDx talks. And, if you have hearing loss,

Featured image for “Want to Chat? Gimme a Minute, I Have Hearing Loss!”

Want to Chat? Gimme a Minute, I Have Hearing Loss!

Casual conversations aren’t my thing. It’s not that I don’t like casual chats – I love them! Talking with people is one of life’s joys. But because of my hearing loss, I just don’t do casual very well, especially with strangers. A successful convo that sparks up and ends in just a few seconds or minutes, only works if I

Featured image for “Imagining Life If I Never Had Hearing Loss”

Imagining Life If I Never Had Hearing Loss

What would your life be like if some major aspect of it had never existed? If you had met someone else to be your life partner? If instead of mediocre, your artistic and physical talents were world-class? If you looked different, or were raised in a different country or culture? If you didn’t have hearing loss? While it’s fun to

Featured image for “Who Tells Us How to Be Good At Hearing Loss?”

Who Tells Us How to Be Good At Hearing Loss?

Living well with hearing loss is not instinctive. We must learn how to do it. Nothing in a person’s personal experience prepares them for the emotional, life-changing impact of even a mild change in hearing. We don’t just hop to it, adopting strategies that will help us deal with communication barriers that we never realized existed. Even if we’ve

Featured image for “Are You on a Hearing Loss Journey?”

Are You on a Hearing Loss Journey?

Where are you on your hearing loss journey? I asked myself the same question – when did I morph from a self-described hard of hearing person who used hearing aids, to a person on a journey with her hearing loss? I remember the exact moment because it was seismic in its revelation. It changed me. In 1995, I attended

Featured image for “The Smart Watch: A HoH’s Favorite Accessory”

The Smart Watch: A HoH’s Favorite Accessory

My life has changed for the better since I started wearing an Apple watch. If you have hearing loss, as I do, there is no downside and a multitude of upsides to using a smart watch. It tells me the time. I went for years without wearing a watch; who needs to know the time within a nanosecond? “Excuse

Featured image for “Handling Hearing Loss Frustrations Without Losing Your S**T”

Handling Hearing Loss Frustrations Without Losing Your S**T

I’ve had to deal with a few frustrations recently. Our lovely motorhome Thor suffered a series of indignities in rapid succession – a cracked windshield, me almost setting it on fire (I forgot the eggs boiling on the stove), and a big one – the slide-out wouldn’t slide out. This snafu made me consider how I handle my hearing

Featured image for “Hearing Loss Can Be Hard Work!”

Hearing Loss Can Be Hard Work!

Life with hearing loss can be chaotic and messy and, at times, just plain hard work. Trying to sort out what was said and by whom is often an aerobic workout, complete with swiveling heads, waving arms and raised voices. In Finland on a Scandinavian speaking tour, I was sitting at dinner with a joyous group of new hearing loss

Featured image for “Rethinking What I “Can’t Do” with Hearing Loss”

Rethinking What I “Can’t Do” with Hearing Loss

Business meetings involve being able to follow what people are saying. I can’t do the meeting minutes. Phone calls with strangers are difficult because of unfamiliar speech patterns. Can you make this phone call for me – I can’t do it. On a walk with friends, we hear a bird call from the trees. My friends look up to the

Featured image for “Hearing Loss Through the Looking Glass”

Hearing Loss Through the Looking Glass

What are the big-ticket items that frustrate you about having hearing loss? Why don’t “they” fix it! The cost of hearing aids (and why aren’t they perfect?) Why don’t people understand our needs? It’s important to ask ourselves (and other people) these questions, especially if they lead us to think and learn about hearing loss. The more we understand