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 “Best of Better Hearing Consumer: Face Me, Doc, I’m STILL Hard of Hearing”

Best of Better Hearing Consumer: Face Me, Doc, I’m STILL Hard of Hearing

I’m taking a short break this week. But before I go: last week, I re-posted the first blog in a two-parter about navigating the health system. Last week’s was about waiting to see the doctor. This week’s follow up, first published November 1, 2011, is what happens when your name is finally called. Having escaped from the waiting room

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Locked Hearing Aid Software — Additional Comments

by Mike Metz A short time ago, I wrote a post regarding lack of access to the software of some hearing aids. My comments arose from conversations with other dispensing audiologists. They saw patients that were having problems with hearing aids purchased from large distributors — Big Box stores primarily. Evidently, patients believed that they were not getting sufficient benefits from

Featured image for “The Boomers are Coming! Part 2 – Ideas to Think About”

The Boomers are Coming! Part 2 – Ideas to Think About

by Steve Eagon, MA In part 1 of this two-part series, I mentioned how we’ve all heard about the Baby-Boomers flooding our offices, and the unique challenges they bring. In this article, I’m going to make suggestions based upon what I’ve seen from various hearing care professionals around North America who are addressing these Boomer characteristics. These new approaches

Featured image for “Speak Up, Doc, I’m Hard of Hearing (2016)”

Speak Up, Doc, I’m Hard of Hearing (2016)

This weekend is Canadian Thanksgiving. I plowed through the delights of turkey, stuffing, veggies and pie, just two days after a visit to the dentist. His advice to “enjoy your feast, but chew very carefully”, made me nervous eating anything thicker than gravy. And since it was a holiday, I decided to repost an article, slightly updated, but which still resonates today: navigating

Featured image for “How to Talk to a Hard of Hearing Person (2016)”

How to Talk to a Hard of Hearing Person (2016)

Note: I first posted this article five years ago to the day. I’ve made only a few minor changes, but the info is the same and even more important today because, presumably, there are now a lot more people with hearing loss. That means there are a lot more people who need to know how to talk with ‘us’: family members, friends, law enforcement

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MR. COSTCO, TEAR DOWN THAT WALL!

by Mike Metz, PhD Consider the success of the “Big Box” sales of hearing aids. Costco alone has become the second largest dispensing entity of hearing instruments in the US, and just lowered the cost of their premium Kirkland 7.0 instruments. What do you suppose is their return-for-credit rate? No matter which of the three possibilities—better, less, or the

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When a HoH Meets a Pro

In the hearing loss world that I live in, there are HoHs and there are Pros: HoH: Refers to a person who has hearing loss and who may also identify as hard of hearing, hearing-impaired, or hearing aid/cochlear implant user. (This term does not refer to all those affected by a person’s hearing loss, such as the moms and dads, life

Hearing Loss Isn’t Funny

This fall, I’m honoured to be featured in the Hearing Loss Association of America‘s magazine ‘Hearing Loss’. HLAA has given me permission to share the article here. It’s a bit longer than my usual blogs, so feel free to stop reading if you get bored, or to read it in ‘bits’. And it’s really not that long… Keep

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iPhone 7: A Mixed Bag for People with Hearing Loss

By Kathi Mestayer Last week, Apple unveiled their new iPhone 7 in their usual product development process. First come the rumors, then the second wave of rumors, then the unveiling, then the buzzfest, until, finally, it arrives in the stores. I went to a Verizon store last week, and they told me it would be this Saturday, September

Featured image for “The Boomers are Coming! Yeah, So What. (Part 1)”

The Boomers are Coming! Yeah, So What. (Part 1)

By Steve Eagon, MA Given the work I do, I frequently interact with and train hearing professionals on a variety of practice management issues. A hot topic among many these days is the changing consumer dynamic over the past 5-10 years. When I ask professionals what they notice about today’s mature consumer, it usually centers around a few key observations. online pharmacy