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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Keep Out of My Way! (Hashtags for New Hearing Aids)

It’s that time of life again. I’m breaking in new hearing aids before the old ones break down. Although I may be the first one to break down, and I know my family is on edge. If you use hearing aids or cochlear implants, you know what I’m going through. I’ve lost count of how many sets I’ve had since my first beige behind-the-ear

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The Hearing Loss Hangover

Have you ever been drunk? Done an Extreme Gorge at the buffet table? Had a joking comment turn into a screaming fight? Any other activity that started out as pleasurable but then went out of control? How did you feel the next morning, or the next few days? Nauseous, exhausted, drained, aching, sad, unsettled, nervous, angry or confused that you

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The World’s Shortest Audiology Course

Hearing care professionals believe they know what people need in order to hear better. After all, they’ve gone to school to learn this. People with hearing loss (PWHL) know they want to hear better, but believe they don’t always get what they need from the professionals. And after all, they’re the ones struggling to hear. Is the process too complicated, too

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Where’s the Plug: Charging to Hear

When I was a teenager and obsessed with makeup, I worried that mascara would be blacklisted by the FDA or Health Canada and no longer be available. A more important worry, as I became dependent on hearing assistive technology, was that a world shortage of zinc would force battery makers to shut down. I am a battery-operated person; this would

Featured image for “Tinnitus Head Noise – What Fresh Hell is This?”

Tinnitus Head Noise – What Fresh Hell is This?

I come awake but I keep my eyes closed as I wait and listen. For a few moments, there is nothingness—and then it starts. First a hum, low at first but becoming higher in pitch as a deep rumble starts, giving me two sounds that don’t even have the courtesy to harmonize. Then, with a slight shift of my head—or

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How to Irritate People (With Your Hearing Loss)

Some of my personal favorite, sure-fire ways to spark irritation in other people: Choose not to wear your hearing aids or cochlear implant and then struggle to communicate with someone. I’m giving my ears a break and I want to save money on batteries. But c’mon, talk to me, I can read your lips. (Like this ever works.) Bluff.

Featured image for “When I Say I Want Telecoils…”

When I Say I Want Telecoils…

…I mean it. It wasn’t just an opening line to my hearing aid provider, so that she could come back with, “That’s old tech. Your hearing aid manufacturer has a great in-home kit, and a streamer, and lots of other neat stuff for just a few hundred dollars extra.” Although, that’s pretty much what we said to each other. I

Featured image for “Why The Stigma is So Sticky”

Why The Stigma is So Sticky

by Kathi Mestayer Years ago, I read that if you lose your hearing (relatively) young, you adjust to it better. That makes sense, given what we now know about declining brain plasticity as we age, and the importance of getting cochlear implants (for those who need them) as early as possible, so their brains are better able to adjust to

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Traveling Without Unraveling

I just returned home from one of my favourite weeks of the year. The annual convention of the Hearing Loss Association of America (HLAA), held this year in St. Louis, is a fun few days of hanging out with a thousand best friends and learning about stuff that will help me communicate better. This year there was a baseball game

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Their Words Keep Flowing

A couple of weeks ago, in my blog The Joy of Writing (About Hearing Loss), I recommended that people who have hearing loss may want to try writing: “…as a way to deal with the frustrations and anxieties of communication challenges. Write a piece of inspiration that gets you through the hearing loss day and stick it on the fridge.