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 “Being Hard of Hearing in 1921”

Being Hard of Hearing in 1921

Never judge a book by its cover – even an inexpensive photocopied one – because what’s inside might be jaw-dropping. This week, sorting through 20 years’ accumulation of hearing loss material, I was about to pitch out a spiral-bound booklet called 80 Years of Looking & Learning. I opened it and was mesmerized. Compiled in 2001 by the early lip reading

A Casual Consumer Guide to Hearing Care Professionals

Do you like looking in people’s ears? Can you look people in the eye and articulate clearly? Does technology turn your crank? Are you a curious problem-solver? Do you have a bottomless cup of patience and empathy and curiosity? If you can answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions, then you might consider a career in hearing healthcare. It’s a

Featured image for “A Crystal Ball into Hearing Loss”

A Crystal Ball into Hearing Loss

It’s time for the annual look at what’s in the stars for people with hearing loss. Because astrology isn’t my ‘thing’ – as in I don’t believe in it – I searched the internet for the connection between astrology and hearing loss. I found this: The ear, as a region of nose, throat and ear, falls under Taurus and,

Featured image for “Arguing About Hearing Loss”

Arguing About Hearing Loss

“Ex-CUSE me? I most certainly do not!” ”Why are you raising your voice….and what is it that you most certainly don’t?” “Oh, very funny….you know… what you just said…about what I do…because of my hearing loss!” “What? All I said is sometimes you get things wrong, you don’t hear them right, especially when you’re upset…like now.” “Oh, like you don’t?

Featured image for “A Hard of Hearing Line Dancer (Does Austin)”

A Hard of Hearing Line Dancer (Does Austin)

My foot is tapping impatiently as I wait for June and the Hearing Loss Association of America’s annual Convention in Austin, one of America’s top music cities. Makes you want to let rip with a whoo-hoo or hee-haw or whatever it is they yell in Texas when they get excited and feel like singin’ and dancin’! HLAA’s annual convention draws hundreds

Sitting Here, Deaf (Waiting for My Hearing Aids)

The hearing care professionals laugh at us. We’re the people who put off doing anything about our hearing loss for years. Yet, once we have our hearing aids or cochlear implants, we can’t go without them for even a moment. Last week, I spent three interminable hours while my hearing aids were ‘being looked at’. Sitting Here, Deaf

My CI and Me: A Work in Progress

By Lynne Kinsey I got a cochlear implant in October 2013. Remarkably, I am hearing things I haven’t heard in almost 25 years: birds, leaves crunching beneath my feet, leaf blowers, traffic noises, the furnace, dishwasher and refrigerator noises, children playing and babies cooing, some music and instruments – even my computer keys as I’m typing this. Many of

Featured image for “Hey, Mommy and Daddy, Can I Hear You?”

Hey, Mommy and Daddy, Can I Hear You?

Dear Mommy and Daddy, I’ve got a question. The first of about a million I’m gonna ask, but right now I’m only five months old and this first one is important. Do you know if I can hear you? If so – are you absolutely sure? Did somebody test my hearing before we all left the hospital –

Featured image for “The Two Most Painful Words to Hard of Hearing People”

The Two Most Painful Words to Hard of Hearing People

My name is Lauren Sherwood. I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Professional Writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia. A few years ago, I participated in a talent contest. I was inspired by Gael Hannan, whom my parents had seen at a conference, to write a comedic monologue on living with hearing loss – and

Featured image for “I’m Hard of Hearing and I Need a Communication Specialist”

I’m Hard of Hearing and I Need a Communication Specialist

By Dr. Charles Laszlo I am a hard of hearing person who wears hearing aids. People think this solves all my communication problems – after all, that’s what the hearing aid advertisements say, don’t they? But I have many communication needs that require more than hearing aids can provide. There are many faces to the hard of hearing person.