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 “Other People’s Hearing Aids”

Other People’s Hearing Aids

In my single days, when any random guy entered my field of vision, my eyes would slide to his ring finger on a quick intelligence-gathering mission: why waste precious flirting time with someone who is spoken for? While I still do this on occasion, out of habit, I’m more likely wherever I go—the grocery store, a restaurant—to aim my sight

Featured image for “Hearing While Deaf (by David Myers)”

Hearing While Deaf (by David Myers)

You’ll be told that your hearing’s so murky and muddy, your case calls for special intensified study. They’ll test you with noises from far and from near and you’ll get a black mark for the ones you can’t hear. Then they’ll say, “My dear fellow, you’re deafer than most. But there’s hope, since you’re not quite as deaf as a

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Does It Matter?

How much does it matter – losing one’s hearing? That’s a silly question, unless we ask: who does it matter to? It obviously matters to those of us who have it, because it colors and shapes almost everything we do. How we accept and deal with it is personal, a lifelong journey. But does hearing loss matter to people who

Featured image for “Living in a Sound Shadow”

Living in a Sound Shadow

I can’t hear through walls and around corners. A more accurate statement would be that I can’t understand through walls and around corners. If I don’t see the sound source or, if I can’t see the lips of the human making the sound, I usually do not understand. Those walls and corners cause sound shadows. Also known as an acoustic

Featured image for “The Joy of Reclaiming a Lost Sound”

The Joy of Reclaiming a Lost Sound

Recently, on a walk in the woods, I sensed a half-forgotten fragrance. It was the smell of tall cedars, firs and undergrowth warming up after the winter – earthy, sweet, green. I hadn’t smelled it for a long time, and it came with a jolt of pleasure. Over the next couple of days, I experienced similar smells that I felt

Featured image for “What a HoH Should Know (To Be True)”

What a HoH Should Know (To Be True)

HoH = Hard of Hearing = Person with Hearing Loss = (Or, However You Choose to Identify!) I’m a HoH. I like the term because it’s snappy and takes less time to say than “I’m hard of hearing” or “I’ve got hearing loss”. But I use it only with like-minded people, the ones with hearing loss, because other people (the hearing

Featured image for “When Mommy Can’t Hear the Love”

When Mommy Can’t Hear the Love

A hearing parent hears warning sounds that a hard of hearing parent cannot, leading to some Frightening Mommy Moments. And when my son Joel was small and even when looking directly at me – which was one of his early life lessons – it took work to understand him as his speech developed. (Eventually, as a child of a mother

Featured image for “Hearing Nature: Birdcalls, Hisses and Growls”

Hearing Nature: Birdcalls, Hisses and Growls

“Honey, what’s that sound?” “A bird.” “What kind?” “You’ve got to be kidding. I dunno, one with feathers.” On the hiking trails, spring wildflowers are popping up, and I’m grateful for these silent beauties of nature. Hearing sounds out of doors has always been a challenge for me. Nature has no walls to contain sound and no light switch

Featured image for “Sitting Here, Deaf”

Sitting Here, Deaf

The hearing care professionals joke about us, the people with hearing loss, among themselves. (They do, I know they do!) We’re the people who delay doing anything about our hearing loss for years, yet once we’re used to our hearing aids and cochlear implants, we can’t do without them for a moment. Mysteriously dead batteries cause panic. Hearing aids that

Featured image for “Reframing Your Hearing Loss Narrative (by Karina Cotran)”

Reframing Your Hearing Loss Narrative (by Karina Cotran)

I don’t know about you, but I’m pretty damn critical about myself. I think everyone is, to a certain extent, but I’ve noticed a pattern where folks with disabilities are more self-critical than folks without any disabilities. It’s almost like we put ourselves up to a higher standard because we don’t meet society’s typical standards. Society doesn’t explicitly say we