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.

How to Ask Someone to Repeat Something

Do you get tired of using the same old phrases when you ask people to repeat themselves? If so, spice up your life and change how you ask. The most exciting change would be not having to ask at all – to be able to understand people the first time, every time. This would spare everybody a lot of extra

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Wedding Vows for Hard of Hearing People

What happens if the groom says “I Do,” and the bride says “Pardon?” If you don’t hear your partner’s wedding vows, are you legally married? Some people dismiss a marriage certificate as just another piece of paper that has no bearing on the quality or substance of a committed relationship. That may be true for some folks, but I believe that

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Tech Advice From The Deafened, CI-Using, Audiologist

I am delighted to welcome a guest blogger this week – Peter Stelmacovich, the FM and SoundField Product Manager for Phonak Canada. Peter is a late-deafened audiologist and a CI user whose expertise and advocacy have supported people across the continent (and probably around the world). He is also a fellow Canadian, as well as my colleague at the Canadian

Featured image for “Can You Smell Better with Hearing Loss? (And Other Crazy Questions)”

Can You Smell Better with Hearing Loss? (And Other Crazy Questions)

“You have your hearing aids in, how come you didn’t hear me?” “I guess you see better than other people because of your hearing loss, eh?” It’s difficult to understand hearing loss if you don’t have it. We know this because hard of hearing people are asked variations of these and many more questions all the time. Every day, everywhere

Featured image for “A HoH In Paris”

A HoH In Paris

Ah, Paris – it was the highlight of a two-week vacation with the Hearing Husband in Belgium and France. The ‘City of Light’ is busy and noisy and full of wonderful sounds, most of which (I think) I heard. But really, who cares about perfect communication when you’re gazing open-mouthed, in awe, at the night-lit Eiffel Tower? And what’s the

Featured image for “I’m A Hearing Loss Worry-Wart”

I’m A Hearing Loss Worry-Wart

Ever since I joined up with the Hearing Loss Association of America and the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, I’ve been immersed in positive hearing communication strategies. Over time, I’ve been dunked, dredged and baked into a confident and assertive advocate for people with hearing loss. But on occasion, little cracks appear in the armor. I have bad hearing moments

The HoH Emergency Travel Kit

This is a short blog, because I’m going on vacation tomorrow and if you’re reading this, I’m already there. As I pack for this trip, I’m keeping a hard-learned lesson in mind: always be prepared. To most people, preparedness means double-checking that all essential clothes and travel documents are packed and the cell phone is updated with crucial text and

Driving, The Hard of Hearing Way

Being pulled over by the police has always been one of my secret dreads. Not because I’m hard of hearing, or carry illegal stuff in the trunk, but because I don’t want a policeman to be mad at me. Can’t help it; it’s the way I was raised, to respect the law. Little baby boomers playing in the streets would

Stories from My First Speechreading Class

In 1998, I joined 20 other people for a speechreading instructor-training program in Calgary. It sounded like fun; I could read lips and I figured I’d be good at it – and as the stay-at-home mom of a 2-year old, it seemed like a golden opportunity to get out of the house each week. The instructors-in-training, drawn from every Canadian province and territory,

Featured image for “The Truth About Mona”

The Truth About Mona

That smile, really just a slight curve of the lips. Are the eyes smiling too, or just watching someone? But who, and why? For hundreds of years, art lovers, kings and peasants have marveled at Mona Lisa’s beauty and pondered the source of the enigmatic smile. But I, immune to her romantic appeal, know why. Mona Lisa was hard of