Better Hearing Consumer

I’ve got an audiology appointment this week and, I’ll admit it, I’m nervous. Things have changed. I’m not hearing as well as I was just a few weeks ago. Noisy situations almost bring me to my knees. Speech isn’t always clear. As the minutes tick towards my appointment in two days, my mind is doing pretzel knots with questions that

  I am a big fan of hearing care professionals, both as a group and individually. Regardless of their designation, I respect and applaud the audiologists and hearing instrument specialists who have chosen the life of a clinician, researcher, industry representative and clinic owner – or a personal combination of these practices. As members of the field of hearing care

I’ll admit it – I’m excited! For most of this month, I will be in Europe (Poland, Germany and France) with girlfriends to celebrate a birthday of significance. And while any big trip requires preparation, there are a few extra things on the packing list for people with hearing loss. Because I often travel on my own for business, it’s

Does this happen to you? Someone asks you about your hearing aids, or cochlear implant, or ask how long you’ve had ‘it’. And as you start talking, eyes glaze over as your family or friends listen to that same hearing loss talk once again. When I told the Hearing Husband that this week’s blog topic is about whether people (i.e.

  I had one of those hearing loss cringe-moments last night. Actually, it was this morning. OK, it happened last night, but I found out about it this morning, when the Hearing Husband pointed out what I had done last night: repeatedly talked over another person. Apparently, as they talked, I loudly chimed in, more than once and on a

  Hearing loss is a big, bottomless bowl of emotional soup. The constant challenges of hearing loss keep our emotions in play: sometimes softer and manageable, often more painful and exhausting. And we don’t do one emotion at a time! Hearing loss is more complicated than that; emotions are close to the surface, always ready to erupt. Let’s say I’m

  Fact #1: If a conversation is to survive, both parties need to understand the other. Otherwise, it’s not a dialogue but two monologues. Fact #2: People with hearing loss often don’t understand what the other person is saying. This is also an incomplete conversation: one monologue and one chunk of confusion. In conversations, people with hearing loss often ask

  The annual convention of the Hearing Loss Association of America just wrapped up in Phoenix, Arizona. This means I must wait an entire year for the next one in Indianapolis, Indiana. (I’m clarifying the states for one of my sisters-in-hearing loss who is geographically challenged. I’m  Canadian and good at American geography. I do what I can to help.)

  Is this you? You’ve done all you can to hear and understand in a difficult listening situation, especially one that involves several people chatting and talking over each other. You’ve positioned yourself in the optimal position. The other people know what you need but still, in the flurry of animated voices, speaking and responding, you’ve fallen behind. There are

  Oh darn, I did it again. I slid into bluffing mode! Hey, the conversation was a nightmare to follow – it was noisy and I didn’t know the people very well. There were several things I could have done to not bluff, but they involved time, disruption, and putting more value on the casual conversation than I was prepared