Better Hearing Consumer

Featured image for “R.E.S.P.E.C.T-ing Your Hearing Technology”
Sep. 17, 2018

R.E.S.P.E.C.T-ing Your Hearing Technology

Gael Hannan
I’m a bit terrified of technology. Maybe that’s not quite true. My feelings about technology – especially assistive hearing technology – are complex. I love what technology does for me, I just don’t understand how it works. So it fills me with a huge sense of awe, of need, and of gratitude. I also feel terror when some important piece of
Featured image for “Closing the Gap: The Magical Intimacy of Hearing Loops”
Sep. 12, 2018

Closing the Gap: The Magical Intimacy of Hearing Loops

Gael Hannan
I’m not in Kansas anymore. I can say that because a couple of weeks ago, I was in Kansas for the first time. So, now I belong to the club of We’re-Not-in-Kansas-Anymore-People. (I don’t have a Toto, so I use the royal ‘we’.) But while I was there, magic happened. The Lied Center, the performing arts venue at the gorgeous
Featured image for “Gladys’ Story: Flying High with a CI”
Sep. 04, 2018

Gladys’ Story: Flying High with a CI

Gael Hannan
Editor’s Note: This week, I’m pleased to welcome Gladys Nielsen, a longtime hearing loss friend, to share her story. Gladys was one of the first people I met when I reached out for support from other persons with hearing loss. She has devoted years of  her life to helping people live more successfully with their hearing challenges. ********************************************************************** By Gladys Nielsen  
Featured image for “If I Could Hear Perfectly for Just One Day”
Aug. 21, 2018

If I Could Hear Perfectly for Just One Day

Gael Hannan
If I could hear perfectly  For just one day, I’d ask everyone to whisper Facing away, Just to experience, for just one day The exquisite naturalness Of hearing perfectly.   If I could hear perfectly For just one hour, I’d ask someone to call me From another room So I could understand, just this once. The amazing feat Of hearing
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Aug. 14, 2018

What a HoH Believes

Gael Hannan
   HoH = Hard of Hearing = Person with Hearing Loss   I’m a HoH. I like and use this term because it’s snappy and takes less time to say than “I’m hard of hearing” or “I’ve got hearing loss”.  Problem is, not everyone understands this particular meaning of the word, which rhymes with ‘hoe’.  If you’re not sure if
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Aug. 07, 2018

Lend Us Your Ears

Gael Hannan
Everybody loves a good story. And we all have a story to tell – our lives, our ‘issues’, our views. But we don’t always have a place to tell it. People with hearing loss are often hesitant to talk about how their hearing loss makes them feel, or perhaps our friends and family have heard the frustration in our voices
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Jul. 31, 2018

The Smile of the Hard of Hearing Dentist

Gael Hannan
by Hatem Ahmed   Dentistry is beautiful.   Have you ever tried to impact a person’s life? Push them to the point where they can’t help but smile?  An eight-year-old boy, coming home from school, leaped onto the doormat, singing primary school anthems as he waited for his mother’s response to his persistent knocking. He was born a smiling kid
Featured image for “Hearing Loss Embarrassment #12 (Talking Over Other People)”
Jul. 23, 2018

Hearing Loss Embarrassment #12 (Talking Over Other People)

Gael Hannan
If you were to ask a person what bothers them the most about their hearing loss, be prepared to hear a long list, starting with not being able to hear very well. But there are many more, including these: The eternal need to say pardon or would you repeat that, please? Having people reply “oh never mind” when you do.
Featured image for “My Hearing Loss: One Fork in the Road after Another”
Jul. 17, 2018

My Hearing Loss: One Fork in the Road after Another

Gael Hannan
By Ruth Ilean Fox My life with hearing has been an interesting adventure with many twists and turns.   Hearing loss started at birth, 70 years ago, and progressed from mild to profound over 25 years. My speech developed normally, except for the “L” and “R” sounds, so my loss was not significant until around the age of four when children
Featured image for “What? Why Me? Some First Questions About Hearing Loss”
Jul. 10, 2018

What? Why Me? Some First Questions About Hearing Loss

Gael Hannan
Hearing loss is so out of the closet these days. Twice last week I received flyers in the mail asking in big colorful letters – “DO YOU HAVE HEARING LOSS?”  You’ve wasted this 50-cent flyer on me, buddy, that ship has already sailed. Hearing loss is so common now that it’s discussed openly and frequently when people get together –