Better Hearing Consumer

Standing in the line-up of Tim Horton’s, Canada’s coffee-shop shrine, I heard the music leaking from the earbuds of the teenager behind me. And if I heard it with my severe hearing loss, it must have been really loud. I grumbled to myself, and not only because the noise was irritatingly tinny and nothing I could sing along with.  And I didn’t

Do you know what really bugs me about being hard of hearing?   I simply detest the term hard of hearing. What does that mean, anyway? What do those words tell you about me, or the way I communicate? I need a better term  to describe myself, but the choice is limited: hard of hearing, a person with hearing loss, hearing-impaired, deaf

  Conversing with a hard of hearing person is much easier if you, the ‘hearing’ person,  are aware of the hearing loss. If you don’t know that the person you’re talking to has a hearing problem, you might be forgiven for looking in another direction (into space for example) as you prattle on, or mumbling, or putting your hands in front

“Gael, did you know Digby has fleas?” asked my friend as he looked into the fridge for snacks. “That’s too bad,” I said. My friend turned back to me, puzzled. “What’s too bad?” “That the dog has fleas.” “Who said that? “You just did.” “I asked if you’d like a diet pepsi.” “Oh. Thanks…and glad to hear Digby has no

Last week, writing about all the good reasons to wear hearing aids and my affection for Billy-Bob, my current set of aids, I thought back to the day when I got The First One. It was rush hour on St. Clair Avenue, one of Toronto’s noisiest streets, asI left the office of Miss Rowena Fothergill, my hearing aid dispenser, to walk

I love my hearing aids, to the moon and back.  They even have names, Billy and Bob. But it hasn’t always been a love affair; a succession of hearing aids have been glared at, sworn at, and ignored.  I have pondered how much they would pull in on eBay.  But now, if I have to give them up for more

Gael Hannan has invited me to talk about captioning – which is my passion and my pleasure. I may not make you laugh, but  I hope to illustrate how extremely important captioning inclusion is for millions of people. Communication is crucial to relationships; it’s darn hard to have meaningful relations at home, at work, and in society without effective communications.  All

Do you think bad guys know about the ADA?  I mean, if I asked, do you think they would remove the mask, so I could read their lips? Notice to boy scouts of the world: I have ripped off your ‘rule to live by’ and it’s now part of my manifesto for living successfully with hearing loss. Be prepared! The recent

“What sound would you miss most if you couldn’t hear it anymore?” I ask this to elementary students receiving Sound Sense, a presentation on hearing loss prevention. “Music!” they yell.  They are smart kids, because people with acquired hearing loss often mourn for the ability to enjoy music as they once did. Music is in my blood, and  it’s a

The more I understand about hearing loss – its causes and how it affects communication – the easier it is to face my personal hearing challenges, and the better I communicate.    Sounds simple, but it has taken a lifetime to learn this. If I’m asked when I first become aware of my hearing loss, I answer, when my mommy told me.  I