Better Hearing Consumer

  Last week, I shared an article by Lauren Sherwood about the most painful words a person with hearing loss can be told when asking for something to be repeated. “Never mind.” “Don’t worry about it.” “Oh, nothing.” “It wasn’t important.” The person who responds this way may honestly feel it wasn’t worth repeating, but it’s not their call to

The following article, written by Lauren Sherwood in 2014, almost 10 years ago, is the most widely viewed article ever on HHTM. Her words still resonate with people who have hearing loss and their communication partners. Thank you, Lauren. I am one of an estimated 3.5 million hard-of-hearing Canadians. This doesn’t mean I don’t hear people. Every day, I hear conversations

Last week, I had rare hearing aid catastrophe which, for once, didn’t happen on a weekend. As I wait for the new one to arrive, I got to thinking about previous first days with new hearing aids. Day 1 11 am:  Just got home. I hate to admit this, but about two miles after leaving the clinic, I pulled over. It

In article after book after website about living well with hearing loss, maintaining a sense of humor ranks high on the list of recommended strategies. When I read the advice suggesting we keep our hearing loss funny bone active, I want to yell, “But what if you don’t have one?” I’m not talking about getting jokes or being witty; I’m

It’s a funny thing about hearing aid users. Our relationship with our devices, like any relationship, has its peaks and valleys. Some people tear them off at the end of the day for  ‘peace and quiet’, while others wait until just before sleep, absorbing the last bit of sound from their day. In the early days, most of us drag

Do you read your horoscope? I like to peek at mine now and again, because not only am I not psychic, sometimes I have trouble knowing what’s going on now, thanks to my hearing loss, which wipes out some of the clues. Sometimes my daily horoscope is a bullseye and other times it’s so far off I wonder if my

Hearing loss is one of those gifts that keeps on giving. Once you have it, your hearing loss presents itself to you every day, in different ways. A poorly captioned TV show, a sales clerk whose lips point to her computer, a conversation with friends that spins out of control into incomprehension. Regardless of when hearing loss first occurs, experiencing one

Hearing health advocate, author and actress, Tiffany Storrs, who wears a Cochlear implant, unpacks why you really should. I’ll admit, DJ Snake and Lil Jon’s popular hit “Turn Down for What” has catchy lyrics and a funky beat, but in a literal context, “Fire up that loud” screams a hazardous message to directly ignore the fact that more than 1

Most sounds fade away at some point or cease to surprise us, but others retain their shock appeal until – well, forever! When I received a cochlear implant on the right side in 2017, life changed – especially my auditory landscape. Not only did sounds become louder, but I seemed to be hearing many as if for the first time.

One of the top activities in the life of a person with hearing loss is asking for something to be repeated. And repeated. And repeated. Even when a listening situation is optimal – there’s lots of light, no noise, the other person(s) are facing you and speaking clearly – there are bound to be moments where you must ask, “What