Better Hearing Consumer

If you have hearing loss, there are times you want to cry.  If you’re related to someone with hearing loss, there are times you want to cry. All because of that awful, 11-letter F-word. FRUSTRATION.  Tears may flow from the eyes, sobs escape from the throat, our face becomes a scowling, grumpy mask—how we handle hearing loss frustrations is an

Does a relative’s hearing loss cause challenges in your family?  If so, you’re a member of a very large club. No matter how much love there is, when hearing loss interferes with the easy flow of communication, it’s easy to get irritated, annoyed and tired, over and over and over.  And it’s a shock when hearing aids don’t completely remove the

The news station on TV in the hospital waiting room wasn’t captioned.  I wasn’t terribly interested in the news as I waited for my cochlear implant surgery but still, I felt the familiar emotion:  “Oh for heaven’s sakes, how do they expect people with hearing loss to understand!”  A little bit of access would have improved the experience.  What about

Imagine, people with hearing loss—what will life be like a half century from now?  The technology, the attitudes? I’m getting ahead of myself. It’s still early January of 2017 and this year I’m not even bothering with resolutions. Any I’ve ever managed to stick to, have been achieved purely by accident—like, you lose those five pounds because you had the

As a recent inductee into the world of tinnitus, I am pleased to welcome guest writer Glenn Schweitzer whose new book on tinnitus will be of interest to anyone dealing with those unwelcome – and unceasing – bells, whistles, roars and whooshing playing in their head.     By Glenn Schweitzer   For as long as I can remember, silence

Christmas is just over and the New Year looms. I’m sitting in the early morning quiet, before anyone else is up, enjoying the lights of the Christmas tree and fireplace. Suddenly, what in my wandering mind should appear but this: why have I never realized that Santa—a senior citizen by all accounts—probably has at least a mild hearing loss? I

We’re taking a break this week at HearingHealthMatters.org – to refresh the creative spirit and enjoy the gifts of the holiday season. For those of you who missed it, this blog was one of the most-read of the past year, originally published January 19, 2016. Its popularity is not surprising, because the article is about how we describe ourselves, which

by Kathi Mestayer   People with hearing loss can be tough to accommodate. Sometimes, we wear our hearing aids, sometimes not.  Sometimes, we nod and smile when we know we didn’t hear you.  Sometimes, we just don’t know we didn’t hear you. This is challenging in healthcare situations. I’ve been there more than once: in the hospital, emergency room, imaging facilities,

Q:  At the start of every holiday season, what’s more common than cookie recipes and decorating ideas? A:  Articles on how to survive the holiday season! They fall like snowflakes on social media, these survival-blogs that offer advice on coping with the annual issues of season – loneliness, depression, finances, family dysfunction, grief—and hearing loss. The last one is my

Note from editor Gael Hannan: Mary Dyer, my guest writer this week, lost her hearing – and then realized how people like her were being sidelined in congregations of faith. She set out to do something about it. This blog is adapted with permission from her article in ‘Sojourners’, “Please Hear Those of Us Who Can’t”.    by Mary Dyer