Better Hearing Consumer

Featured image for “Noise Zaps My Energy!”
Jan. 18, 2023

Noise Zaps My Energy!

Gael Hannan
I don’t like noise. It’s not so much the noise itself, but what it does to me – and what I have to do to counteract its toxic effects. For many people, noise exposure can cause a stress reaction. Others have noise sensitivity. For the person with hearing loss (aka ME), the noise of public spaces, large gatherings or even
Featured image for “How Can People with Hearing Loss Help Other PWHL?”
Jan. 04, 2023

How Can People with Hearing Loss Help Other PWHL?

Gael Hannan
This the week we vow to exercise more, eat better, be nicer, and reduce, reuse and recycle – and this week, we mean it. Ask us next week how it’s working out so far. But as a person with hearing loss, I’ve realized that there is more that we can do, not just for ourselves but for other people impacted
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Dec. 21, 2022

Thank You to My Hearing Loss Champions

Gael Hannan
It’s the end of the year. And this year, many of us are hunkering down inside, nursing a cold or the flu (like the Hearing Husband), trying to find something good on TV that we haven’t yet streamed, and maybe even a backward glance over the past year. It’s been a year of amazing additions to my Hearing Loss Champion
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Dec. 13, 2022

Now Hear This, Santa!

Gael Hannan
Dear Santa, Hi, it’s me again. You should remember me because you probably don’t get too many letters from Canadian HoH (hard of hearing) kids who transform into Canadian sixty-somethings who are deaf without their hearing devices. Ring a reindeer bell? Firstly, thank you very much taking my suggestion to trim your moustache a titch – the elves with hearing
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Dec. 07, 2022

The Bad Communication Hangover

Gael Hannan
If you’ve ever drunk or eaten too much or participated in an event that went from fun to unpleasant, how you feel the next day is often not good. “How did I let that happen to me?”   Hangovers are the lingering effects of any negative situation. For people with hearing loss, this can be a Bad Group Communication Event
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Nov. 30, 2022

Online Dating Questions for People with Hearing Loss

Gael Hannan
An alternate title for this article might be: If I Were Dating Again (Which I’m Not), What Questions Should a Deaf Dater Ask? In the many years I’ve been hitched to the Hearing Husband, the dating scene has changed dramatically. The term ‘online’ existed only to describe what to do with your laundry: hang them “on(the clothes)line”, although we did
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Nov. 22, 2022

A Bluffer’s Guide to Beauty Services

Gael Hannan
Today I had a long overdue manicure and pedicure. I escaped with my fingers and toes intact, but the service would have gone more smoothly if I’d followed my own rules for hearing loss self-advocacy For most people, having a manicure, haircut, barber’s shave, dye job, eyelash lift, massage or any other personal beauty service is a pleasure. People with
Featured image for “What’s Easy About Hearing Loss?”
Nov. 15, 2022

What’s Easy About Hearing Loss?

Gael Hannan
Living with hearing loss is a challenge, but there are a few things about it that are easy. It’s EASY to convince ourselves that we’re doing ‘fine’ with our hearing loss: We’re catching most of what’s said, The important stuff anyway. We don’t need a hearing aid or cochlear implant – Those are for other people with real problems. It’s EASY
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Nov. 07, 2022

The Hearing Husband’s Top Communication Tips

Gael Hannan
I have hearing loss. My husband does not. A more exact description of my hearing ability is that I am deaf without my devices. With my hearing aid and cochlear implant sound processor, I hear reasonably well, but often struggle to locate the sound or even what it is. The Hearing Husband can hear an animal rustling in the bushes
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Oct. 25, 2022

Flying High with Hearing Loss

Gael Hannan
Have you noticed how anxious people look in the airport? With looks ranging from mild frowns to serious panic, they navigate a busy airport full of people who look just like them. I’ve worn that look myself when traveling solo. Why is this? In an article on airport anxiety, writer Jenny Bhatia lists common sources of worry such as not