Better Hearing Consumer

For those who have hearing loss and/or chronic tinnitus, news of breakthrough cures or treatments are met with a heartbeat-jump of hope. Then, a snort of suspicion.  But then we think, but what if?  How wonderful if one day, preferably before I die, ‘they’ discover something we can swallow or smoke that will actually revive those cochlear hair cells or eliminate chronic

This month, at least two countries are celebrating historic independence as nations. It was a full-on revolution for the United States and a bloodless document-signing for Canadians, but for both countries, it was a years-long march to the desired freedoms. People with hearing loss also wage private wars with their disability—that can last a lifetime. Maybe a little more flag-waving would

When people with hearing loss gather together—like 1500 of them—you’d think it would be noisy.  Loud voices talking over each other, yelling what?! or pardon?! In some ways, however, we are a quieter crowd than an equivalent number of hearing people. If more than one person talks at a time, we don’t understand anybody, so we generally honor the one-speaker rule.

This is a simple plea: let there be light. If you’re speaking with people like me—who have hearing loss and who depend to some degree on speechreading—make sure we can see your face. Your whole face.  All the time. That means no shadows.  Examples of shadow-makers include baseball caps, light from beneath or above—which has the added disadvantage of making

It’s the kind of news that makes the hard of hearing heart beat faster. No, there’s been no proclamation of National 50% Off Hearing Aids Day. No announcement of a little pink pill that will make damaged cochlear hair cells spring back to life. No scientific proof of a twice-daily mantra that will calm the neurons firing off tinnitus cannons

Hoo-boy! Hearing loss can sure change a girl’s life. It transforms you into a pardon-me-parrot.  You become an ear-poker, making sure your hearing aids are there and working. You turn into a vigilante, looking for rule-breakers of the Gospel of Good Communication; heaven help the husband or friend or child who doesn’t face us, speak up, or repeat themselves, graciously, upon demand. Fines

Everybody asks for things to be repeated. Whether you can hear people whispering in a noisy restaurant or have trouble understanding even your own mom on the phone, everyone needs to say pardon me on occasion. Maybe a person is talking with a mouth full of food,  munching words beyond recognition. More than one person is speaking at once, and your

Two years ago, I wrote about what it might be like to not have hearing loss—to hear perfectly, unaided by either technology or other people. We all dream, from time to time, about living a different life. And there’s nothing wrong with that, as long as we avoid getting stuck in the mud of self-pity, rather than about our hearing loss or

My guest writer this week is  buy cenforce online https://justinsportsmedicineteam.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/cenforce.html no prescription pharmacy Marge Cohen who writes about the long slope – in this case, a ski slope – from hearing aids to a cochlear implant.   By Marge Cohen   For my family, skiing is one of our beloved winter activities. We love to hit the slopes as often as

Is it poor taste to take your hearing aids out in public to change the battery or scratch your ear? Who decides whether an activity is ‘acceptable’, anyway?  Society? The Law? Individual people? Some women would love to run bare-chested, as men do, through the park on Sunday mornings. It would draw stares, frowns and comments. Possibly a ticket for indecent exposure.