Better Hearing Consumer

Jun. 16, 2014

A Casual Consumer Guide to Hearing Care Professionals

Gael Hannan
Do you like looking in people’s ears? Can you look people in the eye and articulate clearly? Does technology turn your crank? Are you a curious problem-solver? Do you have a bottomless cup of patience and empathy and curiosity? If you can answer ‘yes’ to all of these questions, then you might consider a career in hearing healthcare.  It’s a
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Jun. 09, 2014

A Crystal Ball into Hearing Loss

Gael Hannan
It’s time for the annual look at what’s in the stars for people with hearing loss.  Because astrology isn’t my ‘thing’ – as in I don’t believe in it – I searched the internet for the connection between astrology and hearing loss.  I found this:   The ear, as a region of nose, throat and ear, falls under Taurus and,
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Jun. 03, 2014

Arguing About Hearing Loss

Gael Hannan
“Ex-CUSE me?  I most certainly do not!” ”Why are you raising your voice….and what is it that you most certainly don’t?” “Oh, very funny….you know… what you just said…about what I do…because of my hearing loss!” “What?  All I said is sometimes you get things wrong, you don’t hear them right, especially when you’re upset…like now.” “Oh, like you don’t? 
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May. 26, 2014

A Hard of Hearing Line Dancer (Does Austin)

Gael Hannan
My foot is tapping impatiently as I wait for June and the Hearing Loss Association of America’s annual Convention in Austin, one of  America’s top music cities.  Makes you want to let rip with a whoo-hoo or hee-haw or whatever it is they yell in Texas when they get excited and feel like singin’ and dancin’! HLAA’s annual convention draws hundreds
May. 19, 2014

Sitting Here, Deaf (Waiting for My Hearing Aids)

Gael Hannan
The hearing care professionals laugh at us. We’re the people who put off doing anything about our hearing loss for years.  Yet, once we have our hearing aids or cochlear implants, we can’t go without them for even a moment. Last week, I spent three interminable hours while my hearing aids were ‘being looked at’.   Sitting Here, Deaf  
May. 12, 2014

My CI and Me: A Work in Progress

Gael Hannan
By Lynne Kinsey   I got a cochlear implant in October 2013. Remarkably, I am hearing things I haven’t heard in almost 25 years: birds, leaves crunching beneath my feet, leaf blowers, traffic noises, the furnace, dishwasher and refrigerator noises, children playing and babies cooing, some music and instruments – even my computer keys as I’m typing this. Many of
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May. 05, 2014

Hey, Mommy and Daddy, Can I Hear You?

Gael Hannan
Dear Mommy and Daddy,   I’ve got a question.  The first of about a million I’m gonna ask, but right now I’m only five months old and this first one is important.  Do you know if I can hear you?    If so – are you absolutely sure?  Did somebody test my hearing before we all left the hospital –
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Apr. 29, 2014

The Two Most Painful Words to Hard of Hearing People

Gael Hannan
My name is Lauren Sherwood.  I’m pursuing a Bachelor of Science in Geography and Professional Writing at the University of Victoria in British Columbia.  A few years ago, I participated in a talent contest.  I was inspired by Gael Hannan, whom my parents had seen at a conference, to write a comedic monologue on living with hearing loss – and
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Apr. 15, 2014

I’m Hard of Hearing and I Need a Communication Specialist

Gael Hannan
By Dr. Charles Laszlo   I am a hard of hearing person who wears hearing aids.   People think this solves all my communication problems – after all, that’s what the hearing aid advertisements say, don’t they?  But I have many communication needs that require more than hearing aids can provide. There are many faces to the hard of hearing person.
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Apr. 08, 2014

No(ah), No(ah) – It’s Too Loud!

Gael Hannan
In hindsight, we should have picked the movie about the spelling bee over the cute animals marching two by two into Russell Crowe’s ark. I mean, how loud can a spelling bee be, whereas Noah turned out to be a surprise candidate for the Loudest Movie I’ve Ever Seen award.  But who knew?  The other choices for a movie night