Better Hearing Consumer

It was early one morning at a Tim Hortons drive-thru, a few years ago……   “Mpray uh paken udda, heesh?” “Oh yes, hi…I’ll have a double-double, one apple juice, and 20 Timbits, please.” “Mprhhh?” “Pardon me?” “Mom, she’s saying….” “Shh, honey, mommy’s trying to hear….sorry, what was that again?” “MM-PRHH!?” “I’m sorry, I have hearing loss, I’m not quite getting…”

When it comes to my hearing, I have a grateful soul. I’m thankful for technology, the support of others and the passion for advocacy that my hearing loss has given me. But – and I don’t know if this is true of other people who live successfully with their communication challenges – every once in a while, I have a

I’m no mathematician but there’s one equation I figured out a long time ago:           Shopping + Hearing Loss = Communication Challenge I enjoy shopping, but don’t want to spend a lot of time doing it. Online shopping is an almost barrier-free alternative, but I prefer the old-fashioned way where I can look at, do some touchy-feely, and breathe in the product

Hola! I’m writing from a spot of paradise on Costa Rica’s Pacific coast. I have a lot of free time on my hands, but even when I’m relaxing, my thoughts never stray too far from hearing loss issues. In the 95° heat, I started daydreaming about hearing loss research – doesn’t everybody when they come to tropics? There is a

By Gael Hannan and Joanne Deluzio Editor’s Note: Last week, in How I Learned to Love My Audiologist, I talked about my ideal hearing health professional – someone who is client-centered and trainable. And I’ve been lucky to find a couple of those in my lifetime. However, my favorite audiologist is not my provider, but my friend and colleague Joanne

My audiologist is a Very Important Person in my life. She’s not at the very top of my “Favourite People” list – that’s reserved for family, close friends and the cats – but she’s close to it,  because she helps me live a good, communication-rich life. This philosophy makes me a bit of an oddball. The very fact that I use

Have you ever had one of those hours, or days, or weekends when hearing loss seems to play a starring role as the bad guy? If you’re like me, your hearing loss is constant – it’s always there, like the air you breathe, the clothes you put on. It’s inescapable, and we live with it the best way we know

In April 2006, I was invited to St. John’s, Newfoundland to present at a special weekend symposium for hard of hearing and oral deaf youth, hosted by the Canadian Hard of Hearing Association, Newfoundland & Labrador chapter.  The youth were transitioning from high school to the big world beyond and  I was supposed to share my expertise as a ‘mature’ person

There are some things that people with hearing loss are not particularly good at, generally speaking: taking the minutes at meetings, hearing a pin drop, working as a UN translator, and playing the Whisper Game. In this game, also known as ‘Telephone’ or ‘Chinese Whispers’, a group of people sits in a circle or around the room. A written message

If you have hearing loss, do you know any other people with the same issues?  Beyond your grandma, have you ever met another hard of hearing or late-deafened or deaf person – swapped notes, shot the breeze, commiserated, shared battle stories and laughed at all the crap that goes along with hearing loss? If not, perhaps you’re happy being the