Chronicles of a deaf Audiologist
Rehabilitation beyond hearing aids and cochlear implants: lipreading instruction, brain/auditory training and communication strategies.
Success for Hearing Better
HEARa is dedicated to the idea that people need the right information, at the right times, to be successful with hearing loss. HEARa’s mission is to reach out to adults with hearing loss and say—keep going. Learning about your hearing loss should be a lifelong process.
Areas of interest for hearing improvement
Choose an area of interest to explore ways to improve your hearing
From the chronicles
Words That Hurt
Why You Should Not Say “Never Mind” to a Person With Hearing Loss The following is from the book A Quiet World, by David G. Myers, a psychologist with hearing loss. “Never mind.” How familiar those words are to the hard of hearing. “Ted said that the doctor wanted her…” “I’m sorry?” “Ted said […]
How to Remind People about your Hearing Loss
Eighteen years ago, I read an article entitled, “Reminding Them When They Forget,” an article co-authored by Dr. Sam Trychin, a psychologist and educator. This article has stayed with me for all of these years, because it’s practical. I’ll give you a short recap here. It’s a fact of life—for people with hearing loss that […]
Four Ways to Have Meaningful Conversations
According to a study published in Psychological Science by researchers at the University of Arizona, people who have meaningful conversations are happier than those who primarily engage in small talk. The study looked at the different kinds of conversations among people who are happy and those who are unhappy. Participants were requested to wear an […]
Seven Tips For Hearing Better in Restaurants
Pick the best seat: Don’t hesitate to tell the restaurant hostess—before she leads you to your table—that where you sit makes a big difference. The job of the hostess is to get people seated quickly, so if you think a location is going to be problematic, don’t agree to sit there. Explain to others in […]
LACE Training Strategy: Let It Happen
Today’s blog is written by a guest, Lorraine Watson. Lorraine recently completed her LACE auditory training program. She had an insight during training that will be helpful to others. I will let Lorraine explain it her way. I finally gave in. But at least I can say I didn’t give up. In my world the […]
How Can You Convince Someone to Get Hearing Aids?
Do you know someone who has hearing loss, but refuses to get hearing aids? How do you convince someone to get hearing aids? There are links between untreated hearing loss and depression, reduced earning power, and overall poorer quality of life. That’s alarming. But facts such as these will not convince someone to get hearing […]
Overcome Ridiculous Listening Conditions
I am coaching an audiologist on the LACE (Listening and Communication Enhancement) program. This week she said, “It’s ridiculous how fast the voices are in the Rapid Speech task. In real life, if someone was talking that fast, I’d say, ‘I have normal hearing and I can’t understand you, so you better slow down.” A-ha! […]
Mindset and Hearing Loss
Here’s a powerful statement that caught my eye from Carol Dweck’s book, Mindset: The New Psychology of Success: “How can we know where effort and time will take someone?” People tend to think of their communication and listening skills as fixed and unchanging. They don’t realize that with time and effort, both their listening and […]
Take the “Try” Out of Your Hearing Aid Trial Period
Hearing aid trial periods are sometimes mis-used. People can initiate a trial period without making a full commitment to themselves to make it work. Denise Linn wrote, “In Star Wars, Luke Skywalker hesitantly says he will ‘try’ to complete a task. Yoda, the warrior mystic, replies: ‘No! Not try. Do, or not do.’ Anytime you […]
Let’s Talk About Rules
This page is a continuation of a discussion in my e-book, Hearing Aids: We All Win When They’re In! A Guide for Significant Others. Let’s talk about rules. Here are the rules I listed in the e-book: Fess up. Don’t talk from another room. Look down at the menu. Tell people how to help. No […]