Isolation isn't conducive to writing about communication difficulties. Since communication difficulties are what this blog is about, I haven't written much in recent months. I'm getting along just fine with no one to talk to. I’m hearing well. Or at least I feel like I’m hearing well. But that’s because everything I hear – the … Continue reading When Seeing is Hearing
Hearing Loss
Affordable Hearing Aids Just Got a Giant Step Closer
Buying hearing aids could soon become as easy as buying reading glasses. In a surprise announcement yesterday, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) said that, effective immediately, it would no longer require adults to get a medical evaluation before buying most hearing aids. The agency is also considering creating a category of over-the-counter hearing aids to encourage … Continue reading Affordable Hearing Aids Just Got a Giant Step Closer
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Deaf and Dizzy: Is It Méniere’s?
Many people with hearing loss also have tinnitus. Some have vertigo. When all three conditions are present, the cause may be Ménière's disease, first identified by French physician Prosper Ménière in 1861. I emphasize "may" because Ménière's is notoriously difficult to diagnose. There is no definitive test for Ménière's. It's a clinical diagnosis, based on symptoms. … Continue reading Deaf and Dizzy: Is It Méniere’s?
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Charity Events Like HLAA’s Walk4Hearing Raise Awareness and Spirits — As Well as Money
Fall and spring are prime times for charity fundraiser walks and runs, events that raise a substantial part of yearly donations and help raise public awareness for important medical conditions, including hearing loss. Some charities raise hundreds of millions from their annual events, like the American Cancer Society's Relay For Life, the Susan G. … Continue reading Charity Events Like HLAA’s Walk4Hearing Raise Awareness and Spirits — As Well as Money
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Driving While Deaf: Not Taking My Own Advice.
I am not Deaf and not a sign language user, but I am extremely hard of hearing and I know how frightening it can be when the police pull you over and you're unsure you'll be able to understand them — or be able to make yourself understood. I also realize, thanks to my own … Continue reading Driving While Deaf: Not Taking My Own Advice.
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Hiding Your Hearing Loss? Not Worth It
New York’s second annual Disability Pride Parade on July 10 included representatives of various national hearing loss associations. They marched because hearing loss is a disability, but more importantly, because hearing loss is a hidden disability. We can never remind people too often that people with hearing loss need accommodations as much as someone in … Continue reading Hiding Your Hearing Loss? Not Worth It
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Yes, I Have Hearing Loss, Talk to Me Anyway
This bears repeating: It's important to be included in the conversation. True friends and understanding family will do that. They'll repeat, they'll rephrase, they might even spell it out. One friend pulls out a notebook and jots down the key words. It helps if I parrot back the parts of the sentence I did hear, … Continue reading Yes, I Have Hearing Loss, Talk to Me Anyway
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What Would Helen Keller Do?
“Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people.” Helen Keller — Pictorial Press Ltd … Continue reading What Would Helen Keller Do?
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Higher Medical Bills for Those Who Don’t Treat Hearing Loss
The cost of hearing loss treatment is far less than the cost of not treating. by Katherine Bouton. First published on AARP, April 19, 2016. Two new studies point out the serious consequences of untreated hearing loss. In one, researchers at the Medical University of South Carolina found that middle-aged adults with untreated hearing loss had … Continue reading Higher Medical Bills for Those Who Don’t Treat Hearing Loss
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The Shared Experience of Music
I've written often about music, just a few weeks ago in fact, and how much I've missed it since I lost my hearing. I recently wrote this post for Psychology Today and want to repost it here, because I came to a different understanding of my sadness about losing music: the loss of shared experience. “In … Continue reading The Shared Experience of Music
Katherine Bouton: Smart Hearing 