Treating Hearing Loss Globally

Katherine Bouton Hearing Loss as a Disability

Earlier this month, marking World Hearing Day, the prestigious medical journal The Lancet announced the formation of a commission to study the impact of hearing loss across the globe.  Worldwide, more than 1.3 billion people have hearing loss and more than half a billion have disabling hearing loss. We usually think of hearing loss in … Continue reading Treating Hearing Loss Globally

Answers to Questions About Hearing Health

Katherine Bouton #HLAA., cognitive decline, Hearing Aids, Mayo Clinic, tinnitus, TV captioning

We all have questions about our hearing, our hearing aids, and our life with hearing loss. How can we enhance our hearing experience? How do we deal with hearing related issues like tinnitus and vertigo? How does hearing loss affect cognitive health? Sometimes these issues may be addressed at HLAA chapter meetings, or through informal … Continue reading Answers to Questions About Hearing Health

The Language of Disability: It Can Be Hard to Get It Right

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

Last week I went to a panel discussion organized by the New York Museum Access Consortium. There were four panelists representing different disabilities and a moderator from MAC. The audience was made up mostly of people from disability rights organizations and museum personnel. The evening’s topic was “Mindful Communication.” Avoiding hurtful or offensive language when … Continue reading The Language of Disability: It Can Be Hard to Get It Right

Is it OK if I Leave Now?

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

Whether or not you are open about your hearing loss, there often comes a point at which you just can’t try to listen anymore. I’m very open about my hearing loss. At this point, in fact, my hearing loss practically defines me, since I write and speak about it. The other night at a dinner … Continue reading Is it OK if I Leave Now?

Holiday Gifts for the HOH

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

What’s an HOH? The acronym (pronounced ‘ho’) stands for Head of Household, House of Hades, Head Over Heels …. And Hard of Hearing. This highly subjective list is for your favorite HOH, last definition. The books are some of my favorites, personal endorsements. The technology is randomly chosen. You may find a better or cheaper … Continue reading Holiday Gifts for the HOH

I Have a Disability. How About You?

Katherine Bouton #HLAA., Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), hearing loss, Hearing Loss as a Disability, Smart Hearing, stigma of hearing loss

December 3rd (that’s today) is National Disability Day, a United Nations recognized event also known worldwide as the International Day of People with Disability. National Disability Day promotes education about the needs of people with disabilities as well as compassion and understanding of the challenges they face. Some disabilities are visible at a glance. People … Continue reading I Have a Disability. How About You?

“Affordable” Hearing Aids

Katherine Bouton #hearingaids, #HLAA., affordable hearing aids., Healthy Hearing

There’s a lot of talk about “affordable” hearing aids, much of it in anticipation of the Food and Drug Administration’s final approval of an over-the- counter hearing aid. We don’t know the specifics of the future OTC hearing aid but some have speculated that the cost will probably be around $1000. Comparatively speaking, that is … Continue reading “Affordable” Hearing Aids

Will Your Health Insurance Cover Hearing Aids?

Katherine Bouton #HLAA., FDA and hearing aids, Health insurance for hearing aids, Hearing Aid Cost

The second installment of Hearing Tracker's survey of 2000 hearing aid users has just been published, and it includes some interesting facts and figures. Paying for Hearing Aids with Medical Insurance, the new Hearing Tracker report,  is based on a survey of 2000 hearing aid users conducted earlier this year by Hearing Tracker and its founder, … Continue reading Will Your Health Insurance Cover Hearing Aids?