Are Your Hearing Aids Surviving Social Distancing?

Katherine Bouton #hearingaids ,

Mine are getting a workout. And the batteries are showing it. I have an Oticon Made for iPhone hearing aid, which means that whatever I hear via the phone is channeled by Bluetooth to my hearing aid. This is wonderful! I can hear phone conversations, I can listen to podcasts, I can watch and hear … Continue reading Are Your Hearing Aids Surviving Social Distancing?

Communicating in the Age of Covid: An Unexpected Benefit

Katherine Bouton #HLAA., Captions for hearing loss, CART captioning, HLAA Webinars, speechreading

There aren’t many bright spots when it comes to Covid 19. The death toll is enormous, the financial impact is potentially catastrophic, the fear of what lies ahead can be overwhelming. Still, for many with hearing loss, this period offers an insight into what it’s like to have equal access to spoken communication. Many of … Continue reading Communicating in the Age of Covid: An Unexpected Benefit

Gratitude

Katherine Bouton Coronavirus, Healthy Hearing, HLAA Webinars, Michael Harvey

I have my curmudgeonly side and I don’t always like being told to see the bright side of things. I enjoy a good wallow in misery. But the misery of the Covid pandemic is sustained and severe. We share funny things to lighten the day – jokes, cartoons, animal videos, kids doing kid things. We … Continue reading Gratitude

Coronavirus Got You Stuck at Home? It’s a Good Time to Improve Your Hearing.

Katherine Bouton #HLAA., auditory rehabilitation, Healthy Hearing

Social Isolation can get awfully boring. Many of us find ourselves with not much to do except anxiously watch TV. Here's a suggestion: make the most of house arrest by tackling one the online auditory rehabilitation programs. Working on hearing better during this period has an added benefit. Since you are probably isolated and not … Continue reading Coronavirus Got You Stuck at Home? It’s a Good Time to Improve Your Hearing.

I Take It All Back!

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

  Well, not all of it. But some of what I said last week -- "Coronavirus Concerns for People with Hearing Loss. It’s not just the disease" -- is already out of date. This is a very fast-moving story.   Resist isolation. Get outside. Take a walk, I said. Wrong. A week later, it's clear that's … Continue reading I Take It All Back!

Coronavirus Concerns for People with Hearing Loss. It’s not just the disease.

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

[This is a repost that contains new information on surgical masks.] The new coronavirus COVID-19 is an equal opportunity infector, affecting rich and poor, young and old, healthy and sickly. Among the more prominent victims is an attendee at the annual Conservative Public Action Conference (CPAC), exposure to whom has led President Trump’s new chief of … Continue reading Coronavirus Concerns for People with Hearing Loss. It’s not just the disease.

Surgical Masks and Coronavirus – an Update

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

I heard from so many people today about my column on the extra-medical consequences of corona panic for people with hearing loss that I want to link to this excellent article from Johns Hopkins about see through surgical masks. "Transparent Surgical Mask to Improve Communication with Patients."  Maybe this is something #HLAA should get behind. … Continue reading Surgical Masks and Coronavirus – an Update

Coronavirus and People with Hearing Loss

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing

The new coronavirus COVID-19 is an equal opportunity infector, affecting rich and poor, young and old, healthy and sickly. Among the more prominent victims is an attendee at the annual Conservative Public Action Conference (CPAC), exposure to whom has led President Trump’s new chief of staff to self-quarantine. The head of New York’s Port Authority … Continue reading Coronavirus and People with Hearing Loss

How Fit is Your Hearing?

Katherine Bouton cognitive decline, Healthy Hearing, Hearing Loss and dementia, Insurance coverage for hearing aids, World Hearing Day

Recently, a prominent researcher in the field of hearing loss suggested a simple change in the way we talk about hearing loss. Rather than frame it as a disability, said Dr. Justin Golub of Columbia University Irving Medical Center, “I like the idea of hearing fitness.” “Hearing loss” is a negative term. For people who … Continue reading How Fit is Your Hearing?

He Doesn’t Look Disabled.

Katherine Bouton Healthy Hearing , ,

How many times have those of us with hearing loss been told that we don't look deaf, whatever "looking" deaf means. It's hard enough to make people recognize invisible disabilities. but today's New York Times has an Op-Ed that suggests it's okay to question the disabled status even of someone with visible disabilities. In "The … Continue reading He Doesn’t Look Disabled.