When You Are The Friend With Hearing Aids

Shari Eberts Advocacy, Break the Stigma, Coping Strategies for Hearing Loss, Hearing Loss , ,

Some friends know all the good restaurants in town. Others know everything about the local sports teams. Some can even score you two tickets to the hottest new show. None of these is me. Instead, I am the friend with hearing aids.

If someone has trouble with his hearing or is having difficulty convincing a family member to give hearing aids a try, I am their first call. This is fine with me. In fact, I welcome it. I am proud to provide information and support to people starting on their hearing loss journey. I wasn’t so lucky. 

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Podcast: Hearing Health Advocacy With Shari Eberts

Shari Eberts Advocacy, Audiology, Hearing Loss , ,

I am thrilled to have been a guest on The Hearing Journal’s podcast series hosted by Clifford Olson, AuD. In it, I discuss how and why I got into hearing loss advocacy and provide suggestions to the audiologist community for how they can provide more patient centered care to people with hearing loss.

To listen to the podcast, click here.  The transcript (edited for easier reading) is below.

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Yoga For People With Hearing Loss

Shari Eberts Advocacy, Community, Coping Strategies for Hearing Loss, Hearing Loss , ,

Yoga combines physical poses with the philosophy of patience and self-acceptance. Its health benefits include developing stronger muscles, better balance, and increased flexibility. A robust yoga practice can also help people cope with the day-to-day frustrations of living with hearing loss. When combined with meditation, it can also help minimize tinnitus symptoms.

People with hearing loss may be skeptical about trying yoga. They wonder if they will be able to hear the instructor well enough to follow along in a class or if their devices will fall off when performing different yoga poses. These are real concerns, but the following tips should help you enjoy your yoga practice even when you have hearing loss.

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Will Hearing Loss Soon Be The New Normal?

Shari Eberts Advocacy, Break the Stigma, Community, Hearing Loss , ,

Can you imagine a time when hearing loss would be commonplace? When it would be more prevalent than not in a social setting? When it would be the new normal? Given demographic trends, we may be rapidly approaching such a time. This is driven by three important factors — (1) the median age of the US population is increasing, (2) people are living longer, and (3) the higher incidence of hearing loss in older adults. We have the Baby Boomers and improved health care trends to thank for most of this.

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The Time I Could Hear Better Than My Hearing Family

Shari Eberts Advocacy, Break the Stigma, Coping Strategies for Hearing Loss, Hearing Loss , ,

Sometimes in difficult listening situations, I hear better than my hearing family. It is probably because I am skilled at lipreading, attentive to visual clues, and use other communication strategies to enhance my hearing, while my family typically just hears without having to do much of anything else. But not this one time.

We were visiting a Bedouin community in the Negev desert for a camel ride and to learn more about Bedouin culture. We were lucky to have one of the leaders of the community speak with our group to explain the customs and culture of this nomadic people. The man was talking in an incredibly faint voice.

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