Sharing stories of loss and resilience help us feel connected. They give us strength and teach us tricks for living better with our challenges. Most importantly, they help us feel less alone. Matt Hay’s story, which he eloquently shares in his new book Soundtrack of Silence, is no exception.
I met Matt in the early days of the pandemic when we were jointly interviewed by Dave Kemp on the Future Ear podcast. Matt and I shared our hearing loss stories, the ways the pandemic was impacting our ability to communicate and the tricks we had been using to cope. Matt’s optimism and can-do attitude were already shining through.
Life Comes with a Soundtrack
Imagine knowing that you were going to lose your hearing gradually over time until you are fully deaf. A frightening prognosis, especially for a college student, even one who had struggled with gradual hearing loss since childhood. But Matt doesn’t simply wait for the inevitable. He starts planning for the future, memorizing the music and lyrics of his favorite songs. He hopes to later recreate them in his mind when he can no longer enjoy them naturally. It seems to have worked. And in some ways, this process helped him learn to “hear” again, aided with innovative technology.
In Soundtrack of Silence, Matt tells his story punctuated with song. As many of us do, he associates certain songs with meaningful moments of his life. Together they create a soundtrack, whose key lyrics he shares with us throughout the book. You can enjoy his playlist on Spotify too. I listen as I write this review. There are some great tunes on there!
The book is also a love poem to his wife Nora, who loves and supports Matt along each step of his journey. Relationship goals for all of us where disability affects those closest to us almost as much as it impacts ourselves.
My Favorite Line of the Book
There are many wonderful lines in the book, but my favorite comes early on, as Matt visits a new audiologist who helps him understand what is happening to his hearing. After discussing Matt’s experiences the audiologist provides his recommendations. And then he asks, “Did I explain that well?” As Matt points out, “That last question proved to be the most powerful, because it took the responsibility of misunderstanding off me and my faulty ears, and placed it onto him, the speaker.”
If only all hearing care practitioners followed this same protocol!
Other Wonderful Books About Hearing Loss
If you enjoy reading books about hearing loss, give Matt Hay’s Soundtrack of Silence a read. I enjoyed it and I bet you will too. Or check out hearing loss books like those listed below.
Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss by Shari Eberts & Gael Hannan
Smart Hearing — Strategies, Skills and Resources for Living Better with Hearing Loss by Katherine Bouton
The Way I Hear It by Gael Hannan
Readers, what hearing loss books do you recommend?
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