She took the stage shoeless, her back slightly turned to the audience as she used visual cues to coordinate with her band. She smiled slightly in anticipation of her performance, as if she were about to share a secret with the audience. The music started and she began to sing — her voice sweet and Continue reading
Disability
Please Ask Me About My Hearing Loss
When I was growing up, my father never wanted to discuss his hearing loss. He was embarrassed and ashamed of not hearing. It was an unmentionable topic in my family which just perpetuated the stigma. When I emerged from my hearing loss closet almost 10 years ago, I wanted to do everything I could to Continue reading
Can A Movie Help My Family Understand My Hearing Loss?
I struggle to fully explain my hearing loss to my family. How I hear some things, but miss others. Why I can understand them in certain environments, but not other places. How my hearing aids don’t work like glasses? Why I am exhausted at the end of the day from the extra concentration required of Continue reading
What If You Could Construct Your Ideal Hearing Aid?
I recently had the opportunity to meet with a hearing aid company as part of a focus group on a new product. It was an interesting experience, and a hopeful one, since at least the company was asking some of the users of the product what they might like to see. Much of the questioning Continue reading
What Is That Noise!?! – My Take on Living with Tinnitus
Do you hear that? I often ask my family that question. Sometimes I can’t tell if the noise I am hearing is my tinnitus or if the sound is actually there. Usually, it is all in my head. Typically, I know this, to be honest, but I ask anyway, just in case. I have a Continue reading
