Posts tagged: Hearing Loss Issues

When Hearing Aids are a Difficult Fit

Last week, I introduced the topic of self-esteem and hearing loss. One of the reasons why it’s difficult to maintain a sense of self-esteem with hearing loss is that this invisible condition is so often misunderstood. People see the behaviors of a person with hearing loss and erroneously guess that the person is senile, snobbish, or inattentive.... Read More

Self-Esteem and Hearing Loss: What’s Your Opinion?

Are you hard of hearing and comfortable about it? If you’re embarrassed rather than comfortable, you’re not alone. For the most part, people who are hard of hearing see their hearing loss as a sign of aging and reduced mental functioning and choose to keep it invisible. But silence and invisibility go hand in hand with powerlessness.... Read More

In Praise of Personal Amplifiers

Someone asked the question “What is the greatest sacrifice that comes with having a hearing loss?” People flooded the hard-of-hearing message board with various answers such as “Not getting the promotion” or “Feeling misunderstood.” Finally, a grandfather wrote, “Missing what my granddaughters are saying.”... Read More

Something New: The Companion Mics System

When my husband and I lived in Albuquerque, New Mexico, we often entertained out-of-state family members by taking them to a centuries-old Acoma Indian village located about 40 miles west of Albuquerque.... Read More

Self Advocacy: CapTel Phone

Sit back, relax and pretend for a minute that you’ve lost most of your hearing. Now imagine that you have to participate in a telephone interview for a job you desperately need and want. Imagine struggling to understand the interviewer’s garbled, distant voice. Within minutes you realize that all is lost – not because you aren’t highly qualified, but because you can’t hear the interviewer.... Read More

Ask Judy Questions: Does Medicaid Pay for Hearing Aids?

Hi Judy,... Read More

Ask Judy Questions: TV Listening Systems

For most people, watching TV is a pleasure. You’d have to pry the remotes out of their cold, dead, popcorn-flavored hands before they’d give them up. Yet, it’s different for people with hearing loss; trying to follow TV dialog is fatiguing rather than fun. Eventually, they give up this relaxing past time.... Read More

Ask Judy Questions: Caregiver Listening and Alerting Devices

Years ago, my dad lay dying. His voice was so faint that it was difficult to hear. We purchased a small bell so that he could ring it if he needed us. During the night, I worried that my mom and I might not hear the high frequency tinkle-tinkle sound of the bell. During the day, I felt exhausted because of the nighttime vigil.... Read More

Hearing Assistive Technology (HAT) Demonstration Centers

A few years ago, a professional organization asked me to speak at their annual conference in Dallas. Although delighted, I worried about not hearing questions from the audience. I knew that a personal FM system could help me and wanted to give this system a try.... Read More

Self-Advocacy: Movie Captioning

On Friday evenings after work, a group of us would get together to see a movie. Not wanting to be a party-pooper, I’d often attend these movies even though I couldn’t hear the dialog.  But believe me, it is BORING to sit through a movie for 2 hours and not know what’s going on.... Read More