Over the years, I had a lot of conversations with patients sitting across from me—sometimes at a desk, sometimes just chatting while they waited. And no matter who they were, many of them were feeling the same things: frustrated, unsure, and sometimes a little overwhelmed.
Understanding Being Misunderstood
For this mom, late in life diagnoses turned years of confusion into a clearer sense of self and deeper connections.
‘Why Can’t They?’
This path in parenting the hard of hearing—let’s face it—can be exhausting. If you walked alone, and because this disability is so often invisible, your village might not be on your front porch. You have to go hunting for it.
Listening to Quiet Voices
My Mighty Mini Mic
“We offer two versions for your brand of hearing aids. One is simply a microphone. The other includes a built‑in telecoil so people whose hearing aids don’t have telecoils can still connect to a hearing loop. Either one sends sound to the user’s hearing aids via Bluetooth.”
Captions for Gamers Are Inclusive—and Protective
Gaming can be one of those rare things where a parent and child actually connect on equal ground. But that bonding only works if both people can be part of the conversation. Hearing loss can make that moment impossible because one of them can’t hear the other.
Exposure, Empathy, and the Power of Story
For Deaf and hard of hearing children, books and stories are vital spaces where they can see themselves, feel understood, find community and belonging, and lay the foundation for confidence and identity development that will set them up for success throughout their lives.
The Darkness Lifted
Hearing loss doesn’t have to be the end. It can feel like it, but it doesn’t have to be. Music is still possible. Life is still possible. There are ways to regain control, ways to find your own authorship through understanding. I want people to know that.
My Turning Point
Today, I wear my “HARD OF HEARING” hoodie proudly because I’m no longer hiding from my hearing loss.
Can You Hear Me?
In addition to conducting research, I realized that prevention is just as important, or even more important than treatment. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is becoming increasingly prevalent among Gen Z—my peers—due to increased access to personal listening devices and loud entertainment events.