Shari Eberts - Hear & Beyond: Live Skillfully with Hearing Loss

In Hear & Beyond, Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan have created the ultimate survival guide to living well with hearing loss. For some readers, it will spark a sweeping life change. For others, it will be a turning point on their hearing loss journey. A must-read.

Rebecca Alexander , LCSW-R , MPH , advocate; author, Not Fade Away

This book is a game-changer! In Hear & Beyond, Gael Hannan and Shari Eberts offer a unique skills-based approach to living better with hearing loss. Its powerful strategies and engaging personal stories create a hopeful path forward for anyone affected by hearing loss.

Barbara Kelley , executive director, Hearing Loss Association of America

Smart, funny, engaging. These three words sum up the easy-to-read and entirely enjoyable book Hear & Beyond by Gael Hannan and Shari Eberts. This duo are expert guides on living with hearing loss, and they do it with style. They give us specific strategies for communicating better, navigating romantic relationships, disclosing hearing loss in the workplace, and obtaining health care support, to cite a few examples. Most importantly, they share their mindset for meeting hearing challenges and encourage us to be our best selves. I highly recommend this book, for allwhether you have hearing loss or not, because, undoubtedly, you know someone who does.

Ruth Warick , president, International Federation of Hard of Hearing People

In Hear & Beyond, Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan provide a clear roadmap for individuals with hearing loss who want to hear and communicate better. There isnt a one-size-fits-all approach to communicating well with hearing loss, and Hear & Beyond provides the framework for individuals with hearing loss and their loved ones to know what to do.

Frank Lin , MD , PhD , professor and director, Johns Hopkins Cochlear Center for Hearing and Public Health

Gael Hannan and Shari Eberts bring two lifetimes of experience to their new book on hearing loss. Hear & Beyond is a valuable primer for those new to hearing loss and a reminder for those more experienced of the many skills, tools, and technologies available. Read this book start to finish or jump around as particular issues arise in your life. Gael and Shari may well have the key to helping you solve them.

Katherine Bouton , former New York Times editor; author, Smart Hearing

Ive worn hearing aids since I was four years old, and I loved Hear & Beyond. Its full of empathy, experience, and real-world advice on navigating life as a person with hearing loss. This old, hard-of-hearing dog was very thankful to learn a few new tricks.

D.J. Demers , stand-up comedian with hearing loss

Hear & Beyond is a must-read for people with hearing loss, their family members, and hearing health care professionals. As the authors state, there has been no operating manual for living a full and enriched life with hearing loss. Inspired by the lived experiences of authors Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan, this book comes as close to a hearing loss bible as I have seen. Two thumbs up! A must-read for helping to unleash the full potential of people with hearing loss!

Barbara Weinstein , founder, CUNY s Doctor of Audiology program

This is a must-read for anyone who is using hearing devices, especially if youre new to this journey. I highly recommend this book! Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan went above and beyond to ensure you are empowered with tips and tricks for practically every situation.

Dawn Heiman , AuD, president-elect, Academy of Doctors of Audiology

In Hear & Beyond, Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan have written the consumer hearing loss book that every hearing care professional should read. Their innovative yet practical model will benefit every person with hearing loss, their communication partners, and the professionals who serve them.

RICHARD SEEWALD , distinguished professor emeritus, National Centre for Audiology, Western University

Hear & Beyond should be required reading for anyone living with hearing loss! Gael Hannan and Shari Eberts have written a hopeful and actionable guide for people to improve their abilities to communicate and live their best lives with hearing loss. Whether you have experienced hearing loss yourself or know someone who has, I cannot recommend Hear & Beyond enough!

GLENN SCHWEITZER , tinnitus coach; author, Rewiring Tinnitus and Mind Over Menieres

Copyright 2022 by Shari Eberts and Gael Hannan

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, without the prior written consent of the publisher or a licence from The Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency (Access Copyright). For a copyright licence, visit accesscopyright.ca or call toll free to 1-800-893-5777.

This book is not intended as a substitute for the medical advice of physicians. Readers should consult a physician in matters relating to their health and particularly with respect to any symptoms that may require diagnosis or medical attention.

Cataloguing in publication information is available from Library and Archives Canada.

ISBN 978-1-77458-160-5 (paperback)

ISBN 978-1-77458-161-2 (ebook)

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Edited by Kendra Ward

Copyedited by Rachel Ironstone

Proofread by Sara Harowitz

Cover and interior design by Jennifer Lum

Interior illustrations by Jeff Winocur

Printed and bound in Canada by Friesens

Distributed in Canada by Raincoast Books

Distributed in the US and internationally by Macmillan

Ebook by Bright Wing Media

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HearAndBeyond.com

ShariEberts.com

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To all people living with hearing loss around the world.
You are not alone.

W hat is it like to live with hearing loss?

Those who have hearing loss find it hard to describe. Those who dont have it find it hard to understand, especially in someone they love.

Why can you hear well in some situations but not in others? How can you be sensitive to loud noises, yet watch the TV at maximum volume? Why do the activities you once enjoyed now seem to take so much energy? Why dont hearing aids fix the problem the way glasses usually fix vision?

Whether youre new to hearing loss or have been living with it for a long time, you have probably felt the unwelcome change that hearing loss imposes on even the smallest corners of your communication life. With no operating manual to help you figure out how to live with it, youve been getting by on information pieced together from various sourcesyet communication often seems incomplete and unsatisfying.

You may be frustrated and isolated, perhaps even angry. These feelings are normal, shared at some point by almost everyone who has hearing lossincluding your authors.

In our separate journeys, we struggled and found nothing changed, because we didnt know how to make things better. But eventually, through trial and error and the good fortune of meeting other amazing people with hearing loss, we each learned to live more skillfully. We shifted our focus from wanting to hear better to wanting to communicate better.

And that changed everything.

In Hear & Beyond, we offer a skills-based approach that will help you live better with your hearing loss, regardless of how long youve had it. Some strategies and workarounds will make a difference almost immediately, while others may take more time.