A Quiet World: Living with Hearing Loss (Hardcover)

by Professor David G. Myers (Author) "On one of those treasured visits to my parents' home on Bainbridge Island, Washington, I use a magic pad to communicate with my eighty-year-old mother,..." (more)
Key Phrases: hearing technology, digital aids, hearing assistance, New York, Mark Ross, Gallaudet University (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly
"Some 28 million Americans and 350 million people worldwide live with hearing loss," psychologist Myers (The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty) explains in his compassionate and humorous new work; and he is one of them. As he maintains, to be without hearing is to be socially isolated. And, even more important, since language is necessary for learning, without an equivalent for the spoken word, childhood development can lag behind. In this 10-year journal of his experiences and observations, Myers charts the progression of his own hearing loss and compares it with that of his mother, who became profoundly deaf and, despite her family's efforts, increasingly isolated in a silent world all her own. As a loving observer, Myers's wife shares her sadness and frustration with her husband's growing problem and unwillingness, for many years, to do anything about it. In turn, he stresses that it is up to the affected individual to seek available help (he discusses new research and technological developments and provides a list of important resources) and to inform family, friends and colleagues so they can learn how to better communicate. As our society continues to age and more of us suffer from hearing loss, Myers offers an instructive and insightful memoir.
Copyright 2000 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review
"Myers . . . helps his reader appreciate how the inability to hear becomes the inability to connect." -- Paul Chance, Psychology Today

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 224 pages
• Publisher: Yale University Press; 1 edition (October 11, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0300084390
• ISBN-13: 978-0300084399
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #366,742 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Encouraging!, November 1, 2000

By	Rebecca Johnson "SeasonedwithLove.com" (Washington State) - See all my reviews (TOP 10 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)    (COMMUNITY FORUM 04)

The vulnerability of hearing loss is being replaced with the confidence of new discoveries and the promise of exciting advances in hearing technology. David G. Myers takes us through his journey to the silent world. He has lived through the panic of searching for a replacement battery for his hearing aid and responded to words that were never spoken. Later he realized what he had misunderstood or laughed at what he thought he had heard.

Like a comedy of "ears," he recounts the humorous and sad "errors" in his life due to hearing loss and takes us through a myriad of experiences with various hearing aids. Many of these accounts are laugh out loud funny, while others tell of a world where words are garbled, sentences lack clarity, and the sound of his own voice sounded strange and hauntingly distorted.

Many in the silent world compensate with sign language, learn to read lips, or use computer technology to communicate effectively. The denial of the hearing impaired also points to the fact that it can at times be embarrassing. In his journal-style writings, David draws on his own experiences and explains the dread he feels when he must ask for a sentence to be repeated. He tells of the isolation he feels when he must mimic others laughing around him even though he didn't hear the punch line, or how he is determined to see his life from different eyes than his mother saw her own silent life.

You will be amazed at the patience and love his wife shows as she finally convinces David to seek out an audiologist. Through a great love for each other, they manage to maintain an optimistic outlook, show immense patience, and stay emotionally connected. Together they offer sage advice on how friends and family can encourage hard of hearing relatives and friends to seek treatment.

In the first part of this book, I laughed. In the middle, I felt well informed. The ending left me hopeful. I was pleased to see a comprehensive resource guide for further study. David is well known for cutting the facts down to size and for explaining them in a way that makes you feel enlightened, or at least very well informed. You will learn how sound travels from the ear to the brain, see a picture of the hearing mechanism, find out what 16 thousand hair cells are doing inside the cochlea, and finally wonder where your biology teacher was and why she never taught you this! (pages 120-128)

"Why not do today's kids a huge favor and make information about hearing an essential part of their health education curriculum? Listening to loud music can have devastating repercussions." --David G. Myers

After reading "The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty," also by David Myers, I believe his writings should be in every library, home and school. He has the amazing ability to discover what America needs to hear. Through his writings, he has inspired me in my own life's journey and always leaves me with a sense of hope for the future. If you know someone who is dealing with this issue, I could not recommend this book any more highly. Not only will his words inspire empathy, you will gain a higher appreciation for your own "hearing." I loved all the Web site information and thought it would be perfect for further study.

You will be amazed at how many medical conditions cause hearing loss and realize how hard it would be if you had to choose between being deaf or blind. While my little cat was dozing off next to me and purring contentedly, I closed my eyes, so I could focus in on a sound David can't hear. I was also listening to a CD and while my eyes were closed, I still felt very connected to the world.

Then, I opened my eyes and closed my ears with my fingers. I closed out the music, I closed out the cat purring, I even closed out the sound of the TV downstairs. When I focused on how it would feel not to be able to hear I became more aware of what it would be like to live in a glass jar with the lid sealed on tight. The longer I resisted hearing, the more closed in I felt. Yet, I still could not decide which I would choose if I had to. Fortunately, with the new advances in science, many will be able to find great help in the future, and perhaps hearing loss will be a problem of the past.

"A Quiet World" is a book which will bring awareness to a growing problem in our society. It will help anyone become more sensitive to hearing loss issues.

~The Rebecca Review

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Exploring hearing loss, January 1, 2001

By	Eileen Galen (USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This book is wonderful and useful in a variety of ways. It deserves all of the praise it has earned. The chapter "Aids and Advice" contains a helpful subsection, "Advice for Friends and Family Members" that is invaluable. Tips such as "invite us to a quiet place," "get our attention," "face the light and face us," "rephrase," "create a context," and "speak slowly" are essential for successful communication with people with hearing loss since, for many people with hearing loss, lip-reading is necessary or at least desirable.

Wearers of hearing aids become particularly vexed by, for example, noisy restuarants. This is because most hearing aids still amplify all sounds without prejudice - the words you want to hear (the signal) along with the crash of dishes three tables away (the noise). Add curtainless windows, uncarpeted floors, background music, and ever-increasing decibel level of voices competing to be heard, and you get a very noisy place. Myers explains this in good detail. He then shares his wonderful fantasy : respite from the "noisy world" of most restaurants and coffee shops via a chain of acoustically thought-out tea rooms and coffeehouses named "A Quiet Place." He quotes various studies and surveys that have shown that a great many restaurant patrons object to excessive noise.

Myers offers some great trivia, such as the fact that umpires' hand signals were invented in 1892 by William Hoy, the major leagues' first deaf player. In addition, Myers cites the works and writings of others (whom he names) - Oliver Sacks, linguist William Stokoe, Alexander Graham Bell, for example - leading his reader further into this interesting field, should one wish to read on. He also mentions, though not in much detail, some current research and developments, using lay person's terms. There is an appendix of resources for the hard of hearing, and an index. No bibliography, unfortunately.

A great book and thoroughly worthwhile.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Heart-Felt, Exquisitely Written Piece!, April 17, 2001

By	Richard Carmen "rcarmen27" (Sedona, AZ United States) - See all my reviews

If you have loss of hearing, the prose and memoirs by Dr. Myers will be profoundly familiar. You will find yourself sitting and listening to this friend as he shares secrets you seldom discuss with anyone. The author offers rich experiences in roller coaster rides of emotion. He is insightful, humorous, sensitive, revealing, encouraging--and often painfully honest. You feel his torment and elation, and through it, not only come to know the author, but clearly more about living with hearing loss.

An excellent recommendation for those with hearing loss, and professionals who desire to learn more about the experience.

Dr. Myers leaves you anxiously waiting for his next book. . .

Richard Carmen, Au.D. Clinical Audiologist, Sedona AZ [e-mail] [and Editor/Author, "The Consumer Handbook on Hearing Loss & Hearing Aids: A Bridge to Healing," Auricle Ink Publishers, 1998]