Brad is sent the meditation I subscribe to Shari Eberts’s newsletter so that I can see what she’s up to. I love seeing her activism and how she shares advice and tips for us hard of hearing folks as we go about our day. Some of it is pedestrian, but still important, stuff. Some of …
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Silence.
Julie Using Silence as a Teacher The world moves at a rapid rate, as does our communication. We are often expected to have a response ready to depart our lips while the spoken question is still hanging in the air off of the breath of the speaker. Our thumbs fly over touchscreen keyboards, hammering out …
An Ear Splitting Situation
I stretched my arms out as I came to, reaching skyward as I rose from a deep nap on a lazy summer Sunday afternoon in Maine. In my post slumber haze, I retrieved my right hearing aid from its storage spot on my nightstand, clicked the battery door closed, and shoved the mold into my …
Going Bananas….
My life has been designed around – and defined by – my love for Boston sports teams. At the top of the list are my beloved Boston College Eagles, and then falls in order to the Boston Bruins, New England Patriots, Boston Red Sox and that other one with the green shamrocks. My first love …
What’s Next?
(We’ve collected the link to all our various platforms for you. Aren’t we grand? You can find them here: https://linktr.ee/HearingThingswithJulieandBrad) Behold! The power of a shrug! We continue to be astounded by what a shrug wrought. Neither one of us quite realized how much we’d have to say about what it’s like to live in …
Summer Side of Life
As a teacher, the summer months bring a much needed and hard-earned extended vacation (for which we do not get paid, as is a common misconception). I love nothing more than early morning walks on the beach with my Boston terrier, Rocky. Sipping coffee on the porch in silence or chattering with family and friends …
Podcasts!
This week, we dive into podcasts, what they are, and how we enjoy them as hard of hearing folks. Brad wrote an amazing history of podcasts in his blog this week so I will skip the recanting of it all – read it here: https://bradmckenna.wordpress.com/2025/06/23/podcasts/ The advent of the COVID-19 pandemic forced abrupt school closures …
Something’s Fishy…
I am severely allergic to shellfish. If I ingest it or if molecules are floating around in the air it can trigger a reaction ranging from itchy skin, hives, difficulty breathing, and will likely culminate in anaphylaxis if left untreated. Naturally, when I was invited to join Brad and a friend of ours who also …
Glitter Is A Girl’s Best Friend…
My very first hearing aid was fitted to my right ear in 1978 – a Qualitone SA, which while effective it was a bit large and clunky for my little head. I remember that it was housed inside a fancy black box lined with red velvet and upon opening it one would have expected to …
Spring.
The magnolia flowers are my first clue that Spring has sprung here in Massachusetts. Those gorgeous trees spring to life suddenly, without warning, and as soon as they have arrived they are making their exit as the blooms fall to the grass below. I relate to the magnolia trees as their natural habits are akin …
Deaf, But Not Really: My Story 