Quiet World: Living with Hearing Loss
Author: David G Myers
Some 28 million people in America and 350 million people worldwide live with hearing loss. How do these people and their families cope? What are their experiences of pain, humor, and hope? What support do medicine and technology now offer them, and what is on the horizon? In this engaging and practical book, David Myers, who has himself suffered gradual hearing loss, explores the problems faced by the hard of hearing at home and at work and provides information on the new technology and groundbreaking surgical procedures that are available.
Drawing on both his own experiences and his expertise as a social psychologist, Myers recounts how he has coped with hearing loss and how he has incorporated technological aids into his life. The family and friends of the hard of hearing also face adjustments. Myers addresses their situation and provides advice for them on how best to alert loved ones to a hearing problem, persuade them to seek assistance, and encourage them to adjust to and use hearing aids.
About the Author:
David G. Myers is John Dirk Werkman Professor of Psychology at Hope College. His psychology textbooks are studied at nearly a thousand colleges and universities. He is the author of The American Paradox: Spiritual Hunger in an Age of Plenty, published by Yale University Press.
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. (Dec.) Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Doody Review Services
Reviewer: Diane M. Brewer, MA, CCC-A (George Washington University)
Description: Communication difficulties experienced by hearing impaired individuals and their families are presented in a journal/diary format in this book.
Purpose: The purpose is to provide answers about hearing loss to those who are hard of hearing themselves and also to their loved ones. This is a worthy objective because there is a need for a range of self-help books on this topic.
Audience: The book is written for a lay audience who is either hearing impaired or has a loved one who is hearing impaired. The book provides concrete information as well as understanding of feelings surrounding the loss caused by hearing impairment and decreased communication ability.
Features: The communication problems posed by hearing loss and associated feelings for the hearing impaired person and their family members is discussed. This book is unique in that it is told in the form of a diary or journal. This gives a warm, personal feel to the book. It might be considered difficult to use as a quick factual reference (although there is a detailed index), but the value is the journey through the book. Chapters are organized by adjustment, communication issues, and more factual information issues about hearing aid technology. They could actually be read in any order.
Assessment: This book is a welcome addition to the limited collection of lay and self-help books on hearing loss. It has a good deal of important factual information for the hearing impaired person, but perhaps more importantly it provides information about coping with the communication difficulties provided by hearing loss. It does this with an encouraging and optimistic tone.
Library Journal
In this gentle, insightful, and moving book, psychologist Myers (The Pursuit of Happiness: Who Is Happy and Why) describes his personal experience with gradual hearing loss--a common symptom of aging. Writing in graceful prose sprinkled with self-deprecating humor, Myers recalls his initial denial of his increasing deafness, his struggles to understand what people were saying, and his gradual acceptance of his handicap and exploration of changing hearing-assistance technologies. He concludes by acknowledging that he can face his loss without fear and with the certainty that he will be able to adapt to his increasingly silent world. Myers's writing is so honest and sympathetic that one need not be dealing with a handicap to feel his optimism and inner strength. Since the challenges of living with hearing loss must be met by the entire family, Myers also includes entries written by his wife, adding an important, often overlooked, perspective. Any library serving an aging population--and is there a library that doesn't?--will do patrons a great favor by putting this book on the shelf. (Index not seen.)--Ann Forister, Roseville P.L., CA Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information.
Booknews
Myers, the son of a woman who went deaf late in life, and who has himself experienced gradual hearing loss, explores the problems faced by the hard-of-hearing at home and work, and elucidates the new technology and surgical procedures now available. The author draws on not only his own experience but also his expertise as a social psychologist in order to describe the effects of hearing loss on the sufferer and on those around him. He provides advice on how best to alert loved ones to a hearing problem, persuade them to seek assistance, and encourage them to adust to and use hearing aids. Myers remarks that those with hearing loss are a fast-growing group because of the aging population and because of the "cumulative effects of amplified music, power mowers, motorcycles, and blow dryers." An appendix offers a substantial list of international resources for the hard-of-hearing. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)
What People Are Saying
Mary Pipher
In shared affliction, there is great comfort. With this book, psychologist Dave Myers invites us into his life to share his experiences of hearing loss. He is the perfect guide to a quiet world. He is honest and aware of the difficulties, and yet optimistic and humorous as well. As Dave comes to grips with his hearing loss, he has a wry, engaging sympathy for himself and his family. This book educated me in the true sense of the word. I am a different person now, with new ways to behave when I am with loved ones who are facing hearing loss.
—(Mary Pipher, Author of Reviving Ophelia )
Mark Ross
A delight to read. The author's rich repository of anecdotes sensitizes the public to the impact of a partial hearing loss.
—(Mark Ross, University of Connecticut)
Rating
4 Stars! from Doody
Go to: Hot Cocktails or Hobart Boulevard Cook Book
Get Rid of Him
Author: Joyce L Vedral
Not a Man-Bashing Bookplain . Should you keep him or would you be much better off without him? I have thousands of letters from women telling me that this book has become their "Bible." After reading it, women tell me they "know" what to do, "I guess I really always knew, but just reading about all those other women, I used to think it was just me!" It doesn't bash men. It shows women how to stop blaming men and empower themselves.
Discover your inner courage. Feel good about yourself. Whether you're in a relationship or a marriage, or trying to figure out why he left you, or if you're looking for clues on how to find the right man, this is the book for you. Please E mail me.
Joyce L. Vedral, Ph.D at jvbody@aol.com Will Answer any Questions Regarding Get Rid Of Him.
Publishers Weekly
Vedral, author of The Fat-Burning Workout , here encourages women to shed still more unwanted pounds--those of the undesirable men in their lives. Organizing her material under slogan-like headings (``You Can't Work It Out if There's Nothing to Work With''; ``Stop Blaming Him''), she identifies traits that make a man ``bad'' for a woman--if he's not ``on the mainland,'' that is, he has too many psychological problems; if he ``cheats on you and has a double standard''; if you ``can't stand'' to go to bed with him. Prescribing the remedy suggested in her title, Vedral offers 15 ways to enable oneself to end a relationship. These include ``Realize That Solitude and Freedom Are Priceless Gifts, Not Punishments--Then Do It'' and ``Improve Your Self-Image,'' in which she recommends obtaining a makeover at a department store cosmetics counter. Even the references to Jung and Joseph Campbell can't disguise this tome's superficiality. (Jan.)
Library Journal
Vedral, author of self-help books for teenagers (e.g., My Teacher Is Driving Me Crazy, Ballantine, 1991) and fitness books for women (e.g., The Fat-Burning Workout , Warner, 1991), advises women: ``Stop wasting your time with a relationship that is draining your life rather than enhancing it.'' Her purpose here is to encourage women to take control of their lives. Vedral describes 11 reasons, ranging from boredom to abuse, for ending unsatisfactory relationships and, in a chapter entitled ``Fifteen Ways to Leave Your Lover,'' offers strategies for action. Vedral avoids discussing complications of codependence and relationship addiction and treats problems of short- and long-term relationships jointly. Readers keen on taking her advice will need more assistance than this book. Not an essential purchase. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 9/1/92.-- Lucille Boone, San Jose P.L., Cal.
