humor and hearing loss

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June Meeting a Success!

Thanks to those who showed up at our meeting on the 18th. Hearing loss and humor was a good draw!  There were a lot of good shares in the meeting, perspectives on humor and fellowship.  Usually we stop presenting around an hour but this time we stayed on topic for the whole two hours of the meeting.

Laine Waggoner said, “Humor is essential when living with hearing loss and the inevitable communication breakdowns we experience.  My own sense of humor has served as an invaluable antidote to the endless stress, frustrations and anxiety that I encounter every day.”

laine book

Laine’s work made into a book available at the Sanderson Center for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing.

We discovered humor can be tricky.  Sometimes we can laugh at the moment and sometimes it takes us time, as in years, to add the humor to the story.  Then there is humor which is inappropriate such as someone saying “Huh?  What?” repeatedly to us thinking they are being funny.

kathy

Kathy Buckley is a comedienne who created the autobiographical comedy Now Hear This! about her life which is centered around her hearing loss.  She has fun with her hearing loss but she also inspires people to push limits.  She’s one we decided who probably didn’t enjoy the things she now talks about when they happened but could apply the humor later.

gael

While Gael Hannan often applies humor in her blog posts.  On her website she says: “Hearing loss isn’t funny – but a sense of humour makes living with it easier.  OK, there are few laughs in being left out of conversations, not understanding what your child (or your partner, or your boss, or your mom, or your doctor) is saying.   In truth, other people find our hearing loss funnier than we do—especially when we say the wrong thing at the wrong time. But take it slow. If you can’t laugh, how about starting with a smile? Then, start learning how to live better with communication challenges.  I have grown up with a hearing loss that is now severe to profound, and I’ve been talking and writing about hearing loss for many years.”  She has recently published a book called The Way I Hear It.

We had accommodations at the meeting.  Julia captioned our meeting and several of us needed those captions.  Thank you Julia, we appreciate what you do.

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Here are some random pictures taken at the meeting.

 

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Humor in Hearing Loss

“People who live successfully with hearing loss must develop the ability to laugh at their mistakes.  This helps to make family, friends and coworkers feel more at ease.  Using self-deprecating humor to relieve tension and laughing with others is an expression of kinship or social bonding.”  Laine Waggonerlaughter 1

Our next meeting is June 18, 2016 from 10a-Noon at the Sanderson Center in the conference room.  Our topic is Hearing Loss and Humor.  We will take a look at Kathy Buckley’s book If You Could Hear What I See.  Kathy grew up with a severe hearing loss and though her childhood must not have been easy, she looks back over it with sense of humor.  She is a stand up comedienne, actress, writer, producer, and humanitarian.  She is also a motivational speaker, traveling all over sharing inspiration.

if you could hear

Laine Waggoner dedication a section in her book to humor and hearing loss.  The quote at the beginning is from her book, Imperative Information for People with Hearing Loss and their Partners written with her husband Rex Waggoner.  We will share some of her insights at the meeting as well.

Laine

We cannot leave out Gael Hannan the Better Hearing Consumer from Hearing Health Matters Magazine.  She keeps an updated blog writing about the issues those with hearing loss face daily and she often does it with humor.

gael

Afterwards the discussion of these three ladies, we’ll open up the meeting to share our own funny stories.  There will be a light lunch and drinks at the meeting so come join us!  We’d love to see you.