Shouting Won't Help by Katherine Bouton

Here's a link to a new book coming out in 2 days called Shouting Won't Help, by Katherine Bouton.  I just listened to this interview with her on NPR.  Very fascinating, I can't wait to read the book.

Here is also a link and some excerpts to a NY Times article written by Bouton in August, 2012.

Excellent description of what those of us with hearing loss actually hear everywhere we go:

In a noisy environment like a restaurant, a person with normal hearing will still be able to hear his companion. But in that same environment, a hearing-impaired person will hear chairs scraping, dishes clanking, waiters shouting, all of it bouncing off the high ceilings, the bare walls, the chic metallic tables and chairs — an anxiety-provoking wall of noise. Worst of all is the restaurant’s background music, sometimes competing with a different sound track throbbing in the kitchen.

Earlier this week I had dinner with my husband and sister (both with normal hearing) and my daughter, son and niece, all 20-somethings, in a popular Brooklyn restaurant. It was my birthday and I had a great time, enjoying my family and the good food, but I didn’t hear one word said at the table.

Frustrating and exhausting...