Guest Author - Deborah Pipas

Nana, Can You Hear Me?
Written By: Jean M. Kenney
Published By: Merit Publishing International

It has been an honor and privilege to review this book which I highly recommend to anyone struggling with hearing loss weather it be personal, a family member, someone you work with, or just to acquire the knowledge should you ever have the opportunity to connect in some way with an individual(s) experiencing hearing loss. This book is and can be especially helpful to those who have a need to explain their hearing loss to others especially children.

Realizing that she was reading lips more often than not and that her hearing loss was progressing Jean Kenney retired from nursing and teaching in 2003. This gave her time to think about how others that she worked with daily had responded to her hearing loss. It was at this time in her life she began to realize that others around us do not always recognize this invisible disability and unfortunately they often respond poorly. Jean had come to realize the need to share with others the situations often encountered by those with hearing loss. When her oldest granddaughter began questioning her about her hearing aid she instinctively knew that it was time to share her journey of hearing loss and the things that she had learned that could possibly help others on the same journey.

Jean had spent a large portion of her adult life in nursing and teaching. She is a Registered Nurse, Certified School Nurse Teacher, Certified School Nurse, Certified to teach Home Economics and a Certified Health Teacher. Little did she know that all of this would someday come together in the writing of Nana, Can You Hear Me?

It is obvious by reading this book that Jean painstakingly spent the time to put it together in a way that would be beneficial to others. I was very impressed with the page dedicated on how to use the book.

The foreword written by Phil Collins is very important as we share in the knowledge of Mr. Collins sudden deafness in one ear and how he felt as he went through his personal hearing loss experience. His willingness to write this foreword and share a small part of his private life is encouraging at the very least.

In the Introduction, Jean shares a little of her personal experience with us and how her experience and background in education compelled her to share from her heart this life changing journey.

As you read further into the book Jean shares hearing loss statistics and explains how the ear works. She discusses symptoms of hearing loss to assist others to understand that in some cases the loss is gradual. She gives a straightforward explanation of what takes place during a hearing test in terminology that a child can understand. The remainder of the book is dedicated to helping all of us understand that being unable to hear is not an impairment, just because someone cannot hear at all or cannot hear well does not mean that they are incapable of a great many things in life. She covers various devices that can assist those with hearing loss, Therapy dogs, sign language, helpful hints, references and additional resources.

This is an exceptionally useful book for parents, teachers, children or just about anyone that either suffers from this disability or those who live or work with people that deal with this invisible disability on a daily basis.

Please take the time to read this book as it can be quite educational to anyone. We never know in our daily life when we will be called upon to interact with someone who suffers from hearing loss.