Michael A. Harvey

I was really under the wrong impression when I acquired this book to read. I was thinking that it would be about how a person with a hearing disability can learn to adapt with this dysfunction to relationships in that person's life. This book was really not about that for me. It was more about how a psychotherapist uses psychotherapy to deal with issues in a person's life who may have issues stemming from a hearing dysfunction in the patient or in someone with whom the patient has a relationship.

I found it tedious to read through all of the chapters because ultimately I only found one chapter to which I could relate. It was a chapter called "Overcoming Isolation and Despair". That particular chapter did strike a chord with me, and I found the therapy session described in that chapter quite moving.

I was also a bit offended by the last chapter in which a 71-year-old woman was the patient. In that chapter, the patient was referred for psychotherapy because she seemed withdrawn and depressed around her family. The psychiatrist made the woman (his patient) sound as if she already had one foot in the grave. I am close to that age and could not at all identify with how the "old grandmother" was described. A person my age is very much alive...unless he or she is suffering from a severe disability or a terminal illness.

I guess this book and I were simply not a good fit for each other.… (altro)

You need not have a hearing loss to read and enjoy this book. However, if you are hearing impaired, this book will be a special treat. In it, psychologist Michael A. Harvey shares with his readers actual cases of individuals reacting to hearing loss and the author's counseling sessions with them. He does it all with a caring and personal touch. Dr. Harvey is humbled by those patients he helps and expresses much admiration and appreciation for them.

The author makes use of many sources to express his ideas. He quotes from Buddhist teaching, refers to Albert Camus, or presents a Hebrew midrash to make a point. This technique makes his book very spiritual in tone.

A special facet of the book for me was when either the author or one of his patients would express precisely what I continue to feel about my own hearing loss. To see in print such statements as...

"But he wouldn't repeat it. He said it wasn't important. What he meant was I wasn't important."

or

"No matter how much Steven would try, he inevitably felt conversationally lost in noisy, oral group situations in which hearing persons simultaneously vollied for attention."

...almost brought me to tears. It's just that, as I have a hearing loss, this is the way I, too, live. It's comforting to know I'm not alone. Additionally, it is heartwarming to know that a hearing professional makes it his life's work to help those with a hearing disability.

My plan for this book is to give it to my audiologist with the hope that she, in turn, will share it with her own patients.… (altro)