This is not a buzzfeed list where I am making money with clicks. Rather, these are some of my favorite non technological hearing loss items I have stumbled across. I have found the community of those with hearing loss to be one of the biggest supports and joys in my hearing loss journey. Community can look like a lot of different things, including helping you find items that give you a feeling of shared identity or clever hacks that simplify your life. I have had times where I have struggled to find items that I want either for more practical reasons or just to represent myself. Maybe you have been looking for items like these, too. If so, I hope you enjoy these finds.

I was very excited to find this rash guard. Swimming can be awkward for me with my hearing loss. I frequently miss that people are speaking to me or what they are saying while enjoying the water. I can’t wear my hearing aid when it could get wet, and there is often a ton of background noise when swimming. I love that this shirt gives folks a heads up that I may not hear. Also, the art is so cool! This is the first item I have found that has a bone anchored device in the art. It feels so good to have my actual device be part of the representation. So often, I feel like a niche in a niche. Mama Hu Hears is a great site with tons of great resources as well as fun merch.

I love my deaf earrings. I custom ordered these from Etsy so I could wear them just in my deaf ear. They help close friends and family track when they are on my hearing side vs deaf side. They are only useful for up close and personal, but I also enjoy embracing my hearing loss identity with these.

This sticker from Bluemoth is a favorite! It is so fun and a great conversation starter! Sometimes, just a simple sticker can be awesome representation.

Becoming Hearing Empowered is an amazing resource. I wish I had had it earlier in my hearing loss journey, but even finding it recently was a great benefit to my life. While it has lots of great information to help you understand your hearing loss, it is primarily a guided journal that walks you through processing your emotions and thoughts around hearing less. It helps you learn tools, but it also gives you words to express your hearing loss experience. A true gem!

I like to wear this button in situations where I may struggle with hearing, and the people I interact with will likely be unaware of my hearing loss. I commonly break this button out when I attend a convention, adding it to my name badge. It can help difuse issues and confusion.

I found this bracelet at the expo at the National Hearing Loss Association of America Convention. It was made by Deafmetal, and one of the descriptions was, “We hear with our hearts.” I found this phrase extremely moving, and I love wearing this bracelet as a reminder.

This book is such a nice comprehensive discussion of hearing loss and hacks for navigating life witn hearing loss. The authors do a great job of storytelling and making the information accessible.

All it took was knocking my hearing device off my head and having the attachment shatter on the pavement for me to realize I needed a safety chain. I was delighted to find ones on thehearclip.com that really represent my style. Deafmetal also offers some, though they have more traditional hearing aid styles and fewer bone anchored / cochlear implant options.

If you are looking for hearing loss art, I super recommend checking out Priscilla at myluckyears.com. I don’t own any of her art yet, but it is on my wishlist.

If you have amazing hearing loss finds, I would love to know about them! I enjoy finding something that clearly has been crafted with thoughtfulness and intent. It’s so delightful to feel so seen and understood. It also feels great to support others in the hearing loss community with purchases.