Nancy’s genetic hearing loss started to affect her by the age of six. The social stigma drove her to conceal her hearing loss while growing up. She accepted her hearing loss as an adult while on the path to realizing her dreams of becoming a classical pianist, a hearing health advocate, a speaker and a writer. These days, Nancy influences and advises the hearing healthcare industry as a president and founder of her consultancy aptly named Auditory Insight. She publishes an online magazine called Grand Piano Passion. Here she also serves as the editor and tackles topics related to hearing loss and making music. Nancy has been awarded the 2009 Lamar York Nonfiction Prize for her amazing writing and debuted as a concert pianist at Carnegie Hall in 2012.

What are your main concerns regarding hearing health and how can these be addressed?N: My main concern is that societal stigma against hearing loss often prevents people from discussing their difficulty hearing with their doctor. The common wisdom is that seven years (on average) elapses between when a person suspects a hearing loss until seeking treatment, but my own research, as president of Auditory Insight, indicates that period is much longer. Some people wait decades before seeking care. In being open about their hearing loss, people do risk being labeled with stereotypes, such as being “old” or “out of touch”; that societal stigma is real. However, a far greater risk is not being able to hear and participate in conversations, which for some can lead to social isolation or even depression.

How has your rekindled passion for the piano changed your life? Which was your most memorable concert?N: When I went back to the piano in my early 40s, after a 25-year hiatus, I reclaimed the bliss I'd always felt at the keyboard. Playing the piano also infused my life with greater purpose. With the piano in my life, I’m clearer about my goals, and I have a greater sense of purpose.
I’ve had many memorable concerts. When I first started wearing hearing aids with a music setting, I often forgot to activate it, including during a piano recital when I was attempting to play Chopin’s Raindrop Prelude. I realized that forgetting to activate the music setting was a way of denying to myself that I have a hearing loss. I stopped after a few bars, stood up, announced to the audience what had happened, and then continued with the Prelude, my hearing aids on the correct setting. That experience helped me to be more open about my hearing loss.
A few years later, I performed at Weill Hall in Carnegie Hall, as the culmination of a master class in performance. That experience helped prepare me for my biggest performance, for 600 people in 2017, at the Hearing Loss Association of America’s national convention. I played the first movement of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, which I chose because the main motif repeats in several different octaves on the piano, encompassing different types of hearing loss.

What inspired you to start your online magazine Grand Piano Passion™?N: I had this sense that reclaiming the piano had saved my life, and I wanted to share my passion for the piano with others. I wanted people to understand that with my degenerative hearing loss, even though I was an adult in her 40s, that I could still become accomplished on the piano, and so could others like me. I started out with a small, personal blog, which has grown over the years to into a dedicated community of amateur musicians, many with hearing loss, who inspire me.

Can you tell us some of the ways you are empowering others with hearing loss?N: The past four years I’ve co-presented a workshop on coping with stigma at the Hearing Loss Association of America’s national convention. This past June, the workshop was entitled, “Rewriting Your Stigma Narrative.” I really love how the workshop nudges even experienced advocates to question how they conceive of their hearing loss. On Grand Piano Passion, I also devote a sizeable part of our editorial content to musicians with hearing loss. For example, programming hearing aids for playing and performing music is a big challenge. Recently we started a series interviewing innovative audiologists for their advice, called Customizing Your Hearing Aids for Music.

What challenges did you face during your school days? How did you motivate yourself to face those challenges?N: In middle school, a girl I ate lunch with banned me from her group because I couldn’t hear secrets. After that incident, my parents—who had been worried about social stigma—finally broke down and got me a hearing aid. For the next few decades, I tried to hide my hearing aids behind my long hair, praying that no one would notice them. It wasn't until I started engaging in my passions again as an adult—playing piano, writing, becoming a hearing health advocate, and founding Auditory Insight—that I became motivated to fully come to terms with my hearing loss.

What are your other hobbies?N: Sleep and exercise! My schedule is packed. Any free time not spent with my family I devote to well-being.

What is your favorite place to visit? What do you love about that place?N: I hope this won't sound too corny: I love to pay a visit to my concert grand piano. Of course I love traveling with my children on family vacations, yet I also really savor a lazy Sunday when I'm able to practice the piano for two hours, indulging myself in improving the piece I'm working on and then replaying old favorites. That first act of sitting down on the piano bench is full of anticipation.

What is your suggestion for families of children with hearing loss to empower their children?N: This is a great question. My number one suggestion is that parents teach their children how to advocate for themselves. Children can practice key lines at home, such as, “I have a hearing loss. I can hear more easily if I sit in the front row.” In addition, children need to learn how to advocate for themselves in a social arena. For example, “I can’t hear you when you whisper. How about if we go to this corner in the classroom so you can talk to me privately?”

What tips/advice do you have for those in our community who want to learn to play the piano?N: Don't let anyone discourage you from learning to play piano! Many of us with hearing loss actually listen more keenly and attentively than the average person because we have to in order to get through everyday life. This "listening profit," as I call it, can be a major boost when it comes to playing music. Another tip is to learn how your hearing loss maps to the keyboard of the piano (see this graphic) to understand the challenges you will face. If, like I do, you have the most trouble with high frequencies, you can choose pieces that do not rely extensively on the top octaves of the piano.

Any special message for our community?N: My dear friend and co-presenter Peggy Ellertsen recently shared two quotes with me that I love. The first is “Breathe in peace, breathe out fear,” by Rebecca Alexander, who has hearing and vision loss due to Usher syndrome. The second is from Brené Brown, and for me, this says it all: “You either walk inside your story and own it or you stand outside your story and hustle for your worthiness.”