Nashlea Brogan AuD

06/01/2026

Here is something every son and daughter should know.

Yesterday at the Alzheimer Society Walk, I spent the day talking with families who want to keep their parents independent for as long as possible.

Many were a lot like me at 50.

Working full-time.

Raising teenagers.

Balancing careers, family and responsibilities.

One of their biggest fears, and mine, is watching more and more responsibility shift onto us as our parents age.

How do I keep Mom and Dad independent?

How do I help them stay safe?

How do I help them stay in their own home and continue living the life they want?

Most people know their parents have hearing loss.

Very few realize it may be connected to memory, brain health, loneliness, falls and independence.

That is why hearing loss deserves far more attention than it gets.

Most families wait nearly 10 years before acting.

The Lancet Commission identified untreated hearing loss as the largest potentially modifiable risk factor for dementia.

Even mild hearing loss has been associated with double the risk of dementia.

Even mild hearing loss has also been associated with nearly three times the risk of falling.

Falls are the leading cause of injury-related hospitalization in older adults.

One fall can be the moment independence changes and responsibility begins shifting onto the family.

What many families don’t realize is that hearing may be one of the easiest places to start.

Treating hearing loss early is not about hearing the television better.

It is about helping Mom and Dad stay independent, stay active, stay connected and continue managing their own lives for as long as possible.

For many adult children, that means more years with Mom and Dad managing their own lives and fewer years of responsibility shifting onto them.

That is worth acting on today.

📌 Save this for the conversation your family needs to have.

♻️ Share this with someone helping their parents navigate this stage of life.

05/28/2026

Some seasons ask you to grow into something bigger.

The hardest part isn’t the leap. It’s quieting everything around you long enough to hear what you actually want.

Are you still listening to yourself? 🤍

05/27/2026

“I’m leaving them at home.”

That’s what my patient told me before her salon appointment.

Her hearing aids. Left at home. Because she didn’t know what else to do.

And I thought — nobody tells you this stuff.

Every 4 to 6 weeks I sit in that same chair — getting my roots coloured. Same stylist. Same ritual. And I wear hearing technology too.

A salon is loud. Hair dryers running. Music playing. Multiple conversations happening at once. Your stylist talking while standing behind you.

For someone with hearing loss, it can feel like navigating a foreign country without a map.

So here’s what I actually do:

✔️ I found a stylist who gets it. That’s the first step — find someone you can actually talk to.

✔️ I book quieter times when I can — fewer dryers, fewer people.

✔️ I bring my case. Not a Kleenex. A case.

✔️ I ask to stay facing the mirror so I can see her face. Mirrors are tricky though — they spin you away to work, which cuts your lip-reading. Ask to stay facing forward as much as possible.

✔️ I sit somewhere quieter when the colour is processing.

✔️ I don’t always wait until my hair is fully dry — but the hair around my ears needs to be dry enough before devices go back on.

You don’t have to leave your hearing at home.
You just need a plan.

Save this. Share it with someone who needs it. 💚

05/22/2026

I spent 30 years avoiding rides at amusement parks. 🎢

I thought my body just couldn’t handle them.

This week at Disney, I realized something I had never understood before.

Now with cochlear implants, I can hear so much more in the dark that my brain finally knows where I am in space.

For the first time in my life, I rode all the fast dark rides I normally would have avoided at Disney World without getting sick. I could hear the tracks, the screams, the laughter… all the things my brain had been missing before.

I didn’t just get sound back.

I got the rides back.

Grateful to the people and technology who made this possible 💗

05/15/2026

You are not as alone as you think. 💙

05/14/2026

05/14/2026

Hearing loss is about so much more than the TV being too loud.

It affects independence, safety, confidence, relationships, quality of life, and brain health.

When we talk about hearing through that lens, people start to take it seriously.

And it deserves that level of attention.

If you or someone you love is struggling to hear, call Us to schedule an appointment. 519-344-8887 or visit online to easily book www.bluewaterhearing.ca

05/14/2026

I said the word intimacy in a room full of strangers today and watched everyone shift in their seats.

I let them sit with it for a second.

Then I said …I’m not talking about s*x.

I’m talking about your daughter coming through the door after school. Backpack hitting the floor. She’s sobbing before she even reaches you. Teenage girl. Big feelings. Needs her mom.

And all you can say is honey, can you repeat that? Mommy can’t hear you.

I’m talking about your best friend,
lit up, excited, finally ready to share the thing she’s been working on. And you have to stop her. Again. Sorry, can you say that one more time?

Something shifts. You both feel it. And neither of you says anything.

Those are intimate moments. And hearing loss takes them. One quiet missed connection at a time.

Sound carries the words. But connection carries the meaning.

And when we start seeing it that way, everything changes.

I talk about it because the more we say it out loud — the less alone everyone feels. Save and share if this resonated. 💙

05/12/2026

She stopped mid sentence and said “never mind.”

You know that never mind.
We all do.

This is what nobody talks about when we talk about listening.

Follow for more. 💙

05/10/2026

Two photos. Same heart. Many years between them.

On the left, I was a young mom with severe hearing loss, trying so hard to hear the tiny voices that depended on me.

On the right, many years after my cochlear implantation, I am standing beside the boy and girl who grew up on the other side of my silence, now 19 and 17, and more amazing than I have words for.

And still, one of my greatest memories of hearing again was coming home after activation and hearing their little voices.

Mother’s Day makes me grateful for the years, for them, and for every ordinary sound that became part of my story as their mom.

Happy Mother’s Day to everyone, and to all the memories and joys that come with it. 💗