作者在四岁时罹患严重的脑膜炎，虽然活了下来，但却也因此引发耳聋症状，这也让她的世界从此成了一片寂静，而周边的人也开始用不同方式对待她。她的听障情况不受到社会和医生的重视，在她大部分的人生中，她都试着努力「排除」听觉障碍。但在经过无数次的就医治疗，尝试不同疗法和医术之下仍无可救药。 由於作者的耳聋程度没有严重到被归为聋人一族，但听力又没有好到像正常人一样。於是多年来一直深陷听力障碍问题。
作者透过本书重新审视社会以及她本身对美国聋人生活的看法，并从过去文献和博物馆资料中，梳理出1860年代至今听障治疗方面的悠久历史，也藉此让读者了解到以前的一些辅助器或疗法，例如：助听筒丶紫光仪器丶鼓膜按摩法丶电疗法丶飞机潜水法丶放血法和其他等等。世上充斥着几百种以上会带来奇迹的疗法和治疗产品，但却始终未能兑现承诺——这在现代生物医学中算是仍存在着的有害遗产。
书评
"Engaging . . . A sweeping chronology of human deafness fortified with the author’s personal struggles and triumphs."
Kirkus Reviews
"Part memoir, part historical monograph, Virdi’s Hearing Happiness breaks the mold for academic press publications."
Publishers Weekly
"Informative and engaging."
Ms. Magazine
“Poetically weaving her own experiences as a deaf person into a history of hearing loss, Virdi makes a compelling argument that deafness is as much a cultural construct as it is a physical phenomenon. Rigorously researched and eminently readable, Hearing Happiness is packed with historical gems that will fascinate any reader.”
Lindsey Fitzharris, author of 'The Butchering Art'
“Everyone needs to read this fascinating history of hearing loss, technology, medicine, and audism. In examining deafness cures and sharing her own personal story, Virdi reveals society’s ever-evolving processes in creating and enforcing normalcy.”
Alice Wong, founder and director of Disability Visibility
"I always love reading books by deaf authors who grew up mainstream like me. If you want to learn about mainstreamed deaf people and the medical mysteries of deafness and its history, read this book! Virdi shares lots of fascinating information that I never knew before."
Rikki Poynter, Youtuber and deaf activist
“Hearing Happiness is smart, captivating, and immensely important. We can only grow as a society when we listen to the people we’ve placed on the fringes of it. Deaf people don’t need cures—they deserve respect and support. If you want to be a person on the front lines of necessary change, start with this book!”
Keah Brown, creator of #DisabledAndCute and author of The Pretty One
“Told with clarity and compassion, Virdi’s moving story will resonate with any reader seeking to understand what it truly is like to be deaf in the US."
Cäsar Jacobson, activist, author, and actor
“Hearing Happiness provides so much surprising and interesting historical information, as well as many answers about audism, the history of technology, and our perception of hearing loss. Virdi’s personal story is moving, and her research takes us on all kinds of trips back in time. Fascinating.”
Ilya Kaminsky, author of 2019 National Book Award finalist Deaf Republic
“Virdi has written a landmark study in the history of technology: one that shows in powerfully specific and deeply personal ways how technologies construct social norms and mold the way we live. Her nuanced account of the history of technologies designed to ‘cure’ the way that certain people experience the world is a powerful testament to the need for people from marginalized groups to have a seat at the table when technological fixes are proffered by tech corporations and the medical establishment.”
Mar Hicks, author of 'Programmed Inequality'
关於作者
Jaipreet Virdi是美国德拉瓦大学（University of Delaware）的历史系助理教授。《听见幸福》
是她的第一本着作。了解更多关於作者 www.jaivirdi.com 或Twitter： @jaivirdi
