When I was 3 years old, I was found to be deaf in my left ear and have a small problem in my right. Being hard of hearing has been difficult, but I've never lived in a state of self-hating sorrow.
Imagine being able to shut out all sounds as you lay your head down to sleep by simply rolling over onto one side. That's my reality when I sleep on my “good ear”, and it even makes me feel like a superhero sometimes.
People call my deaf side my “bad ear”, but when I wear my hearing aid, I have access to a range of features(特征)that some other deaf people don't.
In cinemas, for example, with one click of a button I can enjoy a whole film as though it were whispered to me from the mouths of the actors.
Having a hearing aid hasn't always felt good, however.
On the first day I got my aid, when I was 8, I took it to school for show-and-tell. As I explained how it worked to my classmates, a boy yelled out, “Aren't those for old men?”
At that moment, I felt different. It took a long time for me to get over that sense of being so unlike my peers(同龄人).
But it's not just choolkids who can make us deaf and hard-of-hearing people feel like burdens(负担).
Every video on social media that lacks subtitles, for example, means an entire community of deaf people is unable to enjoy it.
Completely deaf people are excluded from enjoying many movies too, as subtitles in cinemas are almost impossible to find.
And with hearing aids costing around $2,500 each, it can be hard for many people to afford to be able to listen to the things that others take for granted.
As for me, I can listen to music, enjoy films, and catch conversations – I'm lucky.
I'm deaf, but I can still hear everything. I've been blessed with wonderful life experiences.
