I’ve been wearing hearing aids since I was a kid and the evoloution of those devices are amazing. When I was a kid, I wore what my friend likes to refer to as slingbacks. Not only were they big and bulky, but they were light and gaudy. Today, my aids are pretty much the same shade as my skin and are hidden from plain sight. But, they’re still assisted devices and will never replace the true sound that many people are blessed to experience.
Talking to that Dr. earlier put me in a bit of a depressing mood. I walked away feeling stupid for asking him to repeat a question three times. A soft spoken man, the pitch in his voice just was not registering. After repeating the question for the final time he gave me a look like what the hell is wrong with you. When I explained that I wore hearing aids the look of disgust turned into pity and that’s where my feelings of stupidity rolled in. Even at 40 years old, I still find myself experiencing feelings of insecurity and inferiority.
Hearing aids are no different than other assisted devices like eyewear and braces right? Why then is there still such a stigma attached to it? I know I can’t be the only one that notices this. It’s crazy how society reacts and deals with “normalcy”. At the end of the day, I know that I shouldn’t feel stupid about not being able to hear at 100% capacity. But, for whatever reason I just haven’t been able to get over it.
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