A New Way to Hear
A Different Kind of Beauty I am not so sure I like what I see today. Sags under the eyes, a mass of hair twisted into a low ponytail, my ears completely exposed. It took me two years before I’d let this much of myself show. My bottle blonde hair and palette of cosmetics usually help me blend in with the other moms who drive their children to sporting events on a warm summer afternoon. I turn the wheel, hoping to avoid the stark reflection that stares back in the rearview mirror. A profile of me with the low ponytail says it all: There is something different about me. I am wearing hearing aids. The chatty crowd becomes a little more subdued (at least I imagine that it does) as I walk past them with my behind-the-ear hearing aids in full view. This is the first time these moms with their casual T-ball attire have seen me with my hair pulled back. As a child, I walked up to complete strangers and introduced myself just to make them smile. How can I face these moms now who usu...