The Hearing Aid's Pursuit Of Invisibility

I was 6 years old when I received my first pair of hearing aids. For many years, I felt self-conscious about the standard, behind-the-ear pair I wore. I was sure they made my ears stick out. My hair, tied in a long braid as per Sikh tradition, did little to hide them—or to limit snickers, glances, and finger-pointing from other children. “They help me hear,” I would reply to their never-ending questions. “So I can hear like you do.” The second answer was a lie. I knew no matter how hard I tried, I could never hear the way they did. My hearing was broken.