The Talk

By Chloe Keilers

The following article is a blog post from Chloe Keilers Blog, “Hear Chloe”. She was featured in the Summer 2013 issue of the H&V Communicator. Chloe’s blog is for fellow teens who are D/HH.

This month's blog post is an assignment from my honors language art class. We were to write a memoir in second person about a conversation that was memorable. We were not to include the actual conversation, but to describe our thoughts and observations before, during and after.  I bet this story sounds familiar to some of you! This happened to me in third grade, and, needless to say, I get along with my hearing aids much better now.

The Talk

You are a carefree child reading a book while sitting on a chair.  The hearing aids you are wearing are heavy, so you take them off.  You put the hearing aids onto the table next to the chair.  Eventually you lose interest in the book and wander off.  The hearing aids lay forgotten on the table.  Your parents have told you multiple times not to leave the hearing aids lying around.

There is a dog with a nose for trouble and a taste for earwax.  He is only a year old but has yet to learn not to chew on furniture.  It also happens that he likes to sit on the chair next to the table with the hearing aids.

Your parents discover the chewed-up hearing aids, and they ask you to talk to them.  You’re frightened.  What could you have done now?  It is evening– the sky is a purple hue.  Your parents try to make you understand the significance of the hearing aids and the responsibility that comes with them.  They are also disappointed that the hearing aids were left unattended.  You are sad at first, disappointed that your parents are disappointed. 

But then … hearing aids are heavy, lousy, obnoxious, hateful, hurtful; the microphone is unruly, everyone gives you strange looks, you get blamed for everything that you feel is the hearing aids’ fault, and now your parents are disappointed that you left the hearing aids on the table.  The hearing aids are an unwarranted evil, you are glad the dog chewed them, and you should never have gotten them in the first place; it doesn’t matter now that your parents are disappointed.

But your parents are not happy with this turn of conversation.  You hate the hearing aids, but they want you to wear them.  It goes back and forth-- hate the hearing aids, wear the hearing aids, hate the hearing aids, wear the hearing aids.  Your parents’ decision is firm, as is your resolution to hate the hearing aids.  Finally, you end up in tears and run to your room, your safe haven. 

Reprinted with permission from Chloe Keilers at https://hearchloe.blogspot.com