When Abe Marshall experienced hearing loss his worst fear was what others might think. It didn’t work out that way.
When I was 10 years old, I went swimming with my family. It started out like any other day but ended quite differently.
While I was swimming, I got water stuck in my left ear. Ok, I thought, No big deal. Little did I know it wouldn’t be going anywhere. When I got home, I couldn’t seem to get rid of it, and my ear still felt clogged. My mom told me the water would come out while I was sleeping, but the next morning it was still there.
By this point, I was getting worried. My parents took me to my doctor for a hearing test, and I performed below average. That freaked me out. But I learned that the water didn’t cause my damage, although we never learned what did.
Over the next few months, I saw so many hearing specialists that I wanted to stay in school. But after many tests, the doctors came to the same conclusion: I would need a hearing aid.