Microtia Musings

The whole not being able to hear everything on my left side thing. As my Sunday winds down, I thought about an episode, from earlier this week, with one of my bosses. She stood between a co-worker and myself, to my left, to give us instructions. I thought her instructions were finished, so I went back to reading my PC screen. I just happened to turn my head, and saw her still there.

She asked, “Are you all right?”

Huh?

“You just stared at the screen. Like you were in a trance.”

Yea, in a trance on how to improve my professional situation...I digress.. That’s another post… :)

“No trance. If you’re on my left, it’s hard to hear. Especially with all the noise. ” I explained how I thought she was done talking and had stepped away, hence I went back to screen. No trance here.

With this newest job, I realize I’ve explained more about not being to hear everything. So much noise in this department, I block it all out—microtia or not-and just do my work. Other co-workers, have two ears, and admit they can’t hear everything either. They’re glad I said something, because they were scared too.

Hey, my deal is, if you’re saying important, something I SHOULD hear, I want to be sure I get all of it. I’ll ask for it be repeated. No harm. No foul.

Folks ask if I hate having just one ear. Maybe so when I was a kid. I stuck out enough as it was then; usually the only Black kid in my class (in fact there were only two Black students in my entire high school when I graduated), my real first name is actually two names-with a hyphen separating them, and then the one ear? Nope, I wasn’t feeling all that self confident I was unique stuff back in those days….

Time changes everything.

I may not be considered ‘normal’ by some. That’s an issue they need to come to grips with. Being I have one ear doesn’t mean my IQ is lower. Doesn’t mean I missed out of something. To have one ear, doesn’t limit my doing ‘normal’ things Nifty at Fifty (and all) folks do: take belly dancing lessons, write the next great American book/play, tickle the ivories on my piano, clip coupons, bake a mean peach with crumble topping, and listen to a cat’s purr keep time with the tick of my mechanical mitral valve.

I am one of God’s creatures. I am unique.