I've worn a hearing aid since I was 4. I'm now 37, and while I've become much more open about my hearing issues, I still struggle with the issue of my hearing aid's visibility. Sure, I now have short hair (forced on me by baldness, really), sure I've opted to select a gray color instead a flesh color (thankfully, the gray is NOT (yet) to blend with the remaining hair I still have), sure, I'm much more vocal about making people aware of my "good side" and my "bad side" when walking and sitting.

But I'm still strongly resistant to the idea of adding a hearing aid to my other ear (in which I'm deaf, but the additional hearing aid would link with my current hearing aid, providing "stereo" audio of sorts). I know doing so would be a significant improvement in life -- I would be doubling my hearing capabilities, in ways. But right now I have alternate "good side" and "bad side" modes; the mode for hearing better (you need to be on my left) and the mode for hiding my disability (you should be on my right, unable to see my hearing aid). If you're an attractive female, my instinct is to have you on my right. Of course, if you're an attractive female who sits down at the bar on my right side, I will ignore you, because conversation is futile. I have to forcefully override this instinct.

In an ideal world, given current technology, there would be in-the-ear hearing aids that could wirelessly sync to my current behind-the-ear hearing aid, but that doesn't seem to exist. So I keep plodding along, basically waiting for the day when technology will FIX my hearing instead of aiding it. I expect I will be in my 60s by then.