Would you choose to have elective surgery that could drastically improve your life, yet significantly impact your appearance and lifestyle?

I have nerve deafness in my left ear as a result of an accident at age four. While many would not consider one-sided deafness to be a disability, it has affected me in several ways. I shy away from group situations because hearing a single conversation can be difficult. I tend to show anger or frustration when I misinterpret what I hear, not because of what was said. I have been accused of being shy, when in reality I love to be around people, I just don’t speak much because I’m concentrating on hearing and lip-reading, or my head is spinning from processing all the sound retrieved from my right ear. Or, I simply didn’t hear someone call for my attention.

There are many audible pleasures I’ve not fully enjoyed because of my one-sided hearing. The list is endless.

Concentrating all my listening energy on lip-reading and hearing with my right ear has caused the left side of my body to feel like a ghost to me at times.

The type of hearing loss I have cannot be resolved with an ordinary hearing aid. Last year, an audiologist recommended a surgical implant that would conduct sound through my skull and relay the sound to my right ear. Attached to the surgical implant would be a hearing aid, the size of a match box. (Click here to see the device.)

I’ve been holding off following through because of how it would affect my appearance and lifestyle. (I’m not vain, but I don’t want to draw obvious attention to the fact I have hearing loss. Also, I like to wear hats, and the device would limit my hat-wearing options. Something minor to others, but important to me.) I’ve spent most of my life compensating for my hearing loss. And, I’m not sure if the implant is the best option.

If you had an opportunity to fix a hidden disability, but it involved making the invisible, visible, would you?