HearingtheSweetestSongsMyparentssaidIlostmyhearingasababy，butIknewIhadn'tlostanything．Noneofmypartshaddroppedoff．Nothinghadchanged：Icouldhearmusicthatwascloseenoughtome．Icouldalsohearmymomwhenshewa

　　Hearing the Sweetest Songs

　　My parents said I lost my hearing as a baby，but I knew I hadn't lost anything．None of my parts had dropped off．Nothing had changed：I could hear music that was close enough to me．I could also hear my mom when she was in the same room．I could even hear my cat purr if I put my good ear on top of him．

　　I wasn't aware of any hearing loss until I began to wear a hearing aid when I started living alone．I noticed it ruined my peace of mind：pencils tapping，phones ringing，and refrigerators humming．Then，I began to discover many things I couldn't do．I couldn't tell where sounds came from，nor could I tell fire alarms from burglar alarms．I once missed a job interview because I misheard the address on the phone．For the first time，I had to admit that I had lost something．

　　Unlike a wheelchair，my disability doesn't announce itself．When I got jobs，I chose to keep it as a secret．One day a business friend said，"Nicolette，sometimes in meetings you answer the wrong questions．People don't know you can't hear，so they think you're strange，stupid-or just plain rude．It would be better to just tell them．"But I knew if I told，people might see only my disability，and they might forget that I was also a writer，a painter，and a good gardener．I felt disabled and helpless．

　　This bothered me till I met my husband．One morning at the shore I was listening to the sounds of the sea when my husband said，"Hear the bird？""What bird？"I listened hard until I heard a tiny sound．If he hadn't mentioned it I would never have noticed it．As I listened，slowly I began to hear-or perhaps imagine-a distant song．Did I really hear it？Or just heard in my heart what he shared with me？I realized that songs imagined were as sweet as songs heard and songs shared were sweeter still．

　　This sharing is what both the disabled and non-disabled want．Every one of us，if we live long enough，will become disabled in some way．Let's share．N