I've been thinking a lot lately about medical aids & self-consciousness about public perception.
How many of us have hesitated to use some kind of aid because we felt embarrassed? How many of us have gone without help because of stigma - whether real or perceived?
It is rarely easy to accept the fact that we need some help. It has taken decades for even an aid as common as glasses to be widely accepted.
So what happens if we need a sling, a brace, a cast? Then what if we need to use a cane, a walker, a wheelchair? What about hearing aids, an insulin pump, a heart monitor, an oxygen tank?
Do you think that it is reasonable to miss out on life because someone requires an aid? So why do we let our own biases and embarrassment prevent us from experiencing life the best way that we can?
When I was in high school, I required a temporary ostomy bag after undergoing a colectomy for Ulcerative Colitis. There's no sugar-coating it - that experience was brutal. I felt gross every day. I was self-conscious about it every minute. BUT! (and this is a big one 🎶I like big 'buts' and I cannot lie🎶): I refused to let those feelings keep me at home. Not because I didn't feel them, but because it was the best I had felt, medically, in years, so I wasn't going to waste that opportunity because I felt embarrassed.
So I still participated in sports (safely, with an ostomy belt that looked like a jock strap), I still dated, I still performed in the school musical (including quick-changes around other students). I still went out, I still went to class, I still attended some parties.
I am grateful for that experience. It is the reason why using a cane in my 20s didn't seem like that big of a deal as far as perception goes - so what if people stare? It helped me get around. I carried that same attitude about the walker and eventually the wheelchair when I needed them. Did I *feel* embarrassed, self-conscious, a little weird, especially still being in my 20s/30s? Yes. But I kept reminding myself that I am an adult and those aids helped me live more life, so I pulled up my boot straps and just got on with it.
When it comes to medical aids, especially ones like hearing aids, why would you purposely miss out on hearing the world better just because of self-consciousness?
I am a musician and I use a hearing aid due to Otosclerosis. I will eventually require a hearing aid for the other ear as well. I don't hide it, I don't shy away from using it, it has become a vital part of my life. I am proud to use a hearing aid - I am lucky that hearing aids can make such a big difference in my hearing experience.
There are also a variety of ways to customize & beautify hearing aids (like how we customize and accessorize our glasses).
An important distinction to make here: I do not customize or accessorize my hearing aid because it makes it more palatable for *other* people. I do it for me. I like accessorizing.
Don't let perceived stigma prevent you from living.