Some disabilities are more obvious than others, but that doesn’t make them any easier to deal with, especially when meeting new people.
That’s why this young woman decided to get a muted speaker tattoo behind her left ear, as a "friendly (way) to remind the world not to talk to (her) from the left."
Imgur user raingoose is deaf in her left ear, but it’s impossible to tell at first glance—she’s constantly reminding others that she can only hear them speak on her right side.
So, after weeks of going back and forth, she finally settled on the perfect tattoo to help make the reminder a little easier on everybody.
The tiny black speaker behind her left ear has a small “X” next to it, the universal symbol for muted sound.
As she explains on Imgur, this muted speaker tattoo didn’t just happen; it wasn’t a symbol she settled on overnight.
"Be sure that I thought this through and after weeks of through (sic) thinking I decided that this symbol describes it the best," she explained.
The photo she shared on Imgur quickly went viral, with many commenters suggesting that a muted microphone might have been a better tattoo choice.
"I thought that people won't talk to me at all if I chose the mic," raingoose responded to the idea.
“Or rather, that they think I cannot speak at all," she added. "I may be a stutterer, but I can still articulate myself.”
Sharing her tattoo on Imgur wasn’t just a way to show off her cool new ink, either; she hoped the idea would send an inspirational message to others suffering from a hearing impairment.
"I know — it sucks so bad, but eventually you'll get used to it and it will be a tiny little thing that is a part of you," she said.
The words of wisdom definitely resonated with quite a few people—some even wish they’d come up with the idea first!
DactylicHexameter wrote, "As someone who's deaf in one ear (left side too!), I'm totally stealing your idea!"
"I am also deaf in my left ear 'skateboarding head trauma', and I love this idea as it can be difficult in social places. I like the humor," Chaseman8 added.
