Art Campaign: Inspiring Stories of Hearing Loss:

Tea Parties

The Story of Isabelle

My story starts like any other story: Once upon a time long, long ago, I was born with bilateral hearing loss. My left ear had mild hearing loss, and my right ear was profoundly deaf.

While growing up, I was teased and picked on. I resented that I was ‘special’ for the wrong reasons. I wanted to be unique for my accomplishments, not because I was deaf, and I couldn’t convey my needs or accommodations.

Around the age of 22, my left ear went from mild, to severe, to profound within a month. I grieved, and mourned what little natural hearing I had left. From there, it only made it glaring that the type of struggles I had before were now 10x more.

Many years passed and slowly but surely, I found new hearing aids that helped me build up friendships, and new communities that accepted me for who I am.

I started a tea party with my friend Liz. The idea was that we would hold it in Bryant Park. The story that came about was: We both were sitting with friends who wanted coffee. Liz and I both mentioned that we would rather have tea. I added that I love tea in teacups because it meant you had to stand still. When you are carrying Starbucks cup to go, it indicated your willingness to leave at the drop of a hat. A teacup is fragile to hold in your hand, a beauty to admire, and a shame to put down and not finish your tea. What is tea without biscuits or conversation?

It’s the first place I felt that my deafness was attributing. Over the years, I have met people who have asked me how could they would go about speaking to people who are deaf? Or If their child has a disability, how would they deal with their anger at the world?

I am easily able to answer those questions because I have been there. I have been in those shoes. My hearing got worse to the point that I needed cochlear implants.

No matter how my hearing was, good or bad, my tea parties supported me.

Being implanted changed a lot of things for me, and perspectives, I have been able to hear something that I missed as a child and be at peace with my deafness.

I am not just deaf. I am a rock climber, I am a hiker, I am swimmer, I am advocate, I am an aspiring audiologist, I am a good friend, I am a good listener, I am a cat mom, I am a model. My hearing is a bonus that adds to my experiences, making them better.

The Artist’s Comments:

I know how lonely the road of hearing loss can feel. I also know how amazing it is to find a friend who accepts you for who you are and to be able to help others who are walking on similar paths.

When I chose Isabelle’s painting, there were no pictures of the tea party she referenced in the story and by doing a little digging, I noticed that Isabelle is loving cat mamma. Even though I was tempted to paint her with her cat, I decided to honor the story that she chose to share because it was much more meaningful to her hearing loss journey. So I added a tea cup to Isabella’s painting and had the steam highlighting her ear and cochlear implant.

Purchase Isabelle’s Story artwork here:

Watch the Time-lapse of this Painting:

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