My parents smashed my hearing aids because I didn't hear my brother calling. "Maybe now you'll pay attention," dad screamed in my face. I couldn't afford new ones. "Selective hearing cured," mom laughed. They had no idea what I would do next. My name is Claire Whitmore, and I’ve worn hearing aids since I was nine. Not the cute, discreet kind people imagine—mine were the kind you notice if you’re close enough, the kind my family treated like a weakness they could punish. It happened on a Sunday a