Elizabeth Boone has mostly kept to herself since 1974 — the year she underwent an emergency cesarean section to deliver her daughter.
The anesthetic technique used during surgery left Boone with total hearing loss in her right ear and damaged the hearing in her left, she said. Over time, her ability to hear out of her left ear dwindled to 20%.
“I was so embarrassed,” she said in an interview, “because everybody said, ‘You’re so young, Miss Boone. You’re so young, Miss Elizabeth. How come you can’t hear?'”
Boone lived with her hearing impairment by avoiding social settings. She doesn’t mingle with neighbors and struggles at family gatherings. Although she said her family is understanding, loud events are especially difficult, and she hates asking people to repeat themselves.