Dead Batteries

I was in the middle of a great date...when my hearing aid gave out.

Illustration by Kim Salt

Whenever I was on a really bad date, I found it comforting to know that, as a deaf person with a cochlear implant, I could enter a world of total silence if I wanted to, blocking out whoever was sitting in front of me. On this one particular date though, I had no choice.

I’d been messaging Sylvia on OkCupid all day and we made last-minute, late-night plans to meet in Williamsburg. I chose a local dive that I knew wouldn’t be too noisy on a Friday night. I had to think ahead.

I arrived early, ordered a beer and sat alone in a booth, playing with my phone, re-reading emails and sending texts in an effort to make myself seem busy and totally not awkward while waiting for someone.

Sylvia arrived and we hugged hello. She was attractive, with milk-white skin, long, dark hair and curves in the right places. She seemed like she wanted to be there and wasn’t going through the motions. We chatted about typical first date topics like where we’re from, what we do, what TV sho…