Whether you have experienced hearing loss due to age, overexposure to noise, or a medical condition, learning to adjust to your new normal can be challenging. Social gatherings can be especially difficult, as they often take place in noisy settings that make hearing difficult. Adapting takes time, but there are strategies you can use to decrease frustration.

Soni is a young woman from India in her early 30’s who was attacked by her husband and in-laws after one and a half years of marriage because her family would not give her in-laws more money for her dowry. Though the two families had agreed to the amount during the wedding, Soni’s in-laws decided that they wanted more money. Before the acid attack, they would torture her, starve her, and abuse her. In 2008, after still not receiving the additional money they had demanded from Soni’s family, the in-laws pinned Soni down and threw acid on her.