Sex for the hearing (im)paired is enhanced by eroticising your limitations

Arizona-born BTE-hearing-aid wearer Anna Pulley, author of "The Lesbian Sex Haiku Book (with Cats)", offers a refreshingly candid confession of her own experiences in sexual encounters over 15 years of suffering hearing problems. And she begins by highlighting the scant help coming her way either in clinic with professionals or from the scarce amount of literature on the subject.

She says the general recommendation is to take out one's devices during sex, but points out that while this may prevent collateral damage from free-flowing bodily fluids, but it destroys the all-important element of communication during sex. "Taking my hearing aids out during sex has never been a good option for me. I find it much more anxiety-inducing to accidentally agree to something I didn’t want to do, or do something a partner didn’t want to do, because I’ve misheard them," she points out in the VICE article.

Doing it without hearing aids also kills the thrills from dirty talk, which Anna admits is an element of lovemaking she particularly enjoys. Her hope is that live-captioning technology will one day come to the rescue. "I mostly tell my partners to use fewer words and more visual gestures if they don’t want me saying, “What?” a thousand times," the writer reveals.

Among other uninhibited reflections on love-play in this enticing piece is the old bugbear of feedback, identified as a sure interruptus when contact is close. "Missionary could be a gamble if your lover likes to press their face and neck against yours while on top," she warns.

Thus, a piece to enjoy on what human beings perhaps enjoy most, and on a subject that has been kept well buttoned-up.

Source: VICE