She’s never let hearing loss slow her down
Betty Arabie, who enjoyed a long career as a hair stylist, has very limited hearing without her “wonderful hearing aid.”
“When I was a kid, some people thought I was very snobbish because I wouldn’t speak. But it was because I didn’t hear them, and I talked like a baby. So I took speech for a long time. The lady who taught me was from Mississippi. That’s why I have this accent. I’m from Goose Creek, but I have a Mississippi accent.
“Most people don’t know that I’m deaf. I had a sister-in-law who came to me for a haircut one day. Apparently, she said, ‘Don’t cut it real short.’ Well, I thought I heard her say, ‘Cut it real short,’ and that’s what I did. Overall, I did fine cutting hair. It helped that I stood behind people in the chair because then I could watch them in the mirror and read their lips.”
— Betty Arabie
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