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Believe it or not, I have my adult- onset hearing loss to thank for this.

I look nothing like , but I was saved by ! And today, like DC Comics’ legendary Man of , But as with any I am also a , superhero’s story, the realization of a we must begin with… lifelong dream. an origin!

8 Hearing Loss Magazine © Cindy Dyer Cindy © experience happened: my first view- By to turn him into the , and on the backwards World, ing of Superman: The Movie,starring said “goodbye” when they , whose likable Who He Is and How meant “hello.” portrayal of the Last Son of He Came to Be I learned to appreciate the “camp” convinced millions that “You’ll be- I was not rocketed to from a humor of TV’s , but never out- lieve a man can fly.” I saw Superman dying planet, nor have I been mutated grew my love of superheroes. Through- multiple times. Reeve as Superman by radiation (at least not to my knowl- out adolescence I trekked each week became my hero. edge). Instead, I was born in Concord, to newsstands and convenience stores, I graduated from ECU in 1980 North Carolina, and grew up during searching for new “funnybooks.” and took a job teaching middle and the 1960s, the tumultuous decade I also wrote and drew my own high school band in eastern North when Americans wrestled with the ugli- comic books, crudely penciled on Carolina. And I hated it. I had ness of real-world crises by ducking for typing paper and hand-lettered in blundered into the wrong career. I cover inside fantasy realms of bubble- ballpoint ink and shared with fellow taught for only a semester, quitting gum music, flashy pop-culture heroes, students. My comics starred my class- and returning home. During the and cornball comedies. mates as superheroes, their superpow- early 1980s I worked as a substitute On January 12, 1966, my life was ers usually based upon a sophomoric teacher, cable-access TV cameraman forever changed when, as an impres- nickname or trait. and talent, record and video stores sionable third grader, I watched the The kid with a long neck (“Wea- first episode of ABC-TV’s Batman. sel”) became Weaselman, with the My parents cackled when power to stretch his neck great distanc- as Batman shimmied the “” on es, and a buddy renowned for hurling a dance floor, having been drugged spit wads at classroom clocks became by Molly (Jill St. John), the girlfriend Wonder Wad! These and other home- of the (Frank Gorshin). In grown superheroes (I couldn’t draw my young mind I thought my parents girls, so there were no superheroines)

How My Hearing Loss Made Me a Superhero!

were suffering from some type of occasionally banded together as the clerk, graveyard shift convenience dementia—couldn’t they see that Concord Crusaders. store clerk, singing telegrams mes- Batman was in peril? As graduation approached, in my senger, comedy-improv group per- Mom and Dad, Batman’s acting heart I wanted to study creative writ- former, and freelance writer for small because he was slipped a mickey ing and art and become a professional press publications and community by Molly. There’s nothing funny about writer/artist, but played newspapers. I was able to leap from this!! What’s wrong with you people??! it safe by opting for Plan B: becoming one dead-end job to another in Batman in 1966 opened a gateway a band director. Music was my other a single bound! to other superheroes and I became a passion, and I played trombone in My one success during this period voracious reader of comic books, learn- every ensemble available. And thus, of instability was finding the love ing the lore of Superman, the Justice in fall 1975, I became a music educa- of my life, Rose. We met in 1984 as League of America, Spider-Man, and tion major at East Carolina University co-workers at Monkey Business Sing- the Fantastic Four. Ask me to calculate (ECU). Throughout college, however, ing Telegrams in Charlotte, North a percentage or name the capital of I continued to read comic books. Carolina, and had an instant chemis- and I’d respond with a blank try. After a year and half of dodging stare, but I could tell you without hesi- Look! Up in the Sky! our feelings for each other, in January tation that Gingold was the name of I was at ECU in December 1978 1986 we could no longer ignore what the serum consumed by Ralph Dibny when another life-altering superhero continued on page 10

September/October 2011 9 © Cindy Dyer Cindy © Superhero! continued from page 9 blossomed into a vocation. I took a DC’s president had a high-pitched, job as an assistant editor at a small soft voice, and I rarely understood was intended to be and have since publisher called Comico the Comic what she said. I began to mishear lived happily ever after. Company, in Norristown, Pennsylva- in editorial meetings, and some col- Throughout my mid-twenties, nia. It was here that I was first both- leagues questioned my competence Superman begat movie sequels, and ered by hearing problems, especially in or sobriety. A few editors still stinging my obsession deepened. I even nur- restaurants, where I learned to position from my promotion took advantage tured fantasies about being Superman! myself with my “good ear” facing the of my unsteadiness and bullied me. I dreamt of flying to the rescue of those table’s conversation. My self-confidence, along with my in need. Inspired by the examples of In the summer of 1989 I landed hearing, was fading away. superheroes, I had an innate desire my dream job: I became an editor at Of course, a true hero would rise to do good for others but lacked the DC Comics, the publisher of Super- above such adversity. I was not heroic maturity to cultivate a pragmatic way man and Batman. DC Comics, head- in any way. I allowed my progressive of realizing that desire. quartered in midtown , hearing loss to crush my spirit, and was a subsidiary of Warner Bros. the bullies and professional stress to My Own Private Living in the and working make me miserable. Three years after A hero is generally defined by his for an entertainment empire was an taking my dream job, I resigned from archenemy. As I aged into my thirties, exhilarating experience for this small- it and slunk back home to be a free- a conspired to topple me. town southern boy! lance writer of comic books, a job My foe did not operate from a subter- Within eight months I had been I could do without having to rely ranean lair, nor did he hire underlings promoted to editorial management, upon my failing hearing. with henchmen names embroidered working as the assistant to Vice Presi- on their sweatshirts. dent/Editorial Director Dick Gior- Trapped in the Zone Instead, this insidious master- dano, and seemed to be on the fast Rose and I spent the summer of mind quietly employed covert tactics. track. A few freelancers called me the 1992 in New Bern, North Carolina, He began his assault as an embezzler, “heir apparent” of the editorial depart- in a house my grandfather had built secreting away sounds—a consonant ment, the “guy to get to know.” (An decades earlier. The house was in here, a high pitch there. He sometimes aside about my boss: Dick, coinciden- disrepair, souring my disposition, brandished weapons of mass destruc- tally, was profoundly hard of hearing. and culture shock also waylaid me. tion—otosclerosis, tinnitus, and noise We often held private conversations I was extremely unhappy and anxious exposure. His attacks, however, were in the elevator so I could speak loudly to retreat. gradual and unannounced, allowing enough for him to understand me That fall we moved—again!—to me to make minor lifestyle adjustments without being overheard by editors , to familiar territory and along the way. I did not realize—un- loitering outside his office door.) friends. I was depressed, however, til it was too late!—the havoc he had I began having difficulties pro- although I usually put on a happy wreaked. The name of this scoundrel? cessing information. When people to friends, keeping most folks at Hearing loss. would speak to me while I was on arm’s length. My depression adversely In January 1988 my long-time the phone, their comments, heard affected my work, and writing assign-

passion for comic books finally through my “bad ear,” were muffled. ments withered away. I accepted an © Cindy Dyer Cindy ©

10 Hearing Loss Magazine editorial position at Dark Horse Com- thinking at the time. At my lowest, ics in the Portland, Oregon, I took my Bible—the same Bible I of Milwaukie, and, in August 1993, had studied for years, one that was Rose and I moved from the East to saturated with yellow-highlighted the West Coast. passages—and chucked it into the Once again in an office environ- trash can. I reasoned that God had ment, the pattern from my DC forsaken me by allowing my hearing Comics job replayed itself. I was to pull a vanishing act, so this was quickly promoted into management, my way of returning the “favor.” becoming a “group editor” (overseeing an entire line of titles and staff), but Summoned into Action fell prey to communication break- In 1999, I took a part-time job as downs. Some editors considered me a clerk at a small community-based aloof because I didn’t hang out with corporation in Lake Oswego, Oregon, them, or rude because I sometimes where Rose and I had settled. didn’t answer when they addressed me My hearing worsened. My job from a distance or from behind. The involved dealing with the public, and

day that one of Dark Horse’s execu- some folks had little patience for some- © Cindy Dyer Cindy © tives—a low-talker—mumbled a ques- one with a disability. I remember one tion that I answered inappropriately, woman rudely biting my head off after earning a bewildered gape from him; That was my life—not my mishearing of a name. I realized that I could no longer deny taking ownership of my Still, I began to regain some con- my problem. hearing loss, not learning fidence and became the part-time com- In spring 1994 I visited an audi- how to cope with it. munications director of this organiza- ologist, had a hearing test, was diag- I had become a pale imitation tion. I started wearing two in-the-canal nosed with otosclerosis, and acquired digital hearing aids, which I purchased an analog full-shell hearing aid for of the person I was before in 2001 once my single analog was no my right ear. This helped me hear I lost my hearing. And longer cutting it. some of the things I had been miss- then Superman came to I also inched my way back into ing, but did not cure my depression. my rescue! publishing, in 2002 producing my Actually, I choked on self-pity when first book, the history of a collectible I first wore the aid, whining that I was While I was impressed, I wasn’t toy. Another book followed the next going deaf and would one day be left prompted to fully address my own year. My publisher offered me the op- with nothing but that incessant ringing disability. In the fall of 1995, I resign- portunity to edit a start-up magazine (tinnitus) in my ears! ed from my staff job and once again that would examine comic books and I was also having difficulty modu- retreated into the quiet world related media of the 1970s and 1980s. lating the volume of my voice. Some- of freelance writing. In summer 2003 I became a times I’d speak too loudly, and some- My hearing loss worsened, and full-time freelance writer and editor times, too softly. I remember being at so did my attitude. I was also aging with no shortage of work. Profession- a gathering in a noisy Portland night- out of comics, finding less and less ally, things were looking up, but I club and greeting an old friend from work. I came close to breaking into worked from my Fortress of , behind. He didn’t hear me, I was speak- writing for , but that was limiting my face-to-face contact with ing so softly. I repeated myself and it predicated upon relocating to Los others. Hearing loss had become my wasn’t until he saw me that he noticed Angeles, a move my wife and I kryptonite, and I was embarrassed by I was there. He called me “the Invisible considered ill-advised. my condition. I grew my hair long to Man.” While I’d wanted a superpower, By the late 1990s, I felt that I conceal my hearing aids. invisibility wasn’t it. was a failure and rarely connected Online I discovered SHHH–Self On May 27, 1995, my hero, with others. I continued to reside in Help for Hard of Hearing People, the Christopher Reeve, had a horseback- Oregon, more than 3,000 miles away original name of the Hearing Loss riding accident that left him a quad- from family and old friends who didn’t Association of America. There was riplegic, forever banishing him to a have to my shortcomings. a chapter in Lake Oswego, and one wheelchair. Through the support of his And I was drowning in despair in Portland. I marked their meeting family, he “stood tall” as an advocate about my hearing loss. I blamed God dates in my calendar and swore I’d at- for people with spinal cord injuries. for it—hearing is one of our vital tend. But when these dates would roll What an inspiration he was! senses, and, like air, should always around, I’d find an excuse not to go.

© Cindy Dyer Cindy © Reeve truly became a superman. be there, right? At least that was my continued on page 12

September/October 2011 11 Right: Superman’s Superhero! continued from page 11 backwards duplicate, “Bizarro,” enjoys my That was my life—not taking book, The Krypton ownership of my hearing loss, not Companion, at the 2008 learning how to cope with it. I had Superman Celebration in , Illinois. become a pale imitation of the person Actually, being Bizarro, I was before I lost my hearing. he hates it! And then Superman came to my rescue! Christopher Reeve died on October 10, 2004, nine years after his debilitating injury. Reeve’s death affected me deeply. I’d never met the man, but it was like I had lost a close friend or brother. Then my grief morphed into some- Left: My last promotional appearance thing else … a sensation of peace, as a DC Comics editor occurred at and of empowerment. Charlotte’s HeroesCon in June 1992. I firmly believe that God used My hearing loss was adversely affecting Christopher Reeve as an “” to my career at this point. With me is my young friend, Robyn Johnson. send me a message about dealing with my hearing loss. At that transforma- tional moment, I stopped bellyaching, “Why me?” but instead pondered the , “What do I do next?” The answer to my question led me to the next meeting of the Clacka- mas County, Oregon, SHHH Chap- ter, which happened to be a hearing Right: An after-hours gathering at the resource fair held at the Chapter’s HLAA Leadership meeting site at the Lake Oswego Conference in Senior Center. I learned a great deal Bethesda, Maryland, in October 2010. Left to right: Brenda Neubeck, Kim Henney, Michael Eury, and Rose Rummel-Eury

Left: The Executive Committee of the Hearing Loss Associa- tion of North Carolina at the 2009 HLAA Convention. Seated: Julie Bishop, vice president, and Joyce Adler, secretary; Standing: Michael Eury, president, and Deborah Stroud, treasurer

Faster than a feeding gullet! Able to get out of his chair with minimal grunt- ing! It’s Michael as “Old Superman,” on Halloween 1996.

1212 HearingHearing LossLoss MagazineMagazine Professionally, things were Carolina in September 2007, I became give up, no matter the odds, and who looking up, but I worked from an at-large member of the Board of does what he or she can to help others. my , Trustees of the Hearing Loss Associa- Christopher Reeve certainly tion of North Carolina and the editor could have hidden from the spotlight limiting my face-to-face of its statewide newsletter. In 2008 I after his accident. The man could not contact with others. Hearing was elected state president, an office I breathe without a respirator, yet he loss had become my kryptonite, am honored to maintain today. rose above his bodily prison to show and I was embarrassed by my us all that you don’t have to be “more Wanted: More Superheroes! condition. I grew my hair long powerful than a locomotive” to be a So how does this make me a superhero? Man of Steel. to conceal my hearing aids. A superhero is someone who does not continued on page 14 about assistive listening devices; was inspired by a speech by David Viers, then the Oregon state president of SHHH (and who soon became my friend); and met other people like me! At the end of the meeting I asked the program director, Ed Larson, if I could join the chapter—I thought I might be too young, since most of the others in the room had gray hair! Not only did he say yes, he recruited me to replace him as program director, since he was moving into a retirement village in a different city. Ed detected a within me that I had thought long extinguished. At the next chapter meeting, Ed introduced me to the group as a “god- send.” I dismissed that remark, but now realize that I was sent there for a higher purpose. I knew absolutely nothing about shaping programs for people with hearing loss—my motivation was initially one individual’s search for information—but having been thrown into the deep end, this time, unlike my previous challenges, I did not quit. The questions I had about hearing loss became program topics, and through curiosity and the help of other SHHH leaders and professionals, I made con- tacts and booked speakers. And there I learned a lesson that has since enriched my life: helping people is the path to happiness. As program director, and later president, of that chapter, I was able to console and guide many who felt marginalized by their hearing loss. Before long I joined the Oregon SHHH (and later, HLAA, post-name change) Board of Trustees and edited This Superman take-off, “Super-Antics,” by Kerry Callen (kerrycallen. the statewide newsletter. After Rose blogspot.com), shows that even a Man of Steel occasionally mishears! Super- and I decided to return home to North man™ DC Comics. Used with permission.

September/October 2011 13 Superhero! continued from page 13 You see, this is my superpower: You may not be able to “leap tall community service. While I may be buildings in a single bound,” but you My conversion from a self-pitying painting a portrait of altruism here, will soar to new heights. This, I prom- introvert with hearing loss to a self- I admit that there remains a hint of ise you—and you know Superman confident extrovert with hearing loss selfishness behind my motivation: would never tell a lie! opened other doors for me. While I Nothing I’ve ever done before has was looking for a community-service made me feel so good! Michael Eury project, fate led me to accept a part- Not long ago, I created for wears binau- time job as executive director of my HLA-NC a leadership program ral hearing county’s historical nonprofit organiza- called “Invisible No More,” which aids and has tion. I was concerned that my hearing encourages people with hearing loss been a mem- loss might once again work against me, to stop hiding their condition. This ber of HLAA but my wonderful wife encouraged me program has been shared with national since 2005. to move forward. leaders and is available on the HLAA He is the state And I’m so happy I did! My website. An important component president of hearing loss has created an occasional of “Invisible No More” is the conten- HLA-NC hurdle, but I’m now in my fourth tion that it is the moral imperative and is a 2011 year overseeing the preservation of my of HLAA leaders to help others who recipient of the Spirit of HLAA Award. community’s heritage. From young have yet to reach our level of confi- He lives in Concord, North Carolina, adults to veterans to senior citizens, dence or enlightenment. with his wife, Rose, who has loyally stood I’m routinely showered with gratitude And so, I invite you to become a by his side during his journey through from people who are thrilled that I superhero, too. Be proud of who you life with hearing loss. Contact Michael care about their past. My job has also are. Seek guidance and resources to at [email protected] and visit HLA- led me to volunteer with civic organi- help you communicate and participate NC’s website at nchearingloss.org. zations such as the Rotary Club, the in life. Do not give up, no matter how public library, and my church. insurmountable the odds may seem.

Books by Michael Eury Michael is the editor of Back Issue, a comics history magazine published eight times a year by TwoMorrows Publishing of Raleigh, North Carolina (www.twomorrows. com). Back Issue premiered in November 2003.

Images of America: Concord (Arcadia Publishing, 2011)

Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero :Revised Second Edition (TwoMorrows, 2009) The Companion(with co-writer Michael Kronenberg) (TwoMorrows, 2009)

Adventures of the Mask Omnibus (, 2009)

Comics Gone Ape: The Missing Link to Primates in Comics (TwoMorrows, 2007)

The Krypton Companion(TwoMorrows, 2006)

The Supervillain Book(with co-editor Gina Misiroglu) (Visible Ink, 2006)

The Companion(TwoMorrows, 2005)

Bugs Bunny: What’s Up, Doc? (contributing writer) (DC Comics, 2005)

Daffy Duck: You’re Despicable!(contributing writer) (DC Comics, 2005)

The Superhero Book: The Ultimate Encyclopedia of Comic-Book Icons and Hollywood Heroes (contributing writer) (Visible Ink, 2004)

Dick Giordano: Changing Comics, One Day At a Time (TwoMorrows, 2003)

Captain Action: The Original Super-Hero Action Figure (TwoMorrows, 2002) 14 Hearing Loss Magazine