What Hearing Aids and Anger Management Still Miss

Death, Sex & Money

Slate Podcasts

Business, Health & Fitness, Society & Culture, Careers, Relationships, Sexuality

4.6 • 7.6K Ratings

🗓️ 9 December 2025

⏱️ 68 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

The British poet Raymond Antrobus was six years old when his parents and doctors realized that his ears couldn’t recognize a whole range of sounds. He was fitted with hearing aids and began a life of straddling the Deaf and hearing worlds, going to speech therapy and reading lips, learning British sign language, and attending both Deaf and hearing schools. By necessity, Raymond became an expert in communication and miscommunication, which are recurring themes in his poetry. This week, Anna talks to Raymond about his memoir The Quiet Ear: An Investigation of Missing Sound and what it was like growing up with a “panicky sensitivity to misunderstandings.” This episode was produced by Cameron Drews. Get more Death, Sex & Money with Slate Plus! Membership is 50% off, which means $59 for a whole year of ad-free listening and special episode drops across all Slate podcasts, PLUS unlimited reading on Slate.com and the Slate app, every Slate Game AND you’ll be supporting Slate’s independent journalism at a moment where independent journalism needs all the support it can get. Go to slate.com/dsmplus and use the promo code DSM50. If you’re new to the show, welcome. We’re so glad you’re here. Find us and follow us on Instagram and you can find Anna’s newsletter at annasale.substack.com. Our email address, where you can reach us with voice memos, pep talks, questions, critiques, is [email protected]. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	Before we get going, I want to ask you if you haven't already to become a Slate Plus member.
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0:40.6	Sign up right now and get ad-free listening and more death, sex and money episodes made just for you, like the one that is dropping this week where I answer many of your questions for me.
0:44.6	It's an ask Anna anything about parenting, religion, my voice.
0:48.6	I talk about phone sex being a backup plan once.
0:51.5	Get all this by joining Slate Plus.
0:53.5	And here's another reason to do it now.
0:58.2	Right now, Slate Plus membership is 50% off for the upcoming year.
1:05.5	That's $59 for a year of ad-free listening and special episode drops across all Slate podcast.
1:12.9	Plus, you get unlimited reading on Slate.com and the Slate app and every Slate game. And you'll be supporting Slate's independent journalism in a moment when independent journalism needs all the support it can
1:17.7	get. Go to Slate.com slash DSM Plus and use the promo code DSM-50 to get half off. Give yourself this
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1:39.1	And a few months back, one of them, producer Cameron Drews, told me about a memoir that caught his eye by British poet Raymond Dantrabus.
1:48.0	It's called The Quiet Ear, an Investigation of Missing Sound.
1:53.5	And Cameron said, I just love the way that Raymond talks and the way he uses words.
	...

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