See this Woman’s Trendy Tattoo That Signals She’s Deaf in One Ear

A photograph of a young woman sporting a tattoo of a computer icon indicating that she’s deaf in one ear has become a hit on the image-sharing website Imgur.
See this Woman’s Trendy Tattoo That Signals She’s Deaf in One Ear
A photograph of a woman's tattoo behind her ear. (raingoose/Imgur)
Jonathan Zhou
2/29/2016
Updated:
3/1/2016

A photograph of a young woman sporting a tattoo of a computer icon indicating that she’s deaf in one ear has become a hit on the image-sharing website Imgur. 

Elisa Menzel, from Berlin, Germany, inked the icon of a sound button on mute behind her left ear to indicate her partial deafness, after exasperated attempts telling people she encounters in daily life that she’s deaf, ABC News reports. 

“When I spoke to people and didn’t understand what they said, they sarcastically ask whether I was deaf. Every time I said ‘Yes I am!’ and [I look] into confused faces,” she explained. “I became tired of those questions and thought about a way to caution them. So I got the tattoo and it worked.”

"Since I'm deaf on one ear I thought this was a friendly to tell the world not talking to me from the left." (Elisa Menzel/Imgur)
"Since I'm deaf on one ear I thought this was a friendly to tell the world not talking to me from the left." (Elisa Menzel/Imgur)

Her picture has now received more than 3 million views on Imgur. 

This tattoo wasn’t a spontaneous decision, and Elisa settled on the mute-sound icon after weeks of deliberation. 

The tattoo costed her $55, and she’s satisfied with the results. 

“Strangers ask me if the tattoo means what they think it does,” she said. Menzel has been deaf in one ear from a very young age. 

Jonathan Zhou is a tech reporter who has written about drones, artificial intelligence, and space exploration.