{"id":3291,"date":"2012-06-07T10:02:44","date_gmt":"2012-06-07T18:02:44","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.everhear.com\/?p=3291"},"modified":"2019-09-18T08:52:02","modified_gmt":"2019-09-18T15:52:02","slug":"blue-ear-superhero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/everhear.com\/blue-ear-superhero\/","title":{"rendered":"Blue Ear Superhero"},"content":{"rendered":"
\t\t\t\tA hearing-impaired New Hampshire boy is now a superhero.\u00a0Marvel Comics has created a superhero called “Blue Ear” in honor of Anthony Smith, a 4-year-old boy from Salem, N.H., who was born with a chromosomal disorder that left him with severe hearing loss.<\/p>\n
The boy, who has no right ear and only partial hearing in his left, wears a blue hearing aid that has enabled him to speak and attend school.\u00a0But Anthony — a devoted comic book fan — told his mother three weeks ago that he was no longer wearing the device because “superheroes don’t wear blue ears.”<\/p>\n
Alarmed by the boy’s refusal, his mother, Christina D’Allesandro, emailed Marvel Comics in New York City, asking for assistance.<\/p>\n
The comic book publisher sent D’Allesandro a picture the next day of “Hawkeye,” a superhero who lost 80 percent of his hearing and wears aids. The company then sent an image of its newest creation, a character called “Blue Ear,” who it said was named after the boy, according to the station.<\/p>\n
“It’s amazing,” D’Allesandro said of the company’s response. She said her son brought the comic book pictures to his pre-school, which prompted teachers to hold a superhero week.<\/p>\n