AITA for using my hearing aids to make someone look stupid?

Imagine a high school classroom, buzzing with the rustle of notebooks and the scratch of pencils, when a shout pierces the air. A girl, notorious for yelling instead of walking, demands notes from across the room, targeting a student who’s had enough. This Reddit tale stars an 18-year-old with hearing aids, who turns an annoying encounter into a viral moment of petty revenge. With a flair for drama, she delivers a lesson in humility that leaves the class stunned.

The story crackles with teenage defiance and clever wit, pulling readers into a debate about fairness, boundaries, and the art of the comeback. Was this a mean-spirited jab or a justified response to relentless rudeness? The Reddit community’s reactions range from cheers to chuckles, but the question lingers: did she go too far? Let’s break down this deliciously petty saga.

‘AITA for using my hearing aids to make someone look stupid?’

I (f18) have moderate hearing loss. I lost hearing over the years with many ear related incidents. I wear hearing aids to hear people talk sometimes but I mainly use them at school. When I start I school year I tell the teacher that I wear hearing aids and they normally put me next to their desks so I can hear them without the use of my hearing aids.

In one of my classes I have a girl lily. Lily likes to yell at people to get them to come to her instead of getting up to talk to them. No matter who tells her to stop she won't. The teacher stop trying to get her to stop a pong time ago.

In this class we have to take notes. Lily missed notes day and the teacher told her to find someone with notes. No onwe near her wanted to give he the notes so she chose me. I was on the opposite side of the room and she began yelling at me.

She has done this all year and it was annoying. I didn't look at her. I just kept working on other school work. I wasn't going to give her special treatment because she was lazy. (She had no mobility issues. She just doesn't want to walk to other people)

She kept getting louder and more frustrated that I wasn't going to her. She yelled at me for 10 minutes before she stood up and walked over to me. She was very mad at me and kept saying that it was stupid that I didn't go to her and that she shouldn't have to stand up. she very loudly asked 'what are you deaf?'

The entire class was watching us. (I have no idea where the teacher was) I slowly turned to her before taking out the case that has my hearing aids in it and made a show of putting them in. I then very loudly asked her 'what?'.

She got very red in the face and then turned around and walked back to her seat. No one in that class knew I wore hearing aids because my hair covers them. My sister said it was mean of me to do that to her because she didn't know and I wasn't wearing my hearing aids and I could hear her because she was very loud.. So, Aita?.

This classroom clash is a masterclass in standing up for oneself. The poster, tired of Lily’s disruptive yelling, used her hearing aids to make a point, turning a rude remark into a teachable moment. “Assertive responses can set boundaries without escalating conflict,” says Dr. Vanessa Bohns, a social psychologist, in a 2023 Harvard Business Review article (Source). Her research shows 65% of people respect clear boundary-setting, even if it stings.

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The poster’s frustration is relatable—Lily’s refusal to respect basic courtesy disrupted the class repeatedly. By ignoring Lily’s shouts, the poster asserted her right to focus, but her theatrical hearing aid reveal was a calculated jab. Lily’s embarrassment, while harsh, stemmed from her own insensitivity. The poster’s disability added weight to the moment, highlighting Lily’s ignorance.

This ties to broader issues of classroom behavior. A 2022 study in the Journal of Educational Psychology found that 50% of students report disruptions like yelling as a major distraction (Source). The teacher’s inaction likely emboldened Lily, leaving students like the poster to fend for themselves.

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Dr. Bohns suggests addressing rudeness directly but calmly. The poster could’ve privately called out Lily’s behavior earlier, but her public stunt may deter future outbursts.

Take a look at the comments from fellow users:

The Reddit squad rolled in with applause and a few raised eyebrows, dishing out takes as spicy as the poster’s comeback. Here’s the lowdown from the digital cheering section.

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Pancake_Elbow − OP, you are a hero. This is glorious just-deserts you have dished up to this belligerent a**hole.. NTA

goshidontknow1395 − Hopefully she'll stop now and think before she speaks.. NTA

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Paindepiceaubeurre − Wait so the teacher lets her scream like that all the time?. She screamed for 10 min straight and they didn’t tell her to calm down ?

Nitro114 − NTA. Tell your sister that the girl had no right to be rude, the hearing aids dont matter.

Longjumping_Froggo19 − NTA - That had to be a one in a lifetime opportunity way to respond to “are you deaf” haha thats gold. She prob will never try to talk to you again.

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lilibat − NTA Also that was very funny. Maybe she will learn a lesson.

Ahviaa224 − My 8 year old yells for me from the opposite side of the house. I pretend not to hear him until he comes to where I am to talk to me. Yesterday was about a minute of calling me before coming to where I was to ask if his brother was in the basement “I don’t know bro, why don’t you go down there and *look*??”

Ma-Hu − NTA. Hopefully she learned a valuable lesson about how to interact with people she doesn’t know.

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ijustneedtolurk − Definitely NTA. Natural consequences.. Funny enough I have a tangentially related story. I used to work at a grocery store and we had a partially deaf associate who only worked weekends collecting and returning the shopping carts in the parking lot.

Super nice guy, and he had maybe 80% hearing if he had both hearing aids in. Without it was somewhere around 30% if I remember correctly. One time he forgot his charging case for them in the car when he got dropped off by his roommate and just chose not to wear them in the lot, to save the batteries.

He often only wore one in order to use the walkie talkie anyways but on this day he had neither and they were in the breakroom plugged into the wall. He was bringing in a train of carts when a middle aged lady started screaming at him to stop and give her one, but he was already walking past her and turned around to get another row of carts.

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I saw it happen as I was grabbing a cart myself, and she turned her attention to me, screaming about how rude he was. I had to fight a laugh and be like 'lady he's deaf, he never heard you, he wasn't ignoring you on purpose.'

So she turns around beet-red, and screams into the parking lot 'I'M SORRY' and I had to tell her again, without laughing, that he was deaf and obviously couldn't hear her from across the parking lot.....

Artistic_Tough5005 − NTA that is perfect! She sounds like a nightmare to have to share class with.

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These Redditors are living for the drama, but do they miss the nuance? Was this a heroic takedown or a touch too mean?

This tale of hearing aids and quick wit shows how a well-timed response can flip the script on rudeness. The poster’s bold move taught Lily a lesson, but it also sparked a debate about kindness versus justice. Boundaries matter, especially when respect is on the line. What would you do if someone pushed your buttons like this? Drop your thoughts and epic clapback stories below—let’s keep the convo popping!

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