Hearing God’s voice while living with single-sided deafness deepened my faith

While living with single-sided deafness, Sarah Smith sought refuge in Scripture. Despite struggling to hear or understand what people said, Sarah started hearing God’s voice as she immersed herself in his promises of peace, strength, and protection. Sarah is the co-author of “Modern Day Miracles.”

Sarah Smith is pictured with her son. Sarah turned to scripture and evening prayer walks among the Georgia pines while living with single-sided deafness.

By Sarah Smith

At 16, I woke up unable to hear from my right ear. An audiologist said that my sudden hearing loss was probably caused by a virus and prescribed steroids with the hope that I might regain some hearing. But after finishing the medication, I still couldn’t hear anything. I was devastated.

The doctor diagnosed me with single-sided deafness. I had complete hearing loss in one ear, while the other remained fully functional. There was no cure, no surgery, no hearing aid that could bring the sound back. I didn’t realize I relied so much on my hearing — until it was gone.

In search of peace, I began walking the golf cart paths after school, winding through the tall Georgia pines near my home in Peachtree City. Those quiet walks became sacred moments where I could breathe deeply and feel God’s presence. As sunlight streamed through the pine needles, I looked up and felt his love gently lift the weight off my soul. In that moment, I felt seen, known, and held.

But even with that moment of peace, I struggled. Living with single-sided deafness was incredibly frustrating. I spent years learning how to adapt: asking others to repeat themselves constantly, turning my good ear toward conversations, and pretending I understood things when I didn’t. I smiled and nodded in group settings, but inside, I often felt lost and left out.

The world didn’t slow down to accommodate my disability, so I had to find ways to keep up. I learned to observe more — lip-reading, facial expressions, tone, and body language — piecing together meaning from fragments. It was exhausting, but I kept going. I didn’t have a choice.

Feeling disconnected from others, I yearned for a deeper connection with God. At 17 years old, I began seriously studying Scripture to understand how he speaks and thinks. I mainly read outdoors, where I felt closest to God, and asked him to teach me as I pondered each passage.

I journaled to internalize what I was learning. In the quiet, I started hearing God’s voice more clearly.

Sometimes, it felt like he was speaking directly into my soul, gently comforting me that I wasn’t alone. When I could no longer rely on my physical ears, I learned to open my heart and lean into hearing God’s voice. I could feel my faith ripening, as if God was preparing me for what lay ahead.

Living with single-sided deafness and an unexpected diagnosis

Sarah was diagnosed with a brain tumor during an MRI needed before receiving a hearing aid to improve her single-sided deafness.

During college, I felt prompted to complete my teaching internship near my uncle and his family in Phoenix, Arizona.

During dinner with them, he told me about a new hearing aid for single-sided deafness. He had a coworker who was also deaf in one ear, and it had restored his hearing.

My uncle encouraged me to make an appointment and check it out. The doctor’s office was just a few miles away.

“Could I really be able to hear from my right ear again?” I thought on the drive home. Hope began to rise within me. I called and joined a waitlist.

The audiologist had a cancellation and could see me a few days later. After a day teaching high school, I drove to the doctor’s office by myself. Before I could try the device, the doctor insisted I get an MRI. I scheduled one for a few weeks later.

A sudden urgency came over me to finish the schoolwork needed to complete my teaching internship. My observation notes and lesson plans weren’t due for months, yet I decided to finish them before the MRI, just in time to celebrate my 25th birthday.

The day after my birthday, I went for my follow-up, feeling excited. The office was quiet. I was the last patient in the waiting room. The doctor finally called my name. As we were walking down the hall, he turned to me and said, “You have a tumor, and it’s BIG!”

Those words took my breath away. The doctor pulled up my scan, and there it was: a massive tumor on my brain. My heart raced as I stared at the screen.

The tumor, an acoustic neuroma, was benign but dangerously large, the doctor explained. It had destroyed my cochlear nerve and was compressing my brainstem, which caused my single-sided deafness and other physical symptoms like dizziness and numbness in my legs.

Surgery was the only option, he said. Without surgery, I would face increased physical limitations and eventually death. The risks of surgery itself were terrifying: it came with risks of balance issues, facial paralysis, vision loss, difficulty breathing, or swallowing.

That night, I cried myself to sleep, feeling angry and abandoned. I was drowning in fear, and God seemed silent. The next morning, I woke up with a migraine and wanted to hide under the covers. My mom flew to Phoenix to be with me. She encouraged me to go to church with her. I reluctantly went.

As I sat on the pew and held her hand, my heart cried, “God, help me! I need you.”

I opened the Bible beside me to Psalm 70:4: “Let God be magnified.”

It was as if the words were highlighted, as if God was speaking directly to me. I realized I had to trust God and believe in a miracle. I wanted to see God as he truly is — bigger than any tumor or surgery.

I kept thinking: “What if this isn’t the end, but the beginning of God’s glory?”

Hearing God’s voice during evening prayer walks

Sarah sought refuge while walking through the Georgia pines near her home. She heard God’s voice more clearly on these walks, including reassurances of God’s goodness, connection, and protection.

Back in Georgia, I prepared my spirit for the weeks ahead. I prayed, studied Scripture, and walked the paths under the pine trees like I had years earlier. One evening, I walked and breathed in the crisp autumn air.

In the stillness, I listened. I began hearing God’s voice, and he reminded me of his power and his promises.

I recited verses from Romans, Isaiah, and the Psalms, speaking them out loud until I believed them:

“Thank you, God, for working all things together for my good.”

“I will not fear, because you are with me.”

“You are my shield and my stronghold.”

Then I began to see his hand in the details. My apartment was near one of the top neurological hospitals in the world. My surgeon specialized in acoustic neuromas. My mom’s insurance would cover the massive costs. My university granted me full credit so I could graduate on time.

Only God could have orchestrated the timing so perfectly.

The morning of surgery, I knelt on the cold hospital floor and poured out my heart. “I want a miracle, but I trust your ways more. Whatever happens, I’ll still love you.” With open arms, I surrendered the outcome over to God.

My hands stopped trembling. My breath slowed. The tightness in my chest loosened. I wasn’t suddenly unafraid, but the fear no longer owned me.

I felt held — like I had stepped into the arms of someone steady and kind. The room hadn’t changed, but something inside me had. I didn’t know what was ahead but knew I wouldn’t face it alone.

The surgery took just 13 hours, far shorter than planned. My surgeon walked out of the operating room stunned.

I woke up in the ICU with no complications. I could think clearly, breathe independently, and swallow normally. My smile was still intact.

“I’ve never seen a procedure go so smoothly,” said my surgeon, Dr. Randall Porter. “The tumor came out easily.”

I thanked him with tears in my eyes.

He replied humbly, “I was the instrument. Your surgery and outcome are medically unexplainable.”

I looked toward heaven and smiled. Then I heard God’s voice once more time. He whispered to my heart, “Sarah, I got you through surgery. Now trust me in your recovery.”

And I did. I’m not sure why God healed me and not others, and I’m eternally grateful for his mercy. Recovery was hard — relearning how to walk, coping with lingering symptoms — but God was with me.

Just like he promised, God’s greatness was magnified. When my single-sided deafness left me feeling lost and alone, he responded with compassion, love, and a gentle reassurance that he was with me. His grace sustained me. I began to hear his voice more clearly: his promises of faithfulness and redemption, promises I now hold in my heart and know to be true.

During the nine years of waiting and quiet heartache, God was rescuing me.

Sarah Smith is the co-author of “Modern Day Miracles.” In her free time, she enjoys cooking, painting, and spending time outdoors with her family and friends. She lives in the beautiful Hill Country of South Texas with her husband, Neal, and their son, Levi.

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