Nate Porritt is a family man with a wife and two children who lives in Suttons Bay. He works for the village’s Department of Public Works, and recently has been doing a lot of plowing in private subdivisions. After work, he settles in on the couch in the living room and dials up the Lions’ game.
And in conversation, Porritt pays close attention to the other person’s lips. He’s deaf, and although he wears a hearing aid device in his right ear, he’s able to see the words better by watching mouth movement. It’s a rare skill that he’s developed over the years. Porritt and his brother Nick have had impaired hearing since they were born.
“I’m probably the worst off in my family with the hearing,” Porritt said. “I have a brother and a sister. My sister is normal, like you, but my brother is also deaf.”
