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​Woman With One Ear Uses Phone PopSocket To Wear Face Mask

​Woman With One Ear Uses Phone PopSocket To Wear Face Mask

The student from Missouri has gone viral on TikTok for showing others creative solution

Jess Hardiman

Jess Hardiman

A woman born with one ear has come up with an innovative way to wear a face mask, having used a phone PopSocket - among other things - attached to the side of her head.

Rhys Yarbrough, 20, was born with only one ear due to a craniofacial condition known as Goldenhar syndrome.

While Yarborough, who is completely deaf in her right ear, is able to use a bone-anchored hearing aid (BAHA) to help her hear, wearing a mask isn't always quite so straightforward, as many require you to loop the strings around each ear.

However, the student from Missouri has gone viral on TikTok for showing off her creative solution, after someone asked her how she managed to adapt to wearing a mask.

Holding up a face mask in one TikTok video, Yarborough says: "Can someone please explain to me how I'm supposed to wear this? I know you hook it to your ears, but slight problem... I don't have any f***ing ears!"

A fellow TikTok user had suggested she 'attach a PopSocket', and in a follow-up clip Yarborough does precisely that.

Rhys Yarbrough/TikTok

She opens up the packet and sticks the gizmo onto the side of her face, before demonstrating how the face mask loops on nicely - ending the video with a double thumbs up to the camera.

Speaking to BuzzFeed, Yarborough, who also works at Starbucks, explained that it's not really been that difficult as she has a prosthetic ear that helps her mask sit correctly on her face, but sometimes she has her moments.

She told the outlet: "It can be frustrating because I will be making dinner and forget something and have to run to the store, but halfway through the drive I realise I don't have my prosthesis on."

In other TikTok videos Yarborough has also experimented with other objects, including picture-hanging strips known as Command Hooks and her prosthetic ear.

"I tend to forget that my life is different from most people, and I would have never guessed that putting a freaking PopSocket on my face would get this much attention," she said.

"The PopSocket was definitely more sturdy, and felt more comfortable to wear.

"They peeled off easy, and it didn't leave a mark."

Yarborough has had a lot of support from others, too, adding: "I've had so many people reach out to me from all over the world sharing their stories about having one ear, or knowing someone with one ear and that I was an inspiration.

"I actually get kind of emotional because I now have this whole new network of people who are just like me."

Featured Image Credit: Rhys Yarbrough/TikTok

Topics: Viral, News, US News, Face Mask, TikTok