Kids don't like to be different. With so much pressure to fit in and be part of the crowd, it can be difficult for children with hearing loss to accept the help they need from hearing aids.

But one school in the St. Louis area has found a great way to help with that problem.With permission from the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, "Teachers, relatives and friends had been telling Denis Feratovic, 12, not to be self-conscious about his new hearing aids - but the message finally seemed to stick when it was delivered from someone who could relate."

The school brought in Dino Galic, an 18 year old high school student who has become an accomplished water polo goalie for Oakville High School - even though he has profound hearing loss and wears hearing aids.

The two spent an afternoon together talking about how hearing loss has impacted their lives and how Dino has not only coped but excelled despite it. Dino plans to tutor and mentor Denis as part of a community service project next year.

Denis' teacher commented that she could tell that Denis was inspired by how much someone with an even greater hearing loss than his own has accomplished so much and how it just gave him a whole different perspective on how to look at his life with a disability.

Read Full Article from The St. Louis Post-Dispatch