"America, are you ok?" Japan asked during one of the G-8 meetings. America had been wincing every time he moved his head, and had a look of pain on his face. America didn't respond, and continued looking at France, who was giving a presentation about wine. Japan frowned, and tapped his friend on the shoulder. America jumped, and gave a yelp of pain at the sudden movement. He placed his hands over his ears, looking to be in pain.

"Al, can you hear me?" Canada sighed as he gently removed his brother's hands from his head.

America sighed, and signed something to his brother. Canada suddenly looked very sternly at his brother.

"What do you mean you have an ear infection in both ears?" Canada signed back with an unsympathetic look at his brother.

America signed something again to his brother, who rolled his eyes.

"Um, excuse me Mr. Canada, but what is your brother saying?" Japan asked as he watched them.

"Oh, sorry." Canada said with an apologetic smile. I forgot that you guys didn't know American Sign Language. "Al said that he has a severe ear infection in both of his ears, and can barely hear a word we're saying."

"So, nothing has changed?" England asked with a smirk.

"What did England just say?" America signed, tilting his head to one side and frowning at his brother.

"That nothing has changed at all because you never listened in the first place." Canada signed back with a smirk.

America glared towards England, and gave him the universal, "Fuck you", middle finger.

"Now, now, no need to be rude." France said with a frown.

"Canada, if France just said to calm down, could you tell him he smells like cheese?" America signed to his brother with a grumpy look.

"No." Canada signed, rolling his eyes as his brother pouted.

"Why is your brother not talking? Even though he's a little hard of hearing at the moment, he can still talk right?" Italy asked.

"For god's sake." America signed with an exasperated look. He reached into his bag, and loaded up his laptop. Pulling up word, he started to type. The others watched him in interest, and when America was done he showed them what he had typed.

"Look, it's not that I can't talk, but it's a little awkward for me to speak when I can't even hear myself talk. Signing is just faster and more convenient for me at the moment."

"I see." Italy said with a nod. "Canada, could you ask him what being deaf is like for people in his country?"

"Italy, that's rude!" Germany scolded.

America chuckled as he started typing again. After a few minutes, he showed them the screen again.

"In my country, being deaf is not seen as a disability. Rather, it is seen as just a different way of looking at things. In fact, its own culture. People who are deaf have their own language, and many different versions of it. Did you know that there are there are over 200 distinct sign languages in the world? These include 114 sign languages listed in the Ethnologies database and 157 more sign languages, systems, and dialects. Pretty neat, right? Also, being deaf in general is hard, but people in my country try to do everything they can to make sure that deaf people get all the same opportunities that everyone else has. To discriminate a person for being deaf is highly offensive.

Plus, Deaf culture is recognized under Article 30, Paragraph 4 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, which states that "Persons with disabilities shall be entitled, on an equal basis with others, to recognition and support of their specific cultural and linguistic identity, including sign languages and deaf culture."*

"Wow, that's awesome!" Italy said.

"I know, right?" America typed. He gave Italy a grin.

"This is only temporary hearing loss for you, right?" Russia asked with a small smile.

"You know, I can still kick your ass without my hearing." America typed, raising an eyebrow at Russia.

A/N: Being deaf in America doesn't mean you have a disability. Rather, it means you just have another way of looking at the world around you. It is a rather interesting topic, but I would never be able to tell you everything about it in one chapter. To look up more, google Deaf culture and pull up the Wikipedia page, as that was where I got some of my research. Oh, and ear infections really hurt. They can also cause loss of hearing if they are severe enough.

*I copied a quote of Wikipedia.