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  • So, youre lying on your couch in the evening, watching that Bright Side video on your phone,

  • (yeah it’s hard to resist, isn’t it?) but all of a sudden the sound turns off all

  • by itself.

  • You tap your finger on the phone, check the volume, but everything seems to be alright.

  • Just no sound.

  • You click off the video and start to get up, when you suddenly realize you can’t hear

  • your own movements.

  • The silence isdisconcerting.

  • You try to say something, but no words come out of your mouth.

  • You shape them, you feel them, but you can’t hear them.

  • You slap yourself on the ears, hard, but only feel stinging and nothing else.

  • Panic is rising.

  • You look out the window and see the citysomething’s clearly off.

  • Cars stop erratically and turn on the emergency brake lights.

  • People in the streets gesture too much and look around them in wonder and fear.

  • You have a dawning suspicion that it’s not only about you.

  • You check everything that makes sounds, turn up music to the max, but you only feel the

  • vibrations through your body.

  • This is not the time to panic, but what can you do?

  • You decide to try and wait it out.

  • You take a book, lie down, and try to remain calm while turning mute pages.

  • At last, you fall asleep.

  • Day 2 Waking up has never been so sweet.

  • Nothing bothered you throughout the night.

  • You yawn, and then the reality crashes upon you: sound still hasn’t returned.

  • You frantically check your alarm clock — 10 a.m.!

  • Sure thing, youve overslept!

  • You swipe your clothes and pull them on, running to the bathroom, but step on something soft

  • and fall face first.

  • Ouch!

  • It’s your cat, and it’s clearly not heard you coming, same as you!

  • Sorry, Plushy!

  • You scramble to your feet, but lose your footing for a split second and nearly fall again.

  • It seems your inner ear has been affected too, and that’s bad: it’s responsible

  • for balance.

  • Let’s hope it doesn’t get worse.

  • You somehow finish your morning routine and even have a quick cup of coffee on the go.

  • Just as you leave your house, you remember to put your phone on vibrationotherwise

  • you won’t know someone called you.

  • And there’s a message from a friend: “Hey, do you hear anything?

  • What’s going on?!”

  • So it’s the whole city, then.

  • You reply that you don’t know and go to the officetime to do something.

  • The streets are deserted, even though it’s Monday morning.

  • You walk all alone, in utter silence, and look to the sides every second, just in case.

  • When you get to the office, you expect to see no one, but there are a few colleagues.

  • They all seem lost, pale, but glad to see you.

  • You talk using a messengerit’s your only means of communication now.

  • After some time, though, you all decide to leave because no work can be done now.

  • You get back home and write to everyone who matters.

  • All their replies are similar to each other: “We can’t hear a thing.”

  • Day 10 Life is finally coming back on track.

  • For the last week, all services and all work just stalledpeople were getting used

  • to the mute world.

  • Now, everyone more readily walks out of their homes and even goes about their daily business.

  • The city must function, and loss of hearing isn’t going to change that.

  • Everywhere you go, people are looking intently at their smartphone screens, even when theyre

  • not alone.

  • A group of teenagers walks towards you.

  • One of them is typing something, then sends it and looks at his friends while theyre

  • reading.

  • They start laughing without a sound.

  • One of them stumbles and nearly falls, others laugh again.

  • At the office, everything seems okay.

  • Nobody’s chatting, and your productivity only wins from that.

  • Lunch takes longer than usual because everyone wants to talk a bit, and you have to create

  • a group chat.

  • Apart from that, the day goes as usual.

  • Day 30 Sign language lessons have become a new trend.

  • Everyone you know decided to learn it because theyve grown tired of typing messages.

  • You start forgetting how the world sounds.

  • Music is nonexistent, street musicians have disappeared, and all concerts have been canceled.

  • TV still works, but it’s adapted too: all programs now have a running subtitle, and

  • none of the people on screen open their mouths.

  • As for the radio, you don’t even know if it’s working at all.

  • The Internet has long been one of the primary means of communication, but now messengers

  • are booming.

  • Apps have been developed that allow people to type whole words and even phrases with

  • gestures, skipping letters.

  • Walking around the city, you notice that people have become clumsier too.

  • Today youve met at least four people who stumbled out of nowhere and fell flat on their

  • faces.

  • Weird.

  • Day 90 The world is becoming more visual and touchable

  • to compensate for the lack of sound.

  • Bright ads in the streets have become even brighter, all warnings and notifications are

  • now flashing like crazy and vibrating, if applicable.

  • New type of horns has been invented for cars: they send forward a powerful soundwave that

  • can’t be heard but is felt like a vibration, even in another car.

  • Roads have become much safer overallno one wants to drive fast without hearing anything.

  • Instead of radio transmissions, professionals such as pilots or police officers started

  • using Morse code, with each signal giving a tiny shock.

  • But there’s more and more news appearing of people losing control of complex machinery

  • or simply falling at the most unfortunate places.

  • Doctors start raising alarm.

  • Day 180 Deafness has finally reached its peak: the

  • medical community was right, after some time people started having troubles with their

  • inner ear.

  • Keeping balance is becoming an ordeal for many.

  • Doctors advise not to sit behind the wheel if youre feeling dizzyproblems with

  • the labyrinth, a part of your inner ear, may cause you to lose concentration and get into

  • an accident.

  • Many drivers, pilots, and machine operators have resigned from their positionsit’s

  • become too dangerous.

  • Engineers are working hard to automate transport and machinery, but it’s a race against time.

  • Number of flights has reduced drastically, and people all over the world can’t go where

  • they plannedor even home.

  • Day 270 A solution has been found for the inner ear

  • disorder: it stabilizes the balancing mechanism, making you sure-footed again.

  • The breakthrough becomes instantly popular, and people stand in huge lines to get the

  • new device.

  • Meanwhile, muteness doesn’t change the society even a little bit.

  • The order is as perfect as ever, and people have learned to communicate without voice

  • or ears.

  • Apart from the balance problem, it seems nothing’s affected the life of humanity.

  • Even better, construction and renovation works have been allowed at night.

  • Previously they’d been banned because of all the noise, but now that nobody hears a

  • thing, even blasting off with a jackhammer is not a problem anymore.

  • The only limitation is the vibration: if it’s too much, then the works are prohibited.

  • Day 360 Almost a year has passed since everybody around

  • the world lost their hearing.

  • The balance aids work like a charm, so navigation and transportation has resumed.

  • People live their normal lives, but forgot how to use their tongues.

  • Some traditions have changed, though.

  • Eating has become a ritual of silence, not a place for an idle chatwho can hold

  • a fork and a knife and talk with gestures at the same time?

  • Taxi driving is now one of the most responsibleand silentoccupations ever.

  • Long gone the days when you could sit in the front and hear a good story.

  • Everybody in the back now for safety.

  • Movies and TV shows are either subtitled or mute altogether.

  • Emergency signals transformed from sound blares to extra bright flashing lights.

  • Police, ambulance, and rescue services are all equipped with vibro-horns.

  • Life goes on.

  • Day 366 You wake up with a start.

  • It’s morning, and your alarm clock is buzzing under the pillow.

  • Wait.

  • Buzzing?

  • Yes, not just vibrating but actually giving off that sound.

  • And then all other sounds start pouring into your ears, making you go slightly crazy.

  • You didn’t even realize how much noise is all around us every moment.

  • Cars outside, draft from the open window, even slight humming of the fridgeit all

  • shocks you so much you can’t move and just slap your palms over your ears.

  • And life in the city stops again.

  • After a year without a sound, everyone is too perplexed to get about their lives.

  • Suddenly, your phone starts buzzing again.

  • Mom’s calling.

  • With shaky hands you tap the answer icon and hold the phone to your ear.

  • And then you hear a cracked and uncertain, but so familiar voice, saying, “H’lo?”

  • Hey, if you learned something new today, then give the video a like and share it with a

  • friend!

  • And here are some other videos I think you'll enjoy.

  • Just click to the left or right, and stay on the Bright Side of life!

So, youre lying on your couch in the evening, watching that Bright Side video on your phone,

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