By Candida Gazoli, Special to The Washington Post “How many more days until everyone dies, Mama?” my son asked me at bedtime. I was about to sing him a lullaby, and in a futile attempt to buy time … I … lied. “Sorry, Señor, I, uh — I don’t have my hearing aid on.” I do wear a hearing aid for my left ear — my right ear has significant damage that a hearing aid can’t fix, the fallout from strong antibiotics to reduce the swelling in my brain when I had meningitis — and I did have it on.