KISS band member Paul Stanley was born with just one ear

HE’S a member of one of the most famous bands of all time and he was recently inducted into the rock and roll hall of fame. So who is he?

Paul Stanley from KISS was born with just one ear!

IN HIS recent memoir, Face The Music: A Life Exposed, Paul Stanley revealed that his fellow KISS band members were anti-Semitic, and also that he was born with only one ear.

Due to a congenital deformity called microtia, Stanley was deaf on the right side, developing only a stump of cartilage, with “no direct path to the inner workings of the ear.”

As an adult, Stanley was able to have reconstructive surgery and began using an implanted hearing aid. Although, during his childhood, the condition led to severe bullying, during which we imagine rude little children in school calling Stanley horrible insults like “monster” and “stupid ear!” Fortunately, he could only hear them, if he was turned to the left.

From left, Gene Simmons, Eric Singer, Tommy Thayer and Paul Stanley are KISS.

Additionally, in a twist that sounds like an excerpt from a harrowing anti-fairytale by Roald Dahl, Stanley told the site Naughty But Nice Rob that his parents did not tell him he was half deaf and actually refused to acknowledge him as disabled.

Stanley notes that all of these experiences led to a deep mistrust of all people, though he is understanding in retrospect. “Perhaps it was not that unusual for that generation but you make someone stronger by giving them more love,” he explained. “You make them stronger by being a channel for them to talk and to validate their feelings.”

KISS were inducted into the Rock and Roll hall of fame this year.

“Perhaps that was one of the paramount reasons for me to finally write the book,” he said of his lack of an ear and horrific childhood. “The idea that I can perhaps make someone else’s life a little easier or put a little bit more light on things by telling people my journey.”

This article originally appeared in The Huffington Post.