Accident

Oliver Olsen disliked the family story more than any other, but his loud and callous mother told it often to company. How one day toddler Oliver had stepped on a live wire, "He popped up into the air like a cat saw a dog's ghost!"

His mother was amusing like that at someone's expense, but she wouldn't be amused with the rest of the story that she didn't know.

Ever since that accident, Oliver began to hear sounds at different frequencies and distances. He told no one about his new ability because he was certain that would be a disastrous mistake.

So, over the years, he heard everyone's whispered secrets, private words, and sometimes even others' thoughts. He heard how casually phony people were, the lies they told each other.

Oliver heard too much, it was a curse, or a painful affliction.  That's really why, wherever you saw Oliver, he always had his headphones on.