Barefoot were born with no arms. Similarly, in 2008, Jessica Cox became the first person with no arms to use her bare feet to fly an airplane. There are armless artists who use their bare feet to paint, including Simona Atzori, who is a dancer. Renowned Scottish percussionist Evelyn Glennie, who is almost completely deaf, always performs her concerts barefoot in order to feel the vibrations of her instruments and the orchestra accompanying her. There are risks and benefits associated with going barefoot. Footwear provides some protection from puncture wounds from glass, nails, rocks, or thorns as well as abrasions, bruises,
Evelyn Glennie the ceremony for lighting the Olympic cauldron. Glennie has been profoundly deaf since the age of 12, having started to lose her hearing from the age of 8. This does not inhibit her ability to perform at an international level. She regularly plays barefoot during both live performances and studio recordings to feel the music better. Glennie contends that deafness is largely misunderstood by the public. She claims to have taught herself to hear with parts of her body other than her ears. In response to what she described as mostly inaccurate reporting by the media, Glennie published "Hearing Essay"