All throughout the year, we’ve sought after and shared phenomenal stories about people conquering hearing loss to our Facebook page.
These motivational stories remind us of what human determination and perseverance can accomplish—even in the face of intense challenges and obstacles.
Of the myriad stories we’ve come across, here are our top picks for the year.
Emma Rudkin
At age 3, Emma Rudkin acquired an ear infection that would cause her to lose a great deal of her hearing. At that time, doctors explained to her parents that she was not likely to ever talk clearly or enroll in a “normal” school.
Following years of speech therapy and with the assistance of hearing aids, Emma not only mastered how to communicate clearly—she additionally learned how to sing and play three musical instruments. She would move on to become the first hearing impaired woman to win the Miss San Antonio crown as a second-year student at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
Emma declares that she dons her hearing aids “as a badge of honor” and is making use of her crown to motivate other individuals with hearing loss. She even created the #ShowYourAids social media campaign to inspire others to showcase their hearing aids with pride, and to help end the stigma connected with hearing impairment.
Justin Osmond
Justin Osmond, son of Merrill Osmond, lead singer of The Osmonds, is 90 percent deaf. But that didn’t prevent him from carrying out a 250-mile run—in some cases through rain and hail—to raise funds for hearing aids for deaf children.
Despite being hard of hearing, Justin has in addition become an award-winning musician, motivational speaker, and author of the book titled “Hearing with my Heart.”
You can visit Justin’s website at www.justinosmond.com.
Derrick Coleman
Becoming a professional athlete is by itself an example of defying the odds. Based on NCAA statistics, merely 1.7 percent of college football athletes and 0.08 percent of high school players attain the pro level.
Incorporate hearing loss into the mix, and you really have an uphill battle.
But Derrick Coleman doesn’t just play for a pro football team—he’s also the first hard-of-hearing NFL offensive player and the third hard-of-hearing player drafted in NFL history. Derrick didn’t let hearing loss get in the way of his love for football, which he found at an early age.
With the guidance of his parents, coaches, healthcare professionals, and with hearing aid technology, Derrick Coleman would excel at football on his way to ultimately participating in the Super Bowl as a fullback for the Seattle Seahawks.
Hannah Neild
Despite her hearing loss, and with the assistance of binaural hearing aids, Hannah Neild, a high school senior, is a three-sport athlete, team captain, member of the National Honor Society, and coach/advisor for children with moderate disabilities.
On top of all of her commitments, she in addition has found the time to help others deal with the challenges she had to conquer herself. “I’m working towards moderately disability kids, to help them get through the things they need to get through, just like I had to do,” Hannah said.
Carley Parker
West Davidson High School graduate Carley Parker is in the small portion of students who managed to graduate with not one, but two, high school degrees.
Coupled with her West Davidson High School diploma, she also received a diploma from the N.C. School of Science and Mathematics.
“I feel like I got a really good education from both, ” Carley, 18, said. “It’s definitely rewarding. Some people laughed and told me it was going to be challenging. This shows just because I had a lot of challenges in my life, it didn’t stop me. You can do whatever you put your mind to.”
Carley acquired a hearing disability a couple of months after she was born, which has provided obstacles for her throughout her life. But even in the face of the hearing difficulty, she says, “There’s been challenges, but nothing I couldn’t handle.”
As for her new challenge? She plans on studying pre-medicine at Wake Forest University.
Ryan Flood
“I proved them wrong,” said Ryan Flood. “Through hard work, I proved them wrong.”
At eight months old, Ryan developed bacterial meningitis, a severe neurological infection that can lead to serious complications, such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities. In certain cases, it can be fatal.
For Ryan, the infection produced hearing loss in both ears, which necessitated hearing aids, and with mild cerebral palsy, which forced him to wear leg braces into his intermediate school years.
Despite the challenges, Ryan excelled as a Poquoson High School student, completing Advanced Placement Calculus and U.S. History along with other difficult courses.
Ryan will be studying kinesiology at James Madison University as part of his plan to become a physical therapist.
“I remember the therapists helping me, and I knew that was something that I wanted to do,” Ryan said. “I want to graduate and open a physical therapy practice with my brother.”
Sarah Ivermee
With a four-year-old named Freddie, who is profoundly deaf in one ear and moderately deaf in the other, mom Sarah Ivermee understands from experience the challenges in getting kids to wear their hearing aids.
And as Sarah met more families with children who had hearing aids, she realized that a large number of kids were ashamed to wear them and resented being different.
So this got her thinking, and, with her husband’s assistance, she launched her own company, named Lugs, that renders hearing aids fashionable for kids.
Existing styles include Batman, Toy Story, Minions, Hello Kitty, butterflies, Star Wars, Spiderman, and more.
Now, Freddie not only enjoys wearing his hearing aids, but his brother would like a pair too—and he’s not even hard of hearing!
Win Whittaker
“When I was teaching climbing school, I sometimes would have to ask a client to repeat a question,” Win Whittaker said. “It started to become very noticeable.”
Win is fortunate to have turned three of his passions—mountaineering, music, and movies—into a lucrative career. But by pursuing three occupations that all demand healthy hearing, hearing loss could have been career-ending.
Instead of quitting, Win worked with a local hearing care professional to find a pair of hearing aids that would match the heavy requirements of a mountain guide. The solution: a state-of-the-art pair of digital hearing aids with several key features.
Win figured out that he could manipulate his hearing aids with his phone or watch, take phone calls, listen to music, and minimize wind noise, all while hearing the sounds he had been missing out on for years.
As for the stigma affiliated with a 49-year-old wearing hearing aids? Instead of deciding to be discreet, Win’s hearing aids are “Monza Red,” the flashiest of the 14 available colors.
“I’m flaunting them,” he said with a laugh.
