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Communication Journey High School & Beyond

Hearing the wind

HEARO was created to empower kids who are deaf or hard of hearing to thrive through every stage of life. To inspire you in your journey, we wanted to bring you the story of Maddison, a teen with sensorineural hearing loss.

HEARO was created to empower kids who are deaf or hard of hearing to thrive through every stage of life. To inspire you in your journey, we wanted to bring you the story of Maddison, a teen with sensorineural hearing loss.

HEARO was created to empower kids who are deaf or hard of hearing to thrive through every stage of life. To inspire you in your journey, we wanted to bring you the story of Maddison, a teen with sensorineural hearing loss.

Wearing hearing aids and learning Auslan has helped Maddison experience new sounds, express herself with more confidence, and communicate with others in a more meaningful way. Inspired by Wonderwoman, she wants to use her experience to benefit others.

Firstly Maddy, if you were to dress up in a HERO costume who would you be and why? I would dress up as Wonderwoman. I would spread happiness and acceptance so no person ever felt alone or excluded. I would influence positive thoughts to remove all hatred from our world.

What is your current Deaf/ Hearing identity? Currently, I am considered deaf although not completely. I am hoping to become an active member of the Deaf Community during this year.

Please share when your family found out about your diagnosis. It was first picked up when I was two years old and experiencing reduced hearing. My parents were told that grommets would repair the hearing loss. After two sets of grommets, one left a permanent hole in my eardrum and the other eardrum has a scar that was discovered when I was age 11.

We thought my hearing was fine but then a random hearing screening test at 15, suggested I had significant hearing loss and likely to need hearing aids. I had another test at the local Community Health Centre and they referred me to Hearing Australia which confirmed that I have moderate bilateral sensorineural hearing loss in both ears to which I now wear bilateral hearing aids. I have a StreamLine microphone that my teachers wear when I am in class so I can hear them clearly.

Talking of school, what was your overall experience like? When I was in primary school my academic level sat in the middle of sound and outstanding. In my first two years of high school, I had fairly good grades achieving mostly A’s and B’s. In Year 9 my grades started to drop. My family noticed I was withdrawn and wasn’t hearing them as much as usual. That’s when my mum mentioned this to my pediatrician who did the screening test which revealed that I was hard of hearing.

How did that make you feel? I was very upset feeling that everything was going against me. The thought of wearing hearing aids put me off because I didn’t want to be teased or laughed at for being different.

I went to great lengths in specifically choosing light-coloured hearing aids to match my skin tone. They were so small people could hardly see them. People that noticed them did ask questions out of interest. Others made silly comments but I ignored them. When people learned that I could pair them to my phone and listen to music, hearing aids suddenly became cool and people wanted them!

How has wearing hearing aids enhanced other aspects of your life? The first time my audiologist put them on my ears, I walked out of the building and heard the movement of the wind rustling the leaves in the trees for the first time. I hadn’t heard this sound before and mum and I both cried. We were so happy.

I like that I can hear more clearly now. But it did take a little while to get used to wearing hearing aids. They do make you feel tired so now I take them off when I get home from school to do my homework.

The HEARO Team often says, “It takes a village”. How is that true for you when you look back on your journey? When I look back I think about all the people who have been a part of my journey and the different things they have taught me. My family, friends, school teachers, specialists, therapists, and people in the community have supported me to develop the skills I have to be the person I am today. They have also role modelled the values of the sort of person I want to be as I grow up.

What is the ONE thing you would tell your younger self? Concentrate more at school and always ask for help when you need it. Don’t be afraid to put your hand up particularly in class. I have learned that my teachers like it when I ask questions because it shows I am interested in the subject.

The HEARO Team often talks about the “Yes, I can!” moment when we overcome an obstacle or achieve something that might have seemed impossible before. Do you have a moment like that to share with us? It was when I found out I had to wear hearing aids. I thought of all the reasons why I didn’t want to wear them. However, after a few weeks, I realised how much I had been missing in terms of communication.

My focus is now to turn what I thought was a negative experience into a positive one and use that to help others. As I grow up I want to support young people in a similar position to have the courage and resilience to accept their differences and be proud of who they are.

Looking ahead, what are your dreams for the future? I want to go to Charles Sturt University and study Speech Pathology so that I can support people with disabilities. I also want to mentor younger people who are deaf or hard of hearing through programs of inclusion. In addition, I want to become an active member of the Deaf community and further develop my Auslan skills to enable me to provide interpreting services.

Is there one more thing you’d like to share with a young person who is deaf or hard of hearing? I would want to share with every young person that they are never alone in their journey especially with people like me around!

At HEARO, we’re always looking for ways to continuously improve our service.

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