Today, I wear my “HARD OF HEARING” hoodie proudly because I’m no longer hiding from my hearing loss.
Can You Hear Me?
In addition to conducting research, I realized that prevention is just as important, or even more important than treatment. Noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is becoming increasingly prevalent among Gen Z—my peers—due to increased access to personal listening devices and loud entertainment events.
Building a Bridge Between Linguistics and Audiology
The internship last summer provided my first real chance to step into hearing science and learn the experimental side of speech perception under the tutelage of a senior researcher.
Captions, Please (Everywhere)!
It bears repeating: What improves access for a group with a specific disability invariably also helps the greater population.
How a Personal Need Turned Into Helping Others
I made one hat to solve problems, never imagining how many other adults and children would relate. It’s an honor to be able to give something back to the cochlear implant community that understands this journey so well.
My Aha Moment
Representation Matters: Why I Write for the Next Generation
As the first known Black author to publish a 10-book children’s series centered on deaf, hard of hearing, and disabled heroes, I’ve created what I once longed for: stories where children see themselves as powerful.
Life Is a Learning Situation
I know the only way I could hear it is if we all stopped playing and moved up to the net every time someone has something to say.
Hearing Past the Obvious
It seems paradoxical that a hearing condition intended to work against me could give me the power to truly understand music, but this battle has taught me more about positivity and hope than any motivational speech could.
‘You Would Be Better Off Not Playing’
When wearing earplugs earns a reprimand from a master teacher, two high school classical musicians decide it’s time to change the conversation about the risk of hearing loss among their peers.