How My Hearing Loss Is a Win in the Water

By Libby Byxbee

People always seemed surprised after seeing me play water polo to learn that I am hard of hearing. I guess it is not a natural sport to pick if you are hard of hearing and can’t wear your hearing aids in the water. 

But you don’t know what you don’t hear, and I’ve learned to compensate. Without my hearing aids in the pool, I have had to fully focus on launching myself out of water to save a shot. After all, I am the goalie, so it’s me versus the ball and less about hearing what your teammates may be saying.

Ninth-grader Libby Byxbee is the goalie for her high school water polo team.

With hearing loss, and without my hearing aids, I don’t always catch the calls, the plays, or the whistles. After years playing without my aids because it’s a must, I’ve figured out my own game. I’ve got my own tricks. Here are some of them.

• I work with my coaches so they use more visual cues, which actually helps everyone. The pool is loud and hard for everyone to hear, so I ask the coaches to use whiteboards and colored flags, and this lets the entire team know what is going on. 

• Since I am not relying on my hearing, I am always scanning the water. I am tracking my team, the opposing team, the ball, and the referee. Anticipating moves has become what sets me apart from other players. I am not relying on a whistle or my teammates yelling for me.

• I can read the referees’ hand signals and body language. Becoming familiar with the call signals is not a requirement of playing but truly makes a difference.

• Positioning in the pool helps. Being a goalie, I don’t have to focus on what is behind me.

• Also, I make sure to have a buddy on the team who can use visual cues, which we’ve arranged beforehand, using their hands and arms. This way I’m alerted to missed foul calls. It’s almost like a secret handshake.

Overall I think what gives me the advantage is that I am always thinking two steps ahead in order to anticipate everything, because I can’t rely on hearing.

And honestly, my hearing loss has made me a better player. I do believe that if we lose one sense, the others sharpen. I’m hyper-aware, always surveying the scene, always thinking ahead. 

I realize, too, that it’s not just water polo, it’s everything: school, home, life! This sport taught me that a physical “disability” doesn’t have to be a negative. But knowing how to adapt—well, that has helped me learn how to be part of a team and win.

I hope all young people with hearing loss like me share their stories. Let us all champion one another in and out of the pool, school, home, and this great big hearing world.

Libby Byxbee is a 9th grade student in Connecticut. She and her teammates will be heading to California this summer to play water polo in the Junior Olympics. She wrote about playing the trumpet on our blog and magazine.

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