By Mariam Danial
The first time I understood how powerful sound truly is was not in a classroom or a clinic. It was in a small apartment in Cairo.
A photo of Mariam’s grandmother and grandfather “with us kids,” Mariam says.
Outside, the city pulsed with life. Cars honked, street vendors called out, and the call to prayer echoed beautifully from nearby mosques. Inside, my grandmother sat beside me, smiling at the world she could no longer fully hear. I remember studying her face and realizing that while I could hear the city alive around us, her world had slowly grown still.
That moment stayed with me. It made me wonder what silence feels like when it takes the place of laughter, conversation, and music shared with the people you love. I did not know it then, but that quiet moment became the beginning of everything I would come to love about audiology.
Years later, during a trip to Egypt, I joined a small research project focused on hearing loss awareness and access to care in underserved communities. We met families who had lived for years without testing or hearing aids, not because they did not care, but because help was out of reach. Watching someone’s face light up as they heard clearly again was life changing.
What moved me most was not just the science. It was the joy. I will never forget an older man who heard his grandson’s voice clearly for the first time in years. His eyes filled with tears, and I thought of my grandmother again. That moment showed me that hearing is not only about sound. It is about belonging.
It also helped me see how everything I have studied—biology, psychology, and data science—can come together to make a real difference. Audiology is both an art and science, compassion and precision. It is about understanding people just as deeply as understanding sound.
When I think of my grandmother now, I do not just remember her smile. I remember what silence taught me. It taught me that hearing is more than a sense. It is memory, connection, and love woven together. And I want to dedicate my life to helping others experience that again.
I hope to one day return to communities like the one in Egypt, not just to fit hearing aids, but to help build systems that make hearing care accessible to everyone, because no one deserves to live in silence.
Mariam Danial is an undergraduate student at Middle Tennessee State University planning to apply to Doctor of Audiology programs.
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What moved me most was not just the science. It was the joy. I will never forget an older man who heard his grandson’s voice clearly for the first time in years.