During the course of the year, we’ve searched and posted amazing stories about people overcoming hearing loss to our Facebook page.
These inspirational stories remind us of what human determination and persistence can achieve—even in the face of intense challenges and barriers.
Of the many stories we’ve come across, here are our top selections for the year.
Emma Rudkin
At the age of 3, Emma Rudkin developed an ear infection that would cause her to lose a large amount of her hearing. At that time, doctors warned her parents that she was not likely to ever talk clearly or enroll in a “normal” school.
Following several years of speech therapy and with the assistance of hearing aids, Emma not only learned how to communicate clearly—she also learned how to sing and play three instruments. She would proceed to 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 using her crown to inspire other people with hearing loss. She even commenced the #ShowYourAids social media campaign to entice others to flaunt their hearing aids with pride, and to help end the stigma connected with hearing impairment.
Justin Osmond
Justin Osmond, son of Merrill Osmond, lead vocalist of The Osmonds, is 90 percent deaf. But that didn’t prevent him from carrying out a 250-mile run—occasionally through rain and hail—to raise funds for hearing aids for deaf children.
In spite of being hard of hearing, Justin has in addition become an award-winning musician, motivational speaker, and author of the book called “Hearing with my Heart.”
You can check out Justin’s website at www.justinosmond.com.
Derrick Coleman
Playing a sport at the professional level is by itself an instance of defying the odds. Based on NCAA statistics, only 1.7 percent of college football athletes and 0.08 percent of high school athletes get to the professional level.
Incorporate hearing loss into the mix, and you really have an uphill battle.
But Derrick Coleman not only plays for a professional 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 allow hearing loss to get in the way of his love for football, which he discovered at a young age.
With the guidance of his parents, coaches, healthcare specialists, and hearing aid technology, Derrick Coleman would stand out 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 hearing aids in both ears, 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.
Together with all of her commitments, she in addition has made time to help others contend with the struggles 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 minimal percentage of students who managed to graduate with not one, but two, high school degrees.
On top of her West Davidson High School diploma, she also obtained 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 developed a hearing disability a couple of months after she was born, which has produced 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.”
Concerning 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 dangerous neurological infection that can bring about major complications, such as brain damage, hearing loss, and learning disabilities. In certain instances, it can be fatal.
For Ryan, the infection produced hearing loss in both ears, which necessitated hearing aids, and with mild cerebral palsy, which required 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 together 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 first-hand the challenges in getting kids to use their hearing aids.
And as Sarah met more people with children who had hearing aids, she found 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 help, she formed her own business, named Lugs, that renders hearing aids fashionable for kids.
Recent styles include Batman, Toy Story, Minions, Hello Kitty, butterflies, Star Wars, Spiderman, and more.
Now, Freddie not only likes 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 lucky to have turned three of his passions—mountaineering, music, and movies—into a rewarding career. But by following three trades that all mandate healthy hearing, hearing loss could have been career-ending.
Instead of quiting, Win worked with a local hearing care professional to find a pair of hearing aids that would meet the substantial demands of a mountain guide. The solution: an advanced pair of digital hearing aids with several key features.
Win discovered that he could control his hearing aids with his phone or watch, accept phone calls, listen to music, and reduce wind noise, all while hearing the sounds he had been missing for years.
Concerning the stigma affiliated with a 49-year-old wearing hearing aids? Rather than 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.