Coping With Disability: Inspirational Stories of 5 Athletes Who Beat Hearing Loss

No one should ever use any kind of disability as an excuse not to pursue their dreams. Granted that life for the disabled is filled with hurdles, but there are stories from all over the world of successful people living with disability that have soared to great heights. These are the inspirational stories of 5 athletes that have left an indelible mark in the Olympic Games, and have gone on to beat hearing loss, with and without the help of hearing aids. 

Name: Tamika Catchings

Country: USA

Sport: Basketball

Tamika had a difficult child hood on account of her hearing deficiency in both ears. This later left her with speech problems, causing other children to tease her to the point of her throwing away her hearing aid. To teach her a lesson, her parents refused to get her a replacement. Tamika has not let her challenges affect her drive and desire to achieve greatness. She got MVP in 2011 in the WNBA, as well as going on to bag three consecutive Olympic gold medals in 2004, 2008, and 2012.

Name: Tony Ally

Country: GB

Sport: Diving

Since early youth, Tony Ally has been afflicted with a genetic hearing loss, but has never let it come between him and pursuing his passion. At 16, Tony found an outlet in sport, specifically diving, and has not looked back since. In 1999, he won the European Championship, and has taken part in a total of 4 Olympic Games in 1988, 996, 2000 and 2004. 

Name: Terrence Parkin

Country: South Africa

Sport: Swimming

No one expected Terrence to bag the silver medal in the 2000 Sidney Olympics in the 200 meter breast stroke. Hearing loss has not affected his drive and passion for swimming. Terrance relies on strobe light signals to indicate when to start swimming, and communicates with his coach through sign language. 

Name: Frank Bartolillo

Country: Australia

Sport: Fencing

Bartolillo competed in the 2004 Olympics in Athens as the top Australian fencer in the individual foil event. To him, being deaf is an actual advantage, as he says that it actually helps him to concentrate better. Bartolillo has fully embraced his condition, and actually uses it to his advantage.

Name: David Smith

Country: USA

Sport: Volleyball

David made his major international sporting debut in the London Olympics in 2012. In a sport that requires communication between teammates, David is still a strong player and a major contributor to his team’s success. He was diagnosed with an 80%-90% hearing loss, but this has not stopped him from following his dream to be a pro volleyball player. Since the age of 3, David has been wearing hearing aids. The volleyball player relies on lip-reading to communicate with his team. According to him, hearing loss has contributed to him becoming a great athlete.

These are just 5 athletes with hearing loss that have made it big on the world sporting circuit. There are many more athletes with and without hearing aids that are dominating a field that has often be viewed as a preserve of ‘normal’ people. Whether you are relying on a Siemens hearing aid for example or dealing with hearing loss, there really is no excuse not to pursue your dream in athletics and any other filed for that matter. It really is an issue of mind over matter as these athletes have shown.

About the author:

Ernest Poh founded The Hearing Centre Pte Ltd. The Hearing Centre is your one-stop centre for complete hearing aids and hearing conservation services. Ernest has been fitting hearing devices since 2004. Visit his website at http://thehearingcentre.sg to learn more about the different types of hearing aids and the possible causes of hearing loss.