KR Miller has bilateral congenital high frequency hearing loss. Translation? She was born with moderate to severe hearing loss that affects both ears, and she is unable to hear sounds that occur in the higher end of frequencies or high-pitched sounds (i.e., 2,000 Hz or higher). This means KR has problems hearing consonants, such as F, S, or TH. She might have difficulty hearing doorbells, phones, or birds. She might also have trouble discriminating between different sounds when there’s background noise present.
From the time she was in first grade, KR knew that she struggled to learn because of her hearing loss, but she was not provided with much needed accommodations to enable her learning. She was told by teachers that she was dumb, and they didn’t understand why she wasn’t following directions or participating like her peers. She often felt ashamed, disregarded, and invisible. She received amplification via hearing aids at the age of 7, and though she obtained more volume, she did not have clarity of input. KR estimates she missed 50-70% of what was being said in many of her classes. KR describes her speech therapy as a child as one dimensional, only focused on auditory training, which was frustrating and unhelpful to her. She struggled all through primary and secondary school and fell further and further behind in her speech, language, and literacy skills. Her striving for help was often met with resistance, and the educational gaps remained. In college, matters only worsened as there were no salient systems of support for her, and sadly her professors did not believe she had what it took to obtain a college degree.
Thankfully, through the help of a competent audiologist, in her 50s KR was properly fitted with amplification that finally provided her with more clarity. With the help of a speech-language pathologist who understood the motoric, sensory, emotional, and psychological aspects of KR’s communication difference, KR now understands her unique speech patterns, and she can even explain diphthongs, fricatives, and voicing! She has learned to disclose that she has a hearing loss, and she effectively prepares her listeners to understand the speech differences they may hear. More importantly, KR has become more comfortable and confident as a communicator.
Beyond all odds, through KR’s unrelenting determination to reach her goals, she now has a master’s degree in Social Work, has been an educator in the mental health field, and has also worked as a Licensed Chemical Dependency Addiction Counselor and as a forensic case manager. Additionally, she serves as a leader, an Area Director, educator, and coach for Toastmasters International, a global nonprofit organization that promotes communication, public speaking, and leadership. By bringing her hidden challenge to the stage, she has opened up new doors for herself and is now helping others do the same!
by Ana Paula G. Souza Mumy, SLPD, CCC-SLP
Awesome story. How can Toastmasters reach out to younger people so we can help them asap? Perhaps through professional groups, organizations or others mentioned in the record above.