麻豆传媒

Having been diagnosed with hearing loss at age four, Kendra Cove has been to the audiologist more times than she can count. Now, she鈥檚 in her third year of the School of Communication Sciences and Disorder鈥檚 Audiology program to help others just like herself.

She says when she got accepted to the audiology program it was like a breath of fresh air.

鈥淚 always had to fight for accessibility in learning environments, but this was a program that understands.鈥�

鈥楢lways been a big advocate for myself鈥�

Cove says everyone in the program has been extremely understanding, but there are still barriers.

鈥淚 don鈥檛 think people realize how exhausting hearing loss can be. For example, this was brought to light one day when my professor asked the class if they noticed I was usually the first one there every day, not because I wanted to, but because I needed the best seat to prioritize my hearing.鈥�

She says in moments like those, and when she talks about her hearing aids, it鈥檚 like a lightbulb goes off with classmates and even professors. Cove says it鈥檚 the little things people don鈥檛 think of, but she鈥檚 so appreciative of her colleagues being so interested.

鈥淚鈥檝e always been a really big advocate for myself,鈥� Cove says. 鈥淚 try to educate everyone I can.鈥�

Her class completed their internship placements over the summer, and she said there was a level of trust with her clients 鈥� they know she gets it, and youth love seeing her pink hearing aids.

鈥業t鈥檚 very much hidden鈥�

Cove started a blog called to share her experiences and hopefully reach just one person to change their mindset or relate to them. In the few years she鈥檚 been drafting blog posts, she has already far surpassed that. She started the blog to advocate for herself and others. During the pandemic, she felt isolated, as the masks took away lip reading.

She wasn鈥檛 sure about starting the blog at first, but her audiology professors and classmates encouraged her and emphasized the importance of her voice.

鈥淚t鈥檚 extremely empowering to share my stories. People thank me for sharing my stories and send appreciation.鈥�

Cove鈥檚 hearing loss is genetic, so she has many family members who can relate. She also had lots of people reach out who didn鈥檛 realize she was hard of hearing.

鈥淚t鈥檚 very much hidden, so unless people talk about it or you see their hearing aid(s), you may not know.鈥�

She wishes people understood there is so much more to hearing loss than just aging, and that people knew the major barriers that people with hearing loss face 鈥� including price.

鈥淚f I could go back in time and talk to myself when I was young 鈥� I would say 'remember that everything happens for a reason; your hearing loss is going to cause a lot of hard days, but it鈥檚 also going to bring just as many amazing ones.'鈥�