Don’t Let Hearing Loss Discourage You
David Smith
is a professional volley ball player who has an 80-90 percent hearing loss. He’s
been wearing hearing aids since he was 3 years old. He is now 27 and has
brought his men’s volley ball team to the Olympics. Although he never dreamed
of participating in the Olympics, his excellent physicality has brought him to the
top with his high jumps and level of intensity for the game.
David uses
lip reading to understand his teammates. Face-to-face communication isn’t
always possible in a sport like volleyball but he says it only affects him once
in a while. The main problem seems to be when he sweats a lot, his hearing aids
will sometimes go out. However, he recently began trying out a new brand of
hearing aids which hasn’t given him problems yet.
Along with
being a national volleyball champion, Smith is an Irvine alumnus who has his
degree in civil engineering.
Don’t let
hearing loss hold you back from following your dreams or discourage you from
doing something you want to do. Being hard of hearing or deaf does not define
you. Follow your dreams head on and live your life to the fullest. What do you
have to lose?
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