Emma Wayne, 31, was told she was shy at school, but years later she discovered she had been losing her hearing. She is now sharing her experiences online to show what living with hearing loss is like.
Emma, who works as a children's model and talent agent, often asked people to repeat themselves as a child and sometimes did not answer unless they were facing her. Her family noticed something was wrong as her hearing worsened, but she believes she had been struggling for some time before anyone noticed.
Diagnosis and Early Signs
Looking back, Emma thinks her hearing loss started earlier, but it was only when it got bad enough that people picked up on it. She recalled being out with her mum and looking to her for reassurance when asked a question, which frustrated her mum. She later realised she was actually lip-reading and could not hear properly.
Emma had her first hearing test at her GP surgery in 2015 when she was 19 and was referred to an ear, nose and throat specialist. A CT scan revealed permanent nerve damage. She described the news as hard and scary, and she felt embarrassed to be deaf or hard of hearing. She had been convinced she just needed her ears syringed, but was told she was deaf.
Living with Progressive Hearing Loss
The diagnosis came during her first year at university, and she felt finishing her degree seemed impossible, but she did it with support, including a note-taker for lectures. Emma has progressive bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, which affects both ears. Even with hearing aids, she still finds meeting new people difficult because they amplify sound instead of restoring clarity.
Emma said conversations are getting harder even though she wears her hearing aids every day. She can miss large parts of a conversation while still trying to work out what someone just said, and by the time she catches up, the conversation has moved on.
Travel Challenges and Advice
Emma struggled to understand airport staff when her flight home from France was delayed, her first time travelling home alone. She said airports are particularly difficult because announcements sound like muddled noise to her. She can hear lower tones and spends much of her time reading lips, which leaves her exhausted and can make her feel left out.
GP Dr Asimah Hanif, a medical expert for travel insurer Staysure, highlighted that hearing loss is not just about things being quiet, but also about not being able to hear clearly. She advised travellers to book free special assistance with their airport and airline before going, declare their hearing loss and any other pre-existing conditions when buying travel insurance, check whether the policy covers the full cost of replacing hearing aids, and pack spare batteries or chargers in hand luggage.
Raising Awareness Online
Emma is now weighing up whether to pursue cochlear implants as she is caught between being heavily reliant on hearing aids and still being classed as partially deaf due to her residual low-tone hearing. She also worries about how she would manage on her own if she could not hear an alarm, saying hearing loss has become a huge part of her life.
She has since started sharing her journey on social media to raise awareness and show people how her hearing loss manifests itself. Emma said she is proud of how open she is now, and people going through similar things have got in touch to show support, which means a lot.
