MY STORY:

• Hearing loss affects more than just your grandparents

MY BLOG:

When I began searching for topics to write my enterprise story on, I was greatly inspired by an acquaintance of mine, Dallin Wilkins. Wilkins suffers from severe hearing loss and has worn hearing aids since he was 18. From what I knew before interviewing him, he had lost a significant amount of hearing due to not using ear protection. At the time, I had never spoken to Wilkins about his hearing loss. After reaching out to him, he was more than happy to let me interview him and learn more about his hearing journey.

Wilkins was truly the driving force in my story. He shared with me how his hearing loss journey began, what his daily struggles entail, and how he advocates to other young people how devastating hearing loss is, and how it can happen to anyone. Not just your grandparents.

After I learned more about Wilkins’ story, it was like I fell down a rabbit hole. I spent hours researching hearing loss and how many young people it affects. I learned more about the topic than I would have ever imagined. But I was still missing my other sources. It was then that I reached out to my grandpa’s audiologist, Dr. Liz Hankins.

Luckily, she was quick to accept an interview with me. It was through her that I got most of the factual information used in my story. She gave me statistics that would do a great deal in my story. She also told me a plethora of ways that people damage their hearing and warned others that it isn’t just older people who are affected.

She was also kind enough to connect me to another source, her husband and hearing care specialist, Josh Hankins. He provided me with all the final information my story needed. He gave his advice on what people should and should not be doing when it comes to protecting their ears. He was also the person who informed me about the new Apple iOS 13 update, which includes the Health app having a new hearing health section. This became a large part of my story.

I would be lying if I said that I was not immediately overwhelmed with the information I had retained from my interviews. However, when I began writing, it all started to piece itself together. I guess it is true what they say, starting is the hardest part.

I quickly realized my story was becoming more of a service piece than I had originally thought. The focus of my story went from being about Wilkins and his personal hearing loss journey, to being a piece about warning and informing others about what they can do to protect their ears and hearing health. Through writing this story I learned a lot, and I can only hope that readers will too.

ABOUT ME:

I’m a Utah girl, born and raised. My entire family, extended and all, have always resided here. I grew up closer to my family than most. They are my everything, and up until a few years ago, I could get to any of them in a five-minute drive. Then, my life changed.

Everything I knew was uprooted when most of my family moved to North Carolina. Originally, I was going to head out there too, that was until I got accepted at the University of Utah.

Making the decision to stay in Utah, when most of my heart moved across the country, was one of the hardest choices I have ever made. I make the trip out there as frequently as I can.

Utah also has some of my heart. Everything I grew up loving is here. Including the University of Utah. Currently, I am a junior and am majoring in strategic communication. 

After graduation, whether it be here or on the East Coast, I hope to go into a career in marketing or public relations.