Famous Faces of Hearing Loss

Check out these familiar faces and read about their experiences with hearing loss:

Jim Kyte - National Hockey League Defenseman

As the hockey player for the Winnipeg Jets Mr. Kyte hardly seems to fit the stereotype of a person with a hearing loss. He's young and virile, so active, and so much a part of life. We were pleased that Mr. Kyte, the first hard-of-hearing hockey play, came forward to publicly talk about his hearing loss and to encourage other young people to seek a solution for their hearing loss. Hearing aids helped him to become victorious over his hearing loss.

Curtis Pride – Baseball Player

Curtis Pride, deaf major league baseball player, was cited by the U.S. Junior Chamber of Commerce as of one of ten outstanding young Americans. Mr. Pride shared his "overcoming hearing loss" story in a number of public service announcements for BHI. "It was my most exciting moment-pinch-hitting for the Montreal Expos with runners on first and second base against the Philadelphia Phillies. I hit the first pitch for a two-run double, and received my first standing ovation. I was overwhelmed as I stood on second and saw all those people cheering. I've come a long way since being born with a 95% hearing loss. Major reasons were my exceptionally supportive parents, being first fitted with hearing aids as a baby, getting speech therapy from infancy through high school, and my determination to rely on oral communication. Such blessings helped me obtain my degree from The College of William and Mary, as well as excel in soccer, basketball, baseball and other sports. People wanted me on their team. My hope is that others will be encouraged by my experience to seek help-medically, with hearing aids, or other rehabilitation- if they suspect a hearing loss." Curtis is the fourth known deaf major league baseball player in history. There were three deaf ball players prior to Curtis Pride. 1) Dummy Hoy (he was the first) back in the 1800's. He was the person who instigated the hand signals for balls, strikes, safe, out, etc. 2) Dummy Taylor (who also worked at the Illinois School for the Deaf) played ball in the early 1900s and 3) Richard Sipek, played in mid 1940's for Cincinnati Reds.

Florence Henderson – Actress

A star of several Broadway musicals, Henderson was also featured as the matriarch of The Brady Bunch in the early '70s. From 1959 to 1960, she served as Dave Garroway 's "Today Girl" on the original version of Today. She also holds the distinction of being the first female host of the Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson. In the mid-1950s, she was diagnosed with a bone deformation of the inner ear (Osteosclerosis). She indicated in one of her BHI public service announcements "For the sake of my family, my happiness, and my career, I had something done about my hearing loss. Corrective surgery on both ears restored my hearing."

Deidre Downs – Miss America 2005

Deidre Downs, Miss America 2005, serves as national spokesperson for the Better Hearing Institute (BHI) on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of hearing loss, especially in children.

Her mission is to educate the 31 million Americans suffering from hearing loss on the need for early diagnosis and treatment with today’s modern technology solutions. As a pediatrician-to-be, she is focused on the one million children with hearing loss. She identifies with them because she has had a hearing loss since childhood.

Deidre’s hearing loss is genetic. Both her father and brother suffer from hearing loss so she was tested before starting school and diagnosed early in life. She began wearing hearing aids at age five and recalls feeling conflicted with everyday social situations.

“Hearing loss affected me dramatically as a child. I began wearing hearing aids in kindergarten, but I didn’t like looking different from other kids, so I was very self-conscious about them. Yet when I didn’t wear them, I felt a different type of social isolation because I had trouble following conversations.”

A native of Alabama, Deidre has been successful despite her hearing loss, but does not want other children to face what she had to.

“For years I chose not to wear hearing aids—even while participating in pageants and the Miss America competition. I simply learned how to get by without them. In school I sat in the front of the classroom. In social situations I made a point to always look at people while they were speaking.”

Deidre was valedictorian of her high school and a Rhodes Scholar finalist. She earned a volleyball scholarship to the University of Virginia, where she was an Echols Scholar. After transferring to Samford University, she graduated magna cum laude in 2002 with a bachelor’s degree in history. After college, she was chosen Miss Alabama and later Miss America 2005.

Deidre currently travels the nation educating the public and serving as an enthusiastic advocate on the issue. As a medical student, public speaker and former athlete, Deidre knows well the onset of challenges hearing loss sufferers face and wishes to educate the public on the condition’s sharp increase and the life-changing technology available for its treatment.

“It wasn’t until I started medical school that I realized I couldn’t get by without hearing aids any longer. It was very hard to follow lectures in large auditoriums, interact with fellow students and professors (especially if they wore surgical masks), and interact with patients. I realized that I finally needed to face my hearing problem and find a solution that would help me to be the best doctor I can be for my patients."

“Wearing hearing aids again gave me the ability to better participate in life—school, family, and friends. Hearing aids have diminished the impact hearing loss has on my life. I finally feel like I can hear as well as a normal hearing person. My friends, family, and classmates no longer have to constantly repeat themselves. I don’t have to use closed captioning on TV anymore and I rarely miss pieces of conversations—even in noisy restaurants. It’s been an unbelievable life change for me, my family, and my friends.”

Deidre strongly encourages parents to have their children’s hearing professionally tested, and to assure that children with hearing loss obtain proper treatment.

”I didn’t wear my aids for years and now that I do my friends and family are happier – and I can participate in my life more than ever before. If you have untreated hearing loss, don’t wait another day. See your hearing health professional, ask for the right solution and be an active participant in your life again.”

Jim Ryun - World-class Runner & Congressman

World-renowned track star Jim Ryun, the first high school American to break the four minute mile barrier, used his experience with hearing loss to lead the Council for Better Hearing and Speech Month in 1993.

Ryun held the world record time for the mile at 3:51:1 for 9 years, and the high school mile record of 3:55:3 for 36 years. Proclaimed Sports Illustrated's 1966 Sportsman of the Year, Ryun has received numerous awards, including the AAU Sullivan Award for Best Amateur Athlete. A U.S. Olympic team member for three consecutive Olympics, Ryun received a silver medal for the 1500 meters in the 1968 Olympics in Mexico.

He is a frequent motivational speaker, an avid photographer and he represented the 2nd District of Kansas in the U.S. House of Representatives from 1996-2006. Ryun, a successful hearing aid user said of his public service work on behalf of better hearing, "I know what it has meant to me to be able to hear---a whole new world has opened up to me. So I am both grateful and excited to have the privilege of serving."

Congressman Ryun was the lead House sponsor of the hearing aid tax credit in the 108th and 109th Congress. The legislation would provide a tax credit for people who purchase hearing aids, and efforts continue to enact the legislation.

Mike Singletary - Football Hall of Famer

Star linebacker for the world champion Chicago Bears he finished as the team's first or second leading tackler each of his last 11 seasons. In his career he had 1488 tackles (885 solo), 51 passes defensed, 12 fumble recoveries and 7 interceptions. He was selected as all-pro eight times, all-NFC nine straight years, and to ten consecutive Pro Bowls. He was voted defensive player of the year twice. A constant force on defense, he missed playing just two games in his career with the Bears. He had 13 tackles and a sack in the playoffs leading up to the Bears' 46-10 defeat of the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XX. The Bears' league-leading defense held the Patriots to a record low seven yards rushing, while the hard-charging Singletary contributed with two fumble recoveries. Mike and his wife Kim did joint public service announcements on television for BHI to emphasize the point that hearing loss is a family problem; and that often it is the spouse who encourages the person with a hearing loss to get help. Mike says "When it comes to sacking a quarterback, I don't let anything stand in my way. The same goes for my hearing problem." Mr. Singletary tackled his hearing problem with hearing aids.

Arnold Palmer - Legendary Golfer

Associated Press named him Athlete of the Decade in the 1960s. He has won 92 professional golf championships in his career including won the Masters Tournament four times, 1958, 1960, 1962 and 1964, the U.S. Open in 1960 and the British Open in 1961 and 1962. He is an esteemed golf course designer, holds six honorary doctorates and is the founder of the Arnold Palmer Hospital for Children & Women. Having defeated hearing loss with hearing aids he devotes substantial time promoting the value of treating hearing loss. In a recent interview he stated the following: "I've noticed the sound of the golf ball being hit by the golf club is different and much more realistic with the hearing aids." The sound with the hearing aids makes sense and better represents what I know is happening to the golf ball. So you could say that the hearing aids help give me confidence regarding my golf game. "I've been wearing hearing aids for a long time," he says. "The technology available now is simply unbelievable. When I compare the new digital products to what we had 30 years ago, it's an amazing difference. The products have improved dramatically, and fortunately, they'll just continue to get better."

Jeff Float - Olympic Gold Medalist

Mr. Float was captain of the 1984 U.S. Olympic swim team, which set a world record in the men's 4 x 200-meter freestyle relay. He wears two hearing aids to correct his hearing loss. Jeff reported, "I had viral meningitis at the age of 13 months that caused a permanent loss of 60-80% of my hearing. My very supportive parents sent me to a famous clinic when I was three, where I was fitted with hearing aids and introduced to the fundamentals of communicating effectively in a hearing world. I owe thanks to the rapid advancement in hearing aid technology combined with lip reading and speech therapy techniques. Winning a gold medal and overcoming a hearing handicap took many years of parents, practice, keeping things in proper perspective and above all, a deep desire to excel to the best you can be. My motto throughout high school and college was "it is better to have tried and lost than to have never tried at all".

Excerpt from Better Hearing Institute: www.betterhearing.org

January 2011