How Did ‘Bachelor’ Contestant Daisy Kent Lose Her Hearing?
A contestant on Joey Graziadei’s season of The Bachelor lost her hearing. Daisy Kent is open about what she’s been through with hearing loss and what caused it. Keep reading to find out more about her journey.
How did Bachelor contestant Daisy Kent lose her hearing?
Bachelor contestant Daisy Kent has already faced some tough struggles in her 25 years of life. When Daisy was only 15, her troubles began. According to a report from CBS, her father had a hard time waking her up one morning.
Daisy said, “He was shaking me, and I was like, ‘This is weird.’ I looked at him, I couldn’t hear him, then sat up and realized something was wrong with my left ear.”
She went on to share what she was feeling. Daisy said, “It started as a lot of high-pitched ringing and then just progressively got worse, and I couldn’t understand speech very well.”
She was a very outgoing person until this happened. Daisy said, “It was super isolating. When you’re going through something like that, you do feel alone in ways, because it’s your way to communicate with people and express yourself.”
It took time to figure out what had happened to her hearing. However, at the age of 17, she was diagnosed with Meniere’s disease. Still years later at the age of 21, Daisy was also diagnosed with Lyme disease which they believe caused her to have Meniere’s. Meniere’s is a disorder of the inner ear.
When she decided to get cochlear implants
Daisy Kent tried hearing aids but unfortunately, they didn’t work for her. Unfortunately, her speech recognition remained distorted. This is when Daisy started researching cochlear implants.
After her parents made the suggestion, she even decided to start a TikTok to document her journey. It wasn’t until March 2023 that she got her implant. She shared every step of her journey from the surgery at UC San Diego Medical Center through her painful recovery to the monumental activation of her cochlear implant. The TikTok of her hearing for with the implant for the first time is below.
@daisyykent My first time hearing with a Cochlear implant 💘🦻🏻🧘🏼♀️ #cochlearimplant #cochlearimplantawareness #autoimmunedisease #healingjourney #fyp #sandiego #cochlear #hearingdifferent #hearyourheart #vertigo #deafcommunity #menieresdisease #sandiego #hearingloss #hearingimpaired #lymedisease #lyme
Daisy wrote a book
Daisy Kent realized she wasn’t alone when many started interacting with her videos. So, she also decided to write a children’s book to help those going through similar journeys. She also documents medical treatments on social media as she went through Lyme disease treatments as well.
She said, “I always wanted to write a children’s book and when I got the surgery, I realized there were a lot of emotions I went through. I was so scared; there was a lot of unknowns.” She hopes kids, parents, and even doctors will benefit from her book. The book shows what it feels like “to love sounds and have them taken away and be so scared, and then all of them come back to you.”
On top of all that, Daisy also started a non-profit organization called Hear Your Heart, which aims to help others pay for costly expenses associated with cochlear implant surgery.
Daisy continues to make progress and hopes her word recognition will reach 100%. Right now she only has the implant in her left ear. However, the hearing in her right ear still fluctuates so it’s uncertain if she will need an implant in that ear down the road.
Daisy is a huge advocate for educating others on cochlear implants. Are you excited to see Daisy on Joey’s season? Don’t miss it when The Bachelor premieres January 22 on ABC.
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