The woman from Phoenix speaks about the importance of World Hearing Day on March 3rd
A woman from Phoenix lost a large portion of her hearing 19 years ago and is now advocating for those like her with the Hearing Loss Association of America.
PHOENIX – – Wednesday is World Hearing Day, a day aimed at raising awareness and promoting ear and hearing care.
Melanie O’Rourke had normal hearing until 19 years ago when she contracted meningitis.
“When I woke up from the coma, I had severe hearing loss,” she said.
O’Rourke was 54 years old at the time and was getting used to her new normal. O’Rourke has bilateral cochlear implants that allow her to hear and understand speech.
“I hear in a different way. I hear electronically, not the way you hear acoustically with your ear,” said O’Rourke.
At the time, O’Rourke was living in Chicago and working as a speech pathologist.
“It’s very exhausting and exhausting, and so it was doable to do a full-time job with the cochlear implants, but it was a lot harder than it was before,” she said.
She was able to retire prematurely and move to Phoenix in 2005, where she stood for the Hearing Loss Association of America. O’Rourke worked his way up to become president of the West Valley Chapter.
“This will allow me and the other board members to reach out to people with hearing loss, provide them with information and education about accessories, and take the first step towards becoming an audiologist,” said O’Rourke.
According to the Hearing Loss Association of America, approximately 48 million Americans have some degree of hearing loss. According to O’Rourke, it’s important to connect people with hearing loss with the resources they need.
“We’re here to help with virtual meetings. There have been problems with the masks. Clear masks are available to people,” said O’Rourke.
She wants to encourage people with good hearing to remember, “We want to hear and we want to judge what you said and whether or not we want to hear it again, and this is important for people with hearing loss.”
For more information from the Hearing Loss Association of America, click here www.hearingloss.org/
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