A partially deaf dancer is one of the first in the UK to wear a new waterproof hearing aid.
Kirsty Swain, 30, from Hackbridge, finished fourth in the BBC talent show, So You Think You Can Dance, last summer.
She has now been unveiled as one of the first people in the UK to wear the Siemens waterproof and shock resistant hearing instrument, Aquaris.
The hearing instrument has opened up a whole new world to the jazz dancer who has spoken out against the stigma associated with hearing loss.
As a child she was excluded and embarrassed to wear her hearing aids and her active lifestyle as a dancer, teacher and performer has posed a number of issues.
Unable to find a hearing aid that could withstand the sweat and rigours of dancing, she preferred to dance without.
As a result, her dancing career has been shaped by the struggle to hear rhythm and she has learned to dance by music vibrations and copying others to pick up routines.
She said: “I have had trouble in the past with hearing instruments getting sweaty, slipping and being uncomfortable when exercising, but with the Aquaris I can run along hearing everything, without the slightest problem.
“I’ve been swimming with it and couldn’t believe how amazing it was. I could hear people standing beside the pool chatting as I swam underwater, more than most people, which made me feel quite special.”
She was also fitted with a miniTek, which uses Bluetooth technology to wirelessly communicate sound between her Aquaris hearing instrument and television, mobile phone and MP3 player.
Resource :http://www.suttonguardian.co.uk/news/9469393.Good_vibrations_for_BBC_deaf_dancer_s_hearing_aid/
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