Daisy Kent is a fan favorite on the 28 season of the bachelor.. She is 25 years old and has a cochlear implant. Daisy was born hearing and slowly lost her hearing after acquiring Lyme disease as a child. Throughout her journey on The Bachelor, Daisy has given us an inside look into what exactly her life entails with a cochlear implant and how it has shaped her.
Daisy once was an account executive but now runs her very own nonprofit organization in which she works to ensure that children with disabilities feel both included and accepted. Student Kylie Porter has had a cochlear implant for the past three years. She says she is thankful for what Daisy is doing and the awareness she is bringing to those in the deaf community. Prior to Daisy being on the show cochlear implants have rarely made appearances in such broad forms of media. “Not only have I never watched a show with someone so similar to me before but I also love hearing her story. It makes me feel so understood,”Kylie said. Daisy has inspired many viewers both deaf and hearing.
On the show, we hear her talk about how life and sound changes when getting a cochlear implant. We know that it is a gradual process to reach full volume. In the first stages of turning on a cochlear implant, there is a very high possibility for sounds to not be as one might remember. For example, Daisy said that in the initial stages of turning her cochlear on everyone sounded like chipmunks. “It was kind of funny. At first, everyone sounded sort of robotic to me. I felt as though people’s voices were entirely different,”Kylie said. Over time normalcy is returned to the user as they get more comfortable with their cochlear implant and as they progress through the stages of turning it one.
Back in August Daisy published a children’s book about her hearing loss. The book is titled “Daisy Doo: All The Sounds She Knew” This book follows a little girl and her time while rediscovering sound. The book is a reflection of Daisy’s real life and experiences. “I wish there were more books like this when I was a child. I think I would have had a lot less insecurities growing up with books like this around me,”Kylie says. Having Daisy on such a popular show is absolutely beautiful. She is such a kind woman who is incredibly brave for sharing her story with so many viewers. Everyday she works to inspire all of us and I would say she is doing so extremely successfully at the moment.
