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<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><figcaption>Read the full transcript here

Today’s guest on the All About Audiology podcast is Kellina Powell of Kellina Empowerment. Tune in for Kellina’s story. She remembers that at the age of 4, her hearing suddenly and drastically changed. She had an ear infection, and remembers that she did not receive appropriate care. Kellina talks about her experiences attended both hearing and deaf schools, including the challenges along the way. Now, she is passionate about spreading positivity and sharing her story to help others. 


This week on the All About Audiology podcast: 

3:00 – Young kids remember experiences and it is critical to ensure comfort and safety to avoid future trauma

4:00 – Kellina shared her discomfort with being in the hospital, without understanding her surroundings. The physical atmosphere at medical centers and offices affects a childs experience.

6:00 – Demonstrating the use of a hearing aid by using a teddy bear helped Kellina feel comfortable with using hearing aids.

7:00 – It is important to create positive associations between hearing aid technology for children. Parents and loved ones play a big role in supporting this process.

9:20 – Children who are living in both the hearing and Deaf communities, can find it hard to solidify their true identity and learn to advocate for themselves.

14:00 – Kellina’s message: Every child is different and a specialist needs to take each individual’s needs into consideration.


For more resources and research visit:
All About Audiology Website 
All About Audiology Facebook group  
All About Audiology Instagram
The Prodana pay-it-forward platform here: https://prodana.org/practioner/lilach-saperstein/audiology-counseling–dr–lilach-saperstein

Support the podcast:
https://www.patreon.com/join/allaboutaudiology

Connect with Kellina:
@deafqueenboss
kellinaempowerment.com


Mentioned in this episode:
https://www.sickkids.ca/
The Concept of Auditory Oral Rehab
Kellina’s upcoming book: Everyday I am just deaf

Related Episodes
The Ups and Downs of Tara’s Communication Journey – Episode 85
All About Educational Audiology – Episode 57 with Dr. Tina Childress
“Deaf Cochlear Implant User” All About You – Episode 16 with Toby Coleman</figcaption></figure>

Transcript:

Dr. Lilach Saperstein:

Welcome back to the All About Audiology Podcast. I’m your host, Dr. Liliach Saperstein. And this is the All About Audiology Podcast because it’s really so many things that intersect with the concept of Audiology, the field of Audiology. And really what’s so important and what we want to put the focus on are the people who need the services of Audiology and who are affected by the work of professionals, and my colleagues [such as] SLPs and such. So really who the focus is on is on Deaf and Hard of Hearing children who become Deaf and Hard of Hearing adults. That’s kind of the whole point of everything we’re doing is to support them and support the people who love them. So thank you for being a listener of the show. As a reminder, to our supporters on Patreon, it really means a lot to keep a show going. 

And today I’m very excited to introduce you to the guest Kellina Powell. We are connected on Instagram and we’ve been really excited to have this chat for so long. So welcome Kellina to the show. How are you doing?

Kellina Powell:

I am doing great. Thank you for having me today.

LS:

I would love to hear about your background, how you grew up. And just keep in mind that a lot of people who are listening to the show or reading the full transcript are mostly hearing parents of Deaf or HoH children, which is the most common setup there is. And learning from when you have a newborn baby or a toddler, saying what might their life be like in the future. So sharing your story is really helping so many families so I won’t interrupt anymore. Go ahead.

KP:

Thank you so much. Honestly, my story is very interesting. Get ready for popcorn. I became deaf at the age of 4 due to an ear infection. I had an ear drop. The daycare did not properly follow instructions. Unfortunately, that one day I went home, I lost my hearing. Literally in one day. My family found out because I didn’t realize my TV was on loud. I was in front of the TV; you know a typical four year old. And my family thought I was joking and I was just playing around. And I looked at my mom very seriously and I said ‘wait, I can’t hear you.’ And she looked at me [saying] like ‘I called you’ and I said ‘I can’t hear.’ And my mom thought I was joking, so she called my grandma. Luckily my grandma is a nurse, and my grandma was able to come home very quickly from work. [She] tried to figure out what was going on with me. My grandma did some testing with me when she came home to see if I was really deaf. And so it looked like I was deaf. So, my grandma said to my mom that I was not kidding, she is literally deaf. So right on the spot, my grandma and my mom called my family doctor to find out if there’s any booking space for me to come in. And so we went to my family doctor, we did more testing [there]. At this point. I was very annoyed because I was like ‘what is happening? I don’t know.’ So I was just getting mad and frustrated. Probably two hours later my doctor said, ‘unfortunately there’s nothing we can do.’ So from there, my life literally changed.

LS:

Yeah, a few things are standing out to me. First of all, four years old, and you remember it all – the experience of it and how everyone reacted. One piece that we talk about a lot is how much our children and us, when we were children, remember and know and experience. We’re full human people, even as children. 

LS and KP:

{Laugh}

And I think that’s one of those big messages that’s in my heart always to share and remind parents – that even though we have these tiny humans in our care, they really remember and experience our full human emotions. And communication with a child is so crucial. And also I want to say big kudos to your mom and your grandma for being so proactive. And believing you right away jumping in to see what was going on. Wow. So what happened next?

KP:

I went to a hospital called Sick Kid Hospital to speak with an Audiologist to do more testing [and] get myself a hearing aid. And when I got into Sick Kid Hospital, it was really funny: I was looking around and there’s a bunch of teddy bears on the wall. I didn’t think I was in a hospital actually, and I saw a lot of kids. And it was just  really cute, and I felt like I’d fit in. And when I went to the audiologist, and we did the testing booth. In the testing booth, I literally ripped off the tools out of my ears because I was like ‘why did you stick it in my ears’ and my grandma literally looked at my face [and said] ‘stop moving.’ So that when I know oh, she’s not playing, like I need to behave myself. And so that was being at the hospital, and I didn’t know I was in a hospital. I thought I was just doing something in my ears. So I did really bad in the booth. I was young. I didn’t even know what was happening. [I was thinking] why do I keep going to so many doctors. Traveling so much. The hospital- it’s like an hour from my house. So I was sitting there for so long. I don’t know what’s going on. So, when I came out of the booth, my grandma spoke to the audiologist and signed a bunch of paperwork because my mom was a young mom. She was in college at the time. So she was finishing her college program. So my grandma literally took over and helped with the bills because hearing aids are expensive. 

So now moving forward. Now school comes so that’s where my family had a very good discussion in terms of where to put me in. So we found out that there was a deaf school probably like 30 minutes away from my house at the time. And then there’s a hearing school three minutes walk [away]. So my