SAN DIEGO — Daisy Kent is capturing the attention of millions on TikTok with her inspiring story of living with profound hearing loss. With nearly 40,000 followers and videos generating millions of views, the 24-year-old has become a social media influencer, using her platform to spread awareness about the transformative power of cochlear implants.
Daisy's journey began nearly a decade ago at 15 when she started losing her hearing ability. She remembers her dad had trouble waking her up one morning. "He was shaking me, and I was like, 'This is weird,' she recalled. "I looked at him, I couldn't hear him, then sat up and realized something was wrong with my left ear," she 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 said. Daisy, who was once a social butterfly, started to withdraw. "It was super isolating," she said, despite being surrounded and supported by her family and friends. "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."
Doctors worked to determine the cause, and when she was 17 years old, they diagnosed her with Meniere's disease, a disorder of the inner ear. Later, at age 21, tests confirmed she also had Lyme disease, which she said likely caused her Meniere's disease.
When hearing aids didn't work for her because her speech recognition remained distorted, she started researching cochlear implants,
"I was going and looking for people who had them, and I was joining support groups on Facebook, and people were writing about it and sharing their experience with me, but didn't see anyone going through the process," Daisy recalled.
With the encouragement of her parents, she decided to get a cochlear implant and started documenting her experience on TikTok. "My parents said, 'You have this opportunity to turn it into something special,' and so I thought, 'I'm going to start posting, mainly for myself." The San Diego State University graduate knew it could be a good way to reflect on her progress while sharing her hopes and fears.
Daisy recorded every step of the process, from her surgery in March of 2023 at UC San Diego Medical Center through her painful recovery to the monumental activation of her cochlear implant. The video of her activation has generated more than 12 million views and counting.
Daisy is humbled by the interest and said it made her realize she is not alone. "The more I started posting about it, the more people my age started reaching out to me saying they're going through something similar," she explained.
Daisy loves bringing comfort to other cochlear implant patients, especially children. "I'll get messages from moms, and they'll send me videos of their kids being activated," Daisy said. One mom she talks to frequently said Daisy helped bring comfort to her son before his cochlear implant surgery. He told his mom, "I'm not nervous; I've seen Daisy on TikTok!"
She said this platform has opened up a new world of connections for her, and she enjoys answering people's questions about getting cochlear implant surgery.
She recently channeled her desire to reach more kids by publishing a children's book: Daisy Doo, All the Sounds She Knew.
"I always wanted to write a children's book," Daisy explained, "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 the book, which 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." She dedicated the book to her surgeon, Dr. Elina Kari, and the UC San Diego Health medical staff.
"I think she's a phenomenally positive and sincere human being," said Dr. Kari. She told me, "I love her desire to give back. She has given a voice to a generation of young people who suffer from hearing loss but don't feel like anyone understands them. She is a special patient with a huge heart."
Daisy has also started a non-profit organization called Hear Your Heart, which aims to help others pay for costly expenses associated with cochlear implant surgery.
Five months after surgery, Daisy said her word recognition has gone from a mere four percent to 70 percent, with her goal set at 100%. She sees an audiologist for regular training and therapy. The hearing in her right ear still fluctuates, and Daisy doesn't know if she will also need a cochlear implant in that ear.
"I just want to be an advocate, and I want to help empower people and show them what makes you unique, can still make you beautiful, and you can still do everything you want," said Daisy.
According to Cochlear Americas, only five percent of the nearly two million Americans who are potential candidates for cochlear technology have been treated. This is why Daisy's passion for educating people about cochlear implants is so important.
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