By Nana Ama Gyapong
Hearing or auditory perception is the ability to perceive sounds through an organ, such as the ear, by detecting vibrations as periodic changes in the pressure of a surrounding medium. As humans, we have five senses that aid us, and if one of them gets destroyed, it makes it difficult to communicate or understand.
Fred Addo was eight years old when his father slapped him and ended his sense of hearing. Sharing his story on the GTV Breakfast Show with Kafui Dey in sign language with a translator, he said, “I wasn’t born deaf, but as time went on, my father started drinking alcohol, and anytime I acted wrongly, he would wait for nightfall and he would start slapping and beating me.”
He continued, “As the slapping continued, I started developing a problem in my ear, and that made my mom take me to the hospital, but my father refused to go. The nurses poured hot water in my ears, and blood began to ooze out, and anytime my mom spoke to me, I found it very difficult to hear her, and that’s how my hearing problem started.”
Again, Fred made us understand that people kept giving him hope that when he grows up, things will be different, but unfortunately, it didn’t get any better. Unfortunately, life hasn’t been easy for him at all, especially when it comes to securing a job in this country in his situation.
Fred studied civil engineering, and his wish is to get a hearing aid in order to help him in his daily activities.
