‘It’ll be something that I can connect with my patients’: Creighton nursing student born partially deaf hopes to inspire others

By Quanecia Fraser

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    OMAHA, Nebraska (KETV) — A soon-to-be Creighton nursing graduate was born deaf in one ear. Thanks to surgery and technology, she can hear a lot more clearly. But beyond that, she hopes to spread a message when it comes to hearing loss or any disability.

Most of Addison Waska’s friends know what used to be something she kept secret.

“I’m completely deaf in my right ear,” she told KETV Newswatch 7. “Any time someone talks to me from my right side — if it was a quiet space, like something like this, I could hear them. But if we were at a restaurant or in a classroom when it was loud, it was really hard for me to hear them.”

She also can’t always tell where distant sounds are coming from. And while she had a hearing amplifier that she could use growing up, Waska says she stopped using it once she got to middle school.

“I had a really hard time telling people about it,” Waska said. “Because I was just very self-conscious about it, and I didn’t grow up around a lot of people that had disabilities. So… I kind of kept it a secret from a lot of people.”

But earlier this year, Waska had surgery to receive a cochlear implant. She said that not only improved her hearing but her confidence to embrace what she was once embarrassed about.

“(The implant) just kind of pushed me to feel a lot more confident because I want other people that have the same thing going on to be able to feel comfortable with their disability and be able to feel comfortable sharing it with other people,” she said.

In less than two weeks, Waska will cross the stage to graduate from nursing school.

“It’ll be something that I can connect with my patients on if they are also deaf or have hearing loss,” she said.

And she’s ready to let them know that they’re far from alone.

“And I think that, the things we go through with disabilities or hearing loss makes us stronger people and we have a different perspective on life as well,” Waska said.

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