In August 2024, my painful, exhausting and distressing journey with hearing loss and tinnitus began.

It was a day like any other. I was enjoying an outdoor yoga class on English Bay in Vancouver, BC when suddenly, I lost hearing in my right ear. It felt painful and plugged; I felt off balance. I started to hear a deafening, high-pitched ringing, which hasn't stopped since.

I thought it would just go away. When it didn't, I went to several doctors, specialists and medical professionals seeking help.

My ENT diagnosed me with sudden sensorineural hearing loss (SSNHL) and tinnitus. This wasn't caused by loud noises or anything that I did; likely, I will never know the cause. I took a course of steroids prescribed by my ENT, including dexamethasone injected directly into my ear drum, and spent a month in the hospital in the hyperbaric oxygen chamber in hopes of recovering my hearing. Unfortunately, I didn't. Currently, there is no cure, and research is underfunded.

While I am learning to live with my new severe hearing loss, it's a constant struggle. Even with a hearing aid, it is still difficult to be in loud places and experience life the way I used to. The tinnitus I hear every waking moment is debilitating. I am constantly struggling to tune out the incredibly loud ringing noise. (The audiologist matched my tinnitus to 6667 hz. You can listen here. WARNING: turn down your volume.) It affects my work, social life and mental wellbeing. Losing my ability to experience silence has been devastating. I no longer feel like myself. I no longer have moments of peace and quiet.

Depression is very common for people with SSNHL and tinnitus. Soon after my diagnosis, I came up with the goal of hiking the 160-kilometre Cotswold Way in England, to write about it for Explore Magazine. It gave me something to look forward to and strive towards. Now, I'm about to embark on this epic trek, from June 11th to 24th, 2025.

Over the past nine months, I've experienced setbacks, stress, loss and grief. Through it all, I try to stay optimistic about the possibility of recovery. While hearing loss and tinnitus are not fatally dangerous health conditions, many people do not recover and experience constant anxiety, permanent distress or even lose their battle with depression over it. This has inspired me to help by raising money for research.

I believe we can find a cure for hearing loss and tinnitus. During my 160-km solo trek, I hope to raise $800 (ten dollars for each kilometre I walk) for research into these life-changing medical problems.

I searched for a Canadian organization to support, but ultimately, I decided on the HHF as it has the highest accreditation and its goals align with my own: not simply helping people cope with hearing loss and tinnitus, but finding a cure for everyone it affects.

Thank you for considering donating. Please do not leave a tip (you can adjust this when donating).

*If you are experiencing sudden hearing loss, this is a medical emergency. Please visit your nearest ER immediately.*

Hearing Health Foundation (HHF) envisions a world with permanent cures for hearing loss, tinnitus, and other disorders of the inner ear. We can achieve only this by empowering groundbreaking scientific research, and by promoting the importance of hearing health. Hearing loss affects more than 48 million people in the U.S., and more than 460 million people worldwide. Tinnitus affects an estimated 749 million people worldwide.