Tasha Ghouri Reveals How Confidence Was Knocked At 16 After Her Cochlear Implant Broke 'For Months'

25 July 2022, 17:36

Love Island star Tasha talks about cochlear implant on TikTok

Tasha Ghouri shared a TikTok about the difficulties she faced in her childhood after she was born deaf.

Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri, 23, is the show’s first ever deaf contestant and has been open about what she calls her ‘superpower’ during her time on the show.

Before heading into the villa she had a large following on social media after finding success as a dancer and a model, but as a child she faced a number of challenges while at school.

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In a TikTok video posted last year opening up about her experiences as a deaf person Tasha said she couldn’t hear or speak until the age of five as hearing aids didn’t work for her.

Instead, she communicated with sign language and had a carer with her in primary school.

She had surgery to get a cochlear implant at five years old, but then had to learn how to speak later than all of her classmates.

In her video she explained: “I had to have speech therapy and numerous hearing tests. In high school it mentally affected me, always comparing myself negatively, I never spoke about it, I always wore my hair down.”

The dancer revealed how she was left deaf once again after her cochlear implant broke in the middle of her A-levels.

She wrote: “At the age of 16 it broke when in the middle of my A-Levels, I had to have a re-operation, I couldn’t hear for months. My mental health deteriorated.”

However, Tasha found a passion for dancing and landed a place at a dance conservatoire and went on to star in music videos and adverts.

“I made the big move to London on my own at the age of 21,” she went on. “I got scouted on Instagram by a modelling agency. Since then I’ve been modelling for big brands like ASOS and Boux Avenue, I went viral for modelling an earring which showed my cochlear implant. Was in so many magazines and articles worldwide.”

She added that she’s ‘never had any models to look up to’ and is fighting to change that.

“It should be normal to have a model with a ‘disability’” she said, adding she’s ‘now so confident and happy within myself’ and is sharing her experiences to prove ‘having a super power shouldn’t stop you.’

Tasha’s dad rushed to her defence earlier this month after she received criticism on Love Island for tearing up whenever she found herself in the bottom of the public vote.

Her father urged people to remember she has ‘an extra pressure’ and has had far more knock backs in her life than most 23 year olds.

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