There is ability in every disability

IT is said that blindness separates people from things, but deafness separates people from people. For some people, losing their sense of hearing means being at a disadvantage in society — having to cope with a handicap. But for 37-year-old Davina Barrett, losing her sense of hearing has never stopped her from living a ‘normal’ life. In fact, she has discovered her ability given her disability.

At 23 years old, Barrett was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss, a condition that worsened as she aged. Before this diagnosis, however, her condition went undetected by most people she came in contact with, including close family members. Because of this, she said her academic performance was negatively impacted.

“My academics suffered. I was scoring low grades because I failed to hear correctly and I became depressed and antisocial during a period of my life,” Barrett recalled.

In 2010, at age 31, Barrett’s moderate hearing loss was correctly diagnosed. After several ENT visits, probes and hearing aids, Barrett was diagnosed with chronic rhinitis, a disorder in the body that is linked to excessive mucus production and environmental factors.

“Although I had knowledge that much effort was being used to listen when engaging in conversations, it never came to my realisation that I was losing my hearing,” Barrett said.

This diagnosis came weeks after Barrett’s entry in the Jamaica Amateur Bodybuilding and Fitness Association contest in 2010. She said at this point she was not sure if she could follow through with all the mandatory poses that were required of her on stage, on account of her erratic hearing loss.

“My hearing loss fluctuates from very bad hearing days to not-so-bad hearing days, but I thought it was a golden opportunity to help the sport of bodybuilding to grow locally,” she said.

That year (2010) Barrett placed first in the JABBFA National Championships women’s physique category. She noted that preparations leading up to the bodybuilding competition are always exciting — the rush, the drive to look better than the previous year. In the same breath she’s always reminded of her constant struggle with chronic rhinitis (allergies) and free radicals — a struggle which places a restriction on her and her ability to gain weight, as she can become allergic to some food groups while preparing for a show.

“I have to be careful of what I consume and the quantity in which I do so, as allergies affect not just my hearing but other bodily functions,” Barrett noted.

Despite being hearing-impaired, she has reaped a huge level of success in the sport, winning the women’s physique category at the Ms Jamaica Competition for six years running, and is one of the few ‘true’ female bodybuilders in Jamaica. Barrett walked away with both the women’s physique title and the women’s physique overall in the Supligen/JABBFA National Championship held on August 27 of this year, moving her title count up to six. What motivated her to enter bodybuilding, she said, was to grow in a healthy discipline and reflect positivity on the fitness fraternity.

Now a fitness trainer/personal trainer, Barrett describes herself as being very sociable although her hearing loss has got worse.

“I no longer allow this disability to control my life. I have learned to fight all my fears of not hearing well and I am very thankful for the percentage of hearing which I have left,” Barrett said.

She noted that being disabled has taught her to fight smarter and harder for her personal development and has made her a stronger individual. The support Barrett has received from her family and friends is a major factor behind her continuous thrust to not limit herself, but instead to continuously improve and contribute to nation building like every other Jamaican citizen. But she said that some family members and friends are still learning to accept her condition.

For Barrett, her good and bad days with hearing loss is like a switch — there are days when her hearing loss gets very bad, where she has to do lip reading as her hearing aids won’t work for her because of a rare loss of hearing frequency closer to the brain. Her plan is to do sign language in the near future, and she is still very optimistic about becoming a professional athlete.