‘Shark Tank’: How Daymond John Discovered He Had a Hearing Loss
FUBU owner Daymond John of Shark Tank has been open about his challenges in life, including dyslexia and realizing he had some loss of hearing. The fashion mogul assumed his hearing was fine until he attended a conference specializing in improving the auditory sense.
Daymond John noticed a difference with a hearing aid
John revealed that he thought it was normal have clouded hearing, often needing the volume on a device turned up or people speak a bit louder.
“I can’t pinpoint the exact moment that I realized I had trouble hearing, but I can remember always thinking that other people were mumbling or that a TV wasn’t on loud enough,” he said, according to the Starkey blog. “But honestly, I didn’t think it was a problem.”
When he received an invitation for an event with a nonprofit organization that provides hearing aids, John learned what he had been missing. Once the famous Shark tried on the hearing aids himself, he discovered he had some auditory loss that needed to be checked out.
“I was invited to a Starkey Hearing Foundation event and had the chance to try on a hearing device,” he recalled. “That’s when I knew. It was like night and day and I know that I needed to get tested and figure out what was going on.”
‘Shark Tank’ star prefers red
John noted that while many people may feel self-conscious about wearing hearing aids, they need to consider the life-changing benefits they can bring.
“I would encourage them to try and drown out the noise and drown out the haters,” the FUBU founder said. “There is a lot of stigma around wearing hearing aids. I get that. But at the end of the day, hearing aids can drastically improve your quality of life. Isn’t that worth it?”
The Shark Tank star chose a more vibrant color rather than the drab beige for his hearing aids so others will notice and possibly view them in a different light.
“I wear red hearing aids because I want people to ask me about them,” he explained. “Normally, hearing aids are flesh tone and blend in. My custom red devices stick out and that’s why I love them.”
Daymond John liked his music loud
John attributes his hearing loss to listening to music at extremely high levels when he was a teenager.
“I’d also been on music tours since I was 14 years old, so I was always too close to the speaker,” he remarked, according to CNN. He sought more information on his hearing condition after his first experience with hearing aids and got some answers. “I was suffering from tinnitus [ringing-ear syndrome] in one ear and something else was going on in the other.”
The fashion mogul has always found that personal growth and opportunities often come from the challenges we face.
“I have this attitude about any challenges you have in life,” John said, as reported by The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. “You highlight it, address it, and then find out how to work around it. Figure out how to live with it.”
