‘The Bachelor’ star Daisy Kent shares hearing loss journey — what to know about Ménière’s disease
NY Post
Last Monday, “The Bachelor” contestant Daisy Kent stole America’s hearts while courting the Season 28 lead, Joey Graziadei, opening up about her profound hearing loss on their first one-on-one date.
The 25-year-old received a cochlear implant last year after losing her hearing, which she believes may have been triggered by Lyme disease and, subsequently, Ménière’s disease, an inner ear condition common in adults that causes poor fluid balance in the ear, tinnitus, vertigo and can destroy the cochlea, the hearing organ.
The Minnesota native has documented her journey from surgery to implant activation and beyond on TikTok, where she now boasts more than 142,000 followers and her candid conversation about her condition has inspired others experiencing hearing loss.
“There’s a stigma with hearing loss, and there’s a stigma with hearing aids as well,” board-certified ENT otolaryngologist Dr. Aaron Fletcher told The Post.
“If you’ve ever seen someone with a cochlear implant, it just looks different — it’s literally anchored into the skull with a magnet.”
According to Fletcher, there is no proven link between Lyme and Ménière’s disease, although Kent has said online that a combination of the two is what her doctors believe could be behind her hearing loss at such a young age.
