Professional Soccer Player with Hearing Aids Embodies Inclusion
Team sports like soccer are sports that require communication. This poses a challenge for people with hearing loss—but it shouldn't stop them!
Simon Ollert has been medically deaf since birth—and is a professional soccer player. He perceives sounds above 100 decibels (comparable to a chainsaw) as a soft whisper. While he can understand some things with hearing aids, in the noisy environment of a soccer stadium he relies exclusively on his eyes. “There are situations where other players definitely have an advantage: When I have my back to an opponent, I don’t know which side he’s coming from,” says Ollert, for example, describing the challenges on the field.
Sharpened Senses Due to Deafness
Keen vision is an advantage Ollert often has over his teammates and opponents: “I recognize many situations sooner than others. My peripheral vision has improved significantly.” And even though he can’t understand his teammates, Ollert wears his hearing aids on the field as well. After all, what would a striker be without celebrating a goal? “When I score a goal, I just enjoy the noise, even if I can’t make out the details. But I can still soak up the atmosphere.”
Children with hearing impairments build self-confidence at soccer camps
Ollert attributes the scarcity of deaf professional athletes primarily to a lack of self-confidence among children and teens with hearing impairments. After all, if you’re constantly told you can’t do something, you’ll eventually start to believe it yourself! To give affected children confidence in their own abilities, Ollert regularly organizes soccer camps for children and teens with severe hearing loss. “The teens can learn to compete with others and, in a playful setting, gain self-confidence and courage. Our goal is to support the development of children with hearing loss.”
Inclusion begins with openness in our interactions
Ollert advocates against treating children with disabilities with excessive sensitivity. “Inclusion begins with completely open interaction between people without disabilities and people with disabilities. Unfortunately, both worlds tend to hide from each other a little.” In addition, even simple measures such as subtitles in movie theaters or announcements that can be read along with the audio can significantly lower the barriers for deaf people in everyday life.
To learn what you should keep in mind when playing sports with hearing aids, check out our article “Playing Soccer with Hearing Aids.” Or test your hearing right now online at the soccer stadium.
