"Deafness taught me how to hear", says Pedro Neschling when remembering his diagnosis

Actor Pedro Neschling, 43, shared an account of his experience with a late diagnosis of deafness. Son of actress Lucélia Santos and conductor John Neschling, the artist stated that he spent years without receiving adequate guidance to begin an auditory rehabilitation process.

While participating in the program Sem Censura, led by Cissa Guimarães, Pedro explained that the first doctor who accompanied him minimized the condition and did not advise him to use hearing aids.

"I was misdiagnosed by the ENT at the time, who told me that, as I already had enough social adaptations to live my life, I didn't need to get braces. So I thought that that difficulty I was experiencing, that tiredness I felt, that paranoia that I had to constantly look around to understand everything were part of me, a normal part that everyone had", he began.

The star revealed that it was only at the age of 30 that another specialist showed him how much the loss affected his routine.

"After having done soap operas, plays, and having been working since I was 18, an ENT turned to me and said: 'Look, it's a miracle that you have a social and professional life with the hearing loss you have. Get out of here and immediately go test a device and you'll see how your life will change'. And then I got the device for the first time."

Pedro added that personal experience motivated him to speak publicly about the issue, with the aim of raising awareness among others.

"You only know what you don't have after you start to have it. So I had no way of knowing what I didn't hear before I started listening. And that changed a lot of things for me. It was natural that I started talking [about hearing loss] because nowadays I seek to disseminate this information, this knowledge. I want to end the stigma that deafness is a problem or that any disability is a damning card", he pointed out.

The artist said he believes that his hearing loss brought him an unexpected lesson.

"I always say that deafness taught me how to listen. I have a characteristic of liking talking to people, because, for me, listening is an exercise. I need to be focused on what you are saying. So deafness taught me how to listen."

Source: CNN