Warragul’s Courtney Baker breaks down hearing loss stigma
This Warragul woman endured bullying and shame because of her hearing loss, until she launched an earring brand and shared her story. Now she inspires others to love their ears.
COURTNEY Baker hasn’t always loved her ears.
For decades, she thought their impairment would make her life forever difficult; they were a shame to be hidden.
Which is why she still can’t quite believe that her successful jewellery business, public speaking platform and disability awareness campaign have all been inspired by her ears.
“I was born with my hearing loss,” explains the 40-year-old from Warragul, in Gippsland, who is deaf in her left ear and has just 40 per cent hearing in her right, due to a permanent sensorineural condition.
“I did try to wear hearing aids. But back in the ’80s they weren’t that great; big and clumsy.
“I was really badly bullied in primary school because of my hearing aids.
“It all first started in Grade 2. Kids are really unaware of stuff at that age.”
By age 11, Courtney was swamped by the daily humiliation.
“I spent a lot of my time in the art room and library because I didn’t feel safe enough to go out in the playground,” she says.
“So after that I never, ever wore a hearing aid.”
Her day-to-day struggle to hear, and resulting lack of confidence and stress about her disability, finally became unbearable about seven years ago. “I got to the point in my life where I couldn’t do it any more, and technology had really advanced,” Courtney says. “So I got a hearing aid, which was really life-changing.”
With new-found confidence, Courtney started an administration job.
“I had a really great boss, where I worked. He was really inclusive and really accommodating.
“I worked with him for a year and after that year he retired and I got a new boss. That’s when my work environment changed a lot.”
The office became open-plan, more people moved in, and the noise level escalated. Courtney says the new work environment affected her ability to do her job.
Attempts to make the situation better did not alleviate Courtney’s stress.
So she quit.
“I ended up leaving because I was so stressed,” she says. “I really hated my disability.”
Memories of school days in the art room flooded back, and craft filled her void again.
“I felt I might make some earrings for myself. It might make my ears look nicer and I might feel a bit better about my hearing loss and disability,” she says.
After a few months of experimenting, she was creating gorgeous, vibrantly coloured resin earrings that she was proud to wear.
“It really boosted my confidence a bit,” she says. “Colour can have a really powerful impact on the way you feel about yourself. And
people started noticing them.”
Family and friends wanted a pair. Then orders started to come in, and Courtney created a Facebook page.
Next, she met with a marketing expert to learn how to build her brand, Flluske, which means “bubble” in Albanian.
“We went through how it all began, and I really made the connection between the earrings and my hearing loss,” Courtney says.
The penny dropped: her earring business made her love her ears, and opened the door for Courtney to share her story and teach people about hearing loss.
“I wrote a social media post one day explaining how it all began. And why I made them and what I hoped people would feel from wearing my earrings. It was the most terrifying moment of my life.”
The response was amazing.
“People with hearing loss started to buy my earrings because it made them feel empowered as well.”
Orders for her beautifully crafted jewellery poured in from around the globe.
After three years of trading, she has sold 9456 pairs. She hopes to hit 10,000 by the end of the year.
The way her message resonated with thousands of people also gave her the push to start public speaking, educating schools and corporate groups about how easy it is to include people with hearing impairment in workplaces and day-to-day life.
When COVID-19 hit, and face coverings became mandatory, it presented another layer of challenge.
“My hearing aid still doesn’t give me perfect hearing,” Courtney says. “I need to heavily rely on lip reading. I was full of dread.”
Courtney’s research revealed government rules that made it lawful to remove masks if people with hearing impairment need to read lips.
Knowing one in six Australians live with hearing loss, she decided educating the public about the exemption was vital. She teamed up with her friend, Lauren Murphy, to design posters explaining the simple rules and distribute them to local businesses.
“The response has been absolutely incredible,” she says. “Everywhere I go in Warragul, I see my face on doors and in shop windows.”
Ultimately, she says she advocates for disability awareness to inspire others to love their ears and stand up for their own rights.
“Once you make people feel empowered, that is where the change happens,” she says.
“This experience has completely changed my life.”
Courtney Baker is a nominee in The Weekly Times Shine Awards, supported by Harvey Norman.
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