Musician Nhlanhla Mafu, who is part of the award-winning music duo Mafikizolo, has opened up about how she partly lost her hearing ability.
Mafu, who has been in the music industry for 26 years, said she is undergoing treatment at LS Audiology Hearing & Balance to prevent the condition from worsening.
Hearing loss that comes on little by little as you age, also known as presbycusis, is common.
There are three types of hearing loss that are conductive, which involves the outer or middle ear. Sensorineural involves the inner ear and mixed, which is a mix of the two.
Aging and being around loud noise can cause hearing loss. Other factors that cause this can be too much earwax, which can lower how well ears work for a time. Usually, you cannot get hearing back, but there are ways to improve what you hear.
In a video clip she shared on her social media, Mafu said she was on a journey to bring awareness to people living with hearing loss.
She said there were some points in her life where she felt really embarrassed. When she had to do interviews, her music partner Theo Kgosinkwe had to always repeat questions for her so she could hear.
When she would be around friends in social settings, they laugh and she would also laugh not knowing what they were laughing at.
“I couldn’t hear and I was really embarrassed to say I have this problem until I realized that I am doing this for my own good and I needed to do it. I felt the longer I let it go, the longer my hearing problem keeps getting worse,” she said.
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