West Ham goalkeeper Mackenzie Arnold had put off dealing with her hearing loss until the coronavirus pandemic forced her to take action.
The Australian international didn't realize how much she relied on lip-reading until the introduction of masks started making daily life more difficult.
Arnold, 29, who has been wearing hearing aids since childhood, encouraged him to see a specialist in London, and in April 2023 Arnold collected his first pair of hearing aids.
Although he has yet to wear them in a match or training session, Arnold spoke to BBC Sport's Joe Currie about the life-changing moment and the impact wearing the hearing aids had on him.
“I think it was probably something me and my friends had going back and forth since I was 19 or 20, but it was a conversation where people would say I need hearing aids, and I'd say, 'I need hearing aids.' Well, whatever,’ and I let it go,” Arnold said.
“The first time I had a serious conversation was around the coronavirus, when everyone was wearing masks, and I started noticing that I was lip-reading more. did.
“I spoke to my brother, who has worn hearing aids all his life, and told him that he would have a hard time in noisy environments. It was a casual conversation at first, but my brother asked if I wanted him to contact a hearing center in London. got the ball rolling and I went from there.”
Arnold was reluctant to give up wearing hearing aids for the rest of his life, but he has now adapted.
the reaction she got to her social media video Announcing this news received an overwhelmingly positive response that Arnold had not expected.
“I didn't want to accept the fact that I might have to wear hearing aids for the rest of my life,” she said. “It was hard for me to accept it at first, it was definitely a gradual thing that I had to get used to, but now I love them.
“Originally I wanted to put out the video more for my own benefit. I didn't want to ask any questions, I didn't want to talk about it. It just helped me with the motivation to keep doing it.
“On the contrary, my mindset completely changed when I saw the response I got. I received messages from young children and their parents thanking me and saying I was an inspiration. But I never expected that to happen.
“A mother contacted me to thank me. Her daughter had been battling this disease for a long time, and it made me realize that I was trying to change the stigma around this disease. It’s something I personally never thought I would do.”
Despite Arnold's hearing aids making a positive difference in her life off the field, she decided not to wear them during matches to avoid damaging them.
This is particularly difficult for Arnold's West Ham manager, Lehane Skinner.
“On the weekend [against Bristol City]I could tell Rihanne was getting frustrated because I couldn't hear anything she was trying to tell me.
“It can be a little frustrating when the crowd gets a little louder, but I try to find the time between plays to get the right information.”
From the falling rain to the keys jingling in his partner's pocket, hearing simple things made the biggest difference for Arnold.
But Arnold isn't the only one to notice the change.
“When a lot of people were talking, I couldn't keep up and I was whispering a lot,” she said. “I found myself pulling away from conversations, which could lead to isolation, but I didn't realize that was why I was doing it.
“A few days later, I went to breakfast with Caitlin Ford.” [getting the hearing aids] She said, “It's so nice to be able to sit and have a conversation in a noisy environment and not have to mention myself three times.''
“It's been a roller coaster, but it's been worth it.”
You can watch the full interview with Mackenzie Arnold on Football Focus, Saturday 2 February at 12:00 GMT, on BBC iPlayer and BBC One.
