Becoming a professional soccer player despite having profound hearing loss
Soccer
Sonova’s newsroom features the story of a German boy who has relentlessly been pursuing his dream of becoming a professional soccer player.
With the month-long Euro soccer competition to start in France today, one person who will definitely be watching the matches is Simon Ollert from southern Germany. From a young age, he knew what his life dream would be: to become a professional in his favorite sport.
And Simon has not let hearing loss stand in his way. He was found to have profound hearing loss at just 2 years of age and was fitted with Phonak hearing aids soon after that. “When Simon got the hearing aids, he never wanted to take them off; they were his favorite thing,” explains his father. Simon is now 18 years old and has been playing in the youth squad at FC Ingolstadt since summer 2015.
“My story shows just what you can achieve despite hearing loss. I have a great life and don’t feel restricted in the slightest,” says Simon. He is looking to the future with confidence, and adds “I have always set myself goals and always achieved them. If you really want something, you’ll get it.”
Sonova has produced a short film based on the young soccer player’s story, showing how the company helps people to achieve greater quality of life. The film called “Life without Limitations” has received a gold award at the International Commercial Film Festival – the largest competition for commercial films from the German-speaking world.
Source: Sonova
