Sarah Ann Mather: Growing up as a deaf musician and becoming a music teacher (BSL)

I was diagnosed with progressive hearing loss when I was 6 years old in school. I had passed my newborn hearing screening tests, but when I got to school, I always remember struggling to fully understand the teachers.

I was labelled as challenging and unable to succeed. However, when I was in year 1, a school hearing screening test confirmed my hearing was not at a normal level which explained why I struggled to understand teachers.

I remember getting my first hearing aid (at the time I just had one for my left ear as my left ear was worse than my right and still is.) I hated my hearing aid, as I’d recently got glasses. Throughout school, I was bullied for having both glasses and a hearing aid and would often refuse to wear it.

But I also loved music. I used to often wear big headphones and blast loud music (I’ve always had music louder than it should be, so inserting a formal apology to my neighbours here for over 20 years of that!) I always loved trying to read music and loved songs, even though I’d mishear the words.

I joined school choirs in primary school and started playing keyboard and recorder when I was 8 and then moved to piano when I was 12. I was always interested in musical instruments and how to play them alongside feeling the vibrations.

I was never allowed to take instrument lessons in school though and the reason was always my hearing loss. My teachers didn’t want me missing lessons due to being diagnosed with hearing loss.

As a result, my parents kindly put me in private music schools and spent most of my life learning to play piano, taking exams and also learning flute. I studied towards graded exams and theory exams with ABRSM and London College of Music.

Alongside music, I was a dancer and did ballet, tap and modern/jazz exams. I was always put down for my hearing loss and at times, underestimated. I got my second hearing aid when I was in year 9 to help me hear better prior to GCSEs as my right ear started going downhill. However, I always carried on with music. It was part of me and part of my journey.

I opted to do GCSE music in school; however, my parents had to fight for this to happen. Similarly, this was due to the fact I was deaf. I was the only deaf person in my year group in school and only person who wore hearing aids.

I had a teacher of the deaf come to school regularly to support me and support for speech and language throughout school as I was told I had delayed speech when I was in nursery/reception.

Teachers thought I wouldn’t succeed with GCSE music, despite being a Distinction student in all my music graded exams. After a long fight to study music, I was allowed to and got an A* overall. Likewise, this was the same for A Level Music.

At University I studied primary teaching with a music subject specialism, as a way of giving back and hopefully inspiring children who may have disabilities or be deaf themselves. I was lucky to work with Manchester Camerata Orchestra for part of my degree and supporting schools in music education / composition work in schools.

I now work in a private music school (Presto! Music, Warrington) and I am the first deaf music and piano/keyboard teacher they have ever had. There have been some challenges such as struggling to hear over the phone and having to tell people in work that I’m deaf however, I love my job.

Alongside that, I teach primary music education in schools. At first, I was scared to teach with my hearing aids on show, however, now I’m proud of it. If children ask, I’m honest and tell them. Being deaf has made them see that you can achieve anything with hearing loss.

I have had so many bumps with my hearing loss journey, but now, over 20 years later and being profoundly deaf in my left ear and moderately deaf in my right, I feel like I can finally say I’m proud of it.

I will never be the next Whitney Houston of music, but can play piano, I can teach music and can play multiple instruments including flute, recorder, basic drums/percussion, acoustic guitar, ukulele and mountain dulcimer.

Music will always be part of my life. I love feeling the vibrations of the music and feeling the music, which is a skill having hearing loss brings me. I love teaching music and inspiring children. I’m finishing off studying my BSL levels in the hope of specialising in music education for Deaf Children.

David A Jones (Presto! Music Director) was fascinated when I said to him, I would love to eventually start my own classes for D/deaf/Hard of Hearing children or adults one day and encourage those with hearing loss to learn piano/keyboard.

In primary school music education, I removed “actions” from songs and replaced them with BSL signs, and it has helped so many children, not just those with hearing loss but children with communication difficulties and other difficulties too.

D/deaf/Hard of Hearing people have unique ways of engaging with music. We can be visual and enjoy reading the music, feeling the music through vibrations, even working on aural skill through hearing devices. It’s such a broad spectrum and even Beethoven lost his hearing later in life.

A lot of people forget this, but people with hearing loss can engage with music and sometimes even outperform those with full hearing.

Music education is something I’m proud to do and hope to continue to work with children in their music journeys throughout the future.

By Sarah Ann Mather