Teen Toy Show harpist: 'Being diagnosed as deaf is the best thing to happen to me’

Úna Walsh was 7 when she began to learn the stringed instrument, but it wasn’t until she was 10 that she realised she had serious hearing issues

Harpist Úna Walsh from Wexford: Úna’s life changed when she was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of 10

When Úna Walsh was five she saw a harpist on The Late Late Toy Show, and decided she wanted to play the harp. Her mother, Barbara, encouraged her to start with the fiddle. “She made a deal with me, and said, ‘If you stick to the fiddle for two years, when you turn seven, you can start the harp’. So that Christmas I got my first harp,” says Wexford girl Úna.

Years later, in 2021, Úna, now 17, got to play her harp on The Toy Show. “It was the experience of a lifetime,” she says.

Úna was diagnosed with profound hearing loss at the age of 10. It had been missed at a screening in primary school. She says: “It wasn’t picked up, because the examiner didn’t cover their mouth. So, at the age of five, I read the whole exam, basically, so no one ever suspected a change.”

Úna’s hearing loss went undiagnosed, because she was so good at lip reading. It became apparent during a music class taught by her mother, who noticed Úna was shouting and brought her for a hearing test. When an audiologist confirmed that she was almost profoundly deaf, Úna was confused. “This was just my normal. I didn’t realise that everybody else didn’t hear like this,” she says.

Úna was fitted with her first hearing aid soon after, and noticed the improvement immediately. “I could hear sounds, I could hear doors shut, my mom’s voice was louder, I could hear my voice so much better,” she says. “But it also took me a while to get used to it; even the way I played the harp was now different.” As a deaf harpist, Úna has her own playing style. She relies heavily on vibration. “I relied fully from age seven to 10 on seeing the soundboard and seeing the strings,” she says, “Even now, I have amazing, top-class hearing aids, the best in the country, but I still rely heavily on vibrations.” People have commented on her distinct style of playing, “because when I play, I have to play with my head down close to the harp, instead of away from the harp”, she says.

When she is playing, Úna feels happy and confident. “It’s my favourite thing in the world. I play it every day, and it just instantly makes me happy, and that’s why I do it,” she says. “It’s kind of the only thing that I’m confident on. I sit down and, I’m like, OK, this is my thing.” Úna is a youth ambassador for Hidden Hearing, and is helping them to encourage people to prioritise their hearing health ahead of World Hearing Day on March 3.

Harpist Úna Walsh: “People put hearing loss as a disability, but I always call it my ability, and my mom always says it’s a superpower to have,” she says. “Without me being deaf, I probably wouldn’t be where I am in regards to my music career."

Her message to other children with hearing loss is to see it as a strength. “People put hearing loss as a disability, but I always call it my ability, and my mom always says it’s a superpower to have,” she says. “Without me being deaf, I probably wouldn’t be where I am in regards to my music career.

“In regards to life, I probably wouldn’t be where I am right now. So being diagnosed as deaf is probably the best thing to ever happen to me personally.”

Úna plans to be a primary school teacher with sign language, and believes deaf children can achieve anything they want. “I’ve definitely been told I can’t do stuff, that I can’t achieve things, and I like to think I’ve proved them wrong,” she says. “Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do anything just because you’re deaf. Just have dreams and believe in yourself and then you’ll definitely get there.”

Úna wants people to know how important it is to include deaf people in social situations. “I’ve literally got into the car with my mom, and I’ve just burst in to tears out of pure and utter frustration,” she says. “If you’re in a social situation and you turn your back on a deaf person, without even realising it you’re immediately excluding them from the conversation, because they can’t see your mouth, they can’t hear you, they can’t feel the vibrations. So I would say to anyone who isn’t deaf, just be aware and always talk to the deaf person.”

Making an effort to learn sign language also means a lot. “There was one time when a person learned sign language for me, and I remember I literally almost cried happy tears, because it meant so much. Even if anyone was to learn ‘hello’, ‘goodbye’, or ‘how are you?’ in sign language, they don’t realise how much it would mean,” she says.

As well as preparing to play at The Fleadh later this year, Úna is delighted to be receiving a medal for achieving a distinction in the highest grade of the SCT (Scrúdú Ceol Tíre) exams. “I think a handful are given out in the entire country,” she says. “I’ve got that coming up and I’m very excited.”

To mark World Hearing Day, Hidden Hearing is offering 20% off all hearing aids throughout March, Visit www.hiddenhearing.ie/