Loud and Clear

First wrestling, then new hearing aids, turned around life for Stafford man

BY TRACY BELL

Roger Stewart was born deaf – but he didn’t let that stop him.

The North Stafford resident developed an interest in wrestling in high school, where the sport became his outlet – an escape from the difficulty of living in a hearing world.

Today, he lives in Embrey Mill with his wife and stepchildren and coaches wrestling at Louisa County High School in Mineral. His job is made easier thanks to modern hearing-aid technology that’s improved his quality of life – a far cry from the struggle he felt growing up. Born premature with a hearing impairment, Stewart often felt isolated and alone. His parents, siblings and virtually everyone around him could hear, and he could not.

“My stepchildren learned at a very young age to accept disabled people and to ‘listen with their eyes and see with their ears,’” Stewart said. “Having a dad with a hearing impairment has been good for them, especially for my son, who has a speech impediment. Together, we learned how to overcome obstacles and find ways to communicate with each other.”

It wasn’t always that way for Stewart, who could communicate only through sign language and lip reading. He started wearing hearing aids at age 6 and was able to pick up some sounds, but his hearing and speech deteriorated. He recalled bouncing from school to school, relying on sign language and lip reading. His hearing aids became a nuisance instead of being much help. Stewart said he couldn’t hear those subtle sounds important to conversations, so he became frustrated and desperately wanted to live a vastly different life.

Enter the 1990s, when Stewart attended high school and was introduced to wrestling. It was at Woodbridge High School, where he graduated in 1997, that his life would turn around.

At the Prince William County school, he discovered that his struggles with sound disappeared while he was on the wrestling mat. The muffled background noise vanished, too. And because hearing aids are not allowed in wrestling competition for safety reasons, removing them allowed him to zero in solely on wrestling, which served as a strength.

For the first time, being deaf didn’t matter. It had no effect on what he did on the mat.

“It actually turned out to be an advantage,” Stewart said. And although he couldn’t hear the whistle that ended a wrestling match, that one negative paled in comparison to what wrestling did for him.

Stewart continued to struggle with his hearing outside of wrestling, though he went on to attend Norfolk State University and Old Dominion University.

He never let go of his love for wrestling, competing and coaching. Stewart even competed on the U.S. wrestling team in the 2022 Deaflympics in Brazil.

The Deaflympics – an International Olympic Committee-sanctioned event –brings elite deaf and hard of hearing athletes together from all over the world to compete in various sports. The athletes also develop a camaraderie with each other.

Stewart also was recently selected to to hear sounds in bits and pieces, and they were muffled and unnatural, when he heard anything at all. Now, he’s hearing clearly, and even taking in too much noise, at times – which is a blessing.

Stewart’s wife, Raichael, recalled the first time her husband put in his new hearing aids.

“His reaction after putting them in was priceless,” she said. “The look on his face was as if he was hearing for the first time.” compete in two world championships: the Deaf Senior Greco-Roman & Freestyle Wrestling Championships in September in Kyrgyzstan and the Veteran World Championships in October in Greece.

What he heard far surpassed what he was accustomed to – so much so that he eventually partnered with the company to tell his story as a spokesperson.

Stewart explained that he can communicate with everyone around him better, including his family – which has enjoyed a tighter bond – and his wrestling team, through a sport he’s still passionate about after all these years.

Eventually, Stewart learned about Widex Moment hearing aids after talking with his audiologist, who thought they might benefit him. They did.

After wearing the same hearing aids for 10 years, Stewart discovered a whole new world thanks to newer technology. He used

Stewart also can connect better with his students at the high school, where he works as an assistant teacher of American Sign Language. Communicating on car rides, at medical appointments, on evening walks, at social events, during the family routine, and, of course, at wrestling matches, he said, are easier all around.

Stewart said he hopes to help others with similar struggles by sharing his experience. But it’s the subtle nuances and clear tone of his stepchildren’s voices, and the chance to communicate with his wife on a different level – those are the things Stewart truly cherishes.

“I’m able to hear sounds I’ve never heard before,” he said.

Tracy Bell is a freelancer who lives in Stafford County.