​Jody Lee Bell (24) has a lot on her plate: She's a full-time masters' student in the Haematology Division of Stellenbosch University's (SU) Faculty of Medicine Health Sciences, works part-time at Tygerberg Hospital's biobank and made time to enter Miss Deaf SA 2017, where she was named second princess.

Even more impressive is that she manages 8-10 hours sleep every night, without compromising on her grades or commitments. “I learned time management skills early on, because focusing on listening all day takes 80% of my energy. By eight at night my brain is exhausted and needs re-charging," she says. Therefore, she simply had to learn to be productive in the mornings and fit in all her work before bedtime.

Jody was born with profound hearing loss, but was only diagnosed at the age of one. “My mother took me to various general practitioners, ear nose and throat specialists and paediatricians, but they all thought she was just being a neurotic mother. Nobody referred her to an audiologist." It was only when her mother read an article titled “How to tell if your child is hearing impaired", with references to Tygerberg Hospital's Paedo-Audiology Unit, that she embarked on her journey with hearing loss. Her mother stood firmly by her side.

Being hearing impaired came with many academic and social challenges for Jody. “I struggled in school, especially since I was 'mainstreamed' from grade 1. My hearing wasn't that great with just hearing aids." She was fortunate to receive cochlear implants – at age 16 in the left ear and at age 18 in the right. “This changed my life and my marks increased from an average of between 40% and 50%, to matriculating with 76%. The low marks weren't due to a lack of studying, but I couldn't hear properly to be able to understand and process information.

“However, I still struggled socially since I was the only hearing impaired student in all of my schools. Peers often don't have the requisite patience with or understanding of my hearing loss. Sometimes avoidance is simply easier for them."

Jody says it was only at university where she found that people truly accepted her and didn't mind adjusting their behaviour to make sure she was included. "Universities are also better equipped to support students with disabilities, because they have disability rights units."

In order to maintain her academic standards Jody made use of extra lessons, both at school and at university, to make sure she understood the work. Despite the implants, she still struggles to hear in large venues with many people where there are many background noises and interferences. “SU's Disability Unit provided real-time captioning for my lectures, so that I could follow them on my phone or laptop while the lecturer was speaking."

Although Jody realises that she is limited in certain aspects, she doesn't allow her disability to define her. “My mother was always my strongest motivator, telling me from an early age that I could do whatever I wanted. She built up my character to be a strong person and a go-getter."

Jody finds the societal stereotype of “deaf and dumb" one of the most frustrating aspects of her disability, and says this filters through to the employment sector as well. “Just because we have a hearing loss, doesn't mean that we are not independent or that we can't contribute to the economy and the country."

Although she enjoys her field of study and working on her masters' thesis (“Long-term urine biobanking: stability of urine biomarkers at -80 degrees"), she is still weighing her options regarding future professional plans. “And I like it like that. I would like to see how my career develops and seize opportunities as they arise!"

Jody does, however, want to continue trying to make life easier for South Africans with a hearing impairment and encourages all people with disabilities to be positive in the face of adversity and to accept themselves. “It's up to you to decide how to react and what you do with your circumstances."

Caption: FMHS masters' student, Jody Bell, was named second princess at the Miss Deaf SA beauty pageant.