We are delighted to announce our sponsorship of a local deaf rugby player.

Jeni Kingman plays for Henley Hawks and has been passionate about rugby for as long as she can remember. Now at 28, she is totally immersed in the sport, despite sudden hearing loss nearly ten years ago.

Jeni tells us how her hearing journey started: “It was exam season in my second year at university, so I was under a fair bit of stress. I woke up one morning feeling dizzy and I was very scared as I couldn’t hear anything in either ear”, she explains. Jeni had no specific hearing problems when she was younger apart from a few ear and throat infections as a child.

Following a series of investigations including an MRI scan, she was diagnosed with Labyrinthitis. She was convinced her hearing would come back and eventually her hearing was restored in her right ear, but she was very shocked when her left side never returned.

Although her hearing loss is profound and had a huge impact on her life, Jeni is a delightfully enthusiastic, energetic, and positive person. While studying for a sport and exercise science degree, at Brookes University she joined their rugby team, and after that she joined Henley Hawks and England Deaf Rugby. She has also worked for England Rugby for the last 5 years.

Unbelievably clever hearing aids

As Jeni is completely deaf in her left ear, she wears a Cros aid system. This means that a conventional hearing aid is worn in the hearing ear, while a microphone that looks like a hearing aid, sits in the ear which has severe hearing. If you would like to understand more about how Cros aid systems work, take a look at one of our recent blogs here. Jeni refers to her aids as “unbelievably clever” and is always amazed by the difference a few slight adjustments can make when she visits her audiologist.

Since losing her hearing, Jeni received so much support, not only from family and friends but also through sport and university. She was allocated a disabled student advisor and was given hand-outs at the beginning of a lecture to help her follow the lesson more easily. She is not allowed to wear her aids while playing rugby so her team players at Henley Hawks have learnt to make sure they communicate on the field. Indeed, their motto is “Hawks as one” and they have certainly worked out a good system as she has been playing there for 8 years and reaches 100 caps at the beginning of next season.

Jeni became so dedicated to the sport that she briefly moved to Finland in 2020 when she discovered there were no covid restrictions on playing the game over there. And looking ahead, she is very keen to be part of future Deaf Rugby World Cups, having travelled to Argentina for the Deaf 7’s World Cup in April.  

We are delighted to be sponsoring such an inspiring young sportsperson who wants to encourage everyone to find the right hearing solution. “Deafness should not stop anyone living life to the full”, she concludes: “One of my heroes is Jodie Ounsley the Honorary President of UK Deaf Sport a.k.a FURY on the Gladiators TV programme. Jodie refers to her deafness as her superpower.”

 “I love this” says Jeni “and I personally feel there are no barriers. There is nothing I can’t do!”