A student who was born deaf and unexpectedly diagnosed as deafblind at age 17, has found love, embraced her disability and feels as confident as ever after bein inspired by Tasha Ghouri, Love Island’s first deaf contestant. Paige Barnes, 22, was struggling to see the whiteboard at school, so she decided to go to Specsavers, but ended up in hospital and diagnosed with the rarest form of deafblindness, Usher Syndrome Type 3.
She found it difficult to interact with her hearing peers on her college hairdressing course after attending deaf schools all her life, but since Tasha Ghouri embraced her ‘superpower’ on screen, Paige found the confidence to date hearing people. Paige, who is profoundly deaf, has no peripheral vision and minimal vision at night time, told her boyfriend, Sam George, 25, an aircraft mover at Heathrow Airport, about her condition before they met in person.
She was pleasantly surprised at how understanding he was and he even started learning British Sign Language. In the past, Paige says men have ignored her messages after she has told them she is deafblind, but she believes Tasha Ghouri’s success on Love Island has made people more understanding and open to loving people who are deaf, blind or both.
