Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/1314367
From left: First show back since lockdown. Quibi socially distant Zoom interview, June 22, 2020; mixing on a Soundcraft Vi4 console for a live satellite feed for Farmers Insurance, January 2017. Today, I have titanium prosthetic bones in both my ears, and I have regained sixty percent of my hearing. Additionally, Dr. Marghzar fitted me with digital hearing aids gaining twenty percent more and bringing my hearing to about eighty percent. I remain vigilant in managing my hearing loss and preserving it. Otosclerosis is a progressive disease, which if left unchecked, and without taking a daily prescribed dose of a fluoride-calcium called 'Florical,' it will revert to where it was before my surgeries, and do further damage to my inner ears (cochlea), which is non-correctable. After everything I'd been going through, the one hurdle I never expected to face—and one that completely blindsided me—was discrimination at work. I know it sounds unimaginable but the bias is very real and exists within the TV industry. This challenge I found to be just as hard to cope with as overcoming my hearing loss. Specifically, because you can't control someone else's lack of compassion, education, or willingness to understand a person's handicap. There were many occasions where I found out, after not getting a job, that I wasn't hired because an Executive Producer or Supervisor didn't want to hire a Sound Mixer who wears hearing aids. I became so dismayed with this reoccurrence that it led me to ask many new questions and also take note of certain biases within our industry; how many Camera Operators wear eye glasses (a lot)? I ask this; "If it's perfectly OK for a production company to hire a Camera Operator who has 'assisted sight,' then why is it not ok to hire a Sound Mixer who has 'assisted hearing'?" This was an epiphany for me and it became my rallying battle cry from that moment forward in order to open people's minds to this prejudice within our industry. I'll never forget the first time I employed this analogy when speaking to a Line Producer who was clearly on the fence about hiring me by asking, "aren't you the deaf sound guy? The one who wears hearing aids?" I responded, "Yes, I do wear hearing aids, but how many Camera Ops have you hired who wear glasses? What's the difference?" First, I was met with silence on the other end of the phone, and then a reply I didn't expect, but was happy to hear "Well, you make a very good point there." It was literally music to my ears because for the first time, I felt like I had gotten through to somebody. I also realized that I was still having to learn to be an advocate for myself, but only now in this completely different context. There's not one day that I'm not thankful to Dr. Marghzar and Dr. Slattery for saving my hearing. First thing I do every morning when I wake up is put my hearing aids in, turn them on and I am beyond grateful when the sounds of the outside world begin to filter through and I can simply hear my wife and son's voices. To be able to continue writing music and working professionally as a Sound Mixer is even more than I could have ever hoped for. Without the love and unending support of my wife Holly, I'm keenly aware that I would never have been able to get through any of this. I have so much gratitude for it all with the lessons I've learned. It is my hope that by sharing my story, I can help to inspire others to keep searching, especially in the face of overwhelming circumstances, and in turn, become advocates for themselves to never give up. ZMT3 PHANTOM 2 QRX200 WIDE-BAND DIGITAL RECORDING WIRELESS WITH ENHANCED RANGE AND AUTOMATIC TRACKING FRONT END RECEIVER FILTER DIGITAL MODULATION 100% digital modulation for superior quality ENCRYPTED AUDIO keeps transmitted audio private QRX200 LIGHT AND VERSATILE THE ULTIMATE IN RECEIVER FLEXIBILITY records and transmits at the same time accepts both lavalier and phantom microphones smallest, lightest phantom powered transmitter available C M Y CM MY CY CMY K Zaxcom_CAS-695_ZMT-QRX_HR.pdf 1 1/17/19 4:53 PM