ASOS is praised for using deaf model with a cochlear implant to advertise £5 earrings as customers with hearing impairments say it’s ‘refreshing to see people like them’
- Model Natasha Ghouri, who was born deaf, was pictured on ASOS’s website
- Her cochlear implant was pictured as she modelled ASOS’s mushroom earrings
- Social media users said it was the first time they saw a model wear an implant
- People praised the store and said they were ‘delighted’ for the ‘representation’
ASOS customers have flocked to social media to praise the fashion retailer for using a model who wears a cochlear implant to showcase their earrings.
The British online retailer featured a model wearing a cochlear implant, which is a surgically implanted device to provide a person with a modified sense of sound, on their website.
Model Natasha Ghouri, who was born deaf, was pictured wearing ASOS’s £5 hoop earrings with a mushroom charm from a side-on angle in a bid to also highlight her cochlear implant.
Floods of social media users claimed it was the first time they had ever seen a model wearing any form of hearing aid or cochlear implant before.
ASOS customers have flocked to social media to praise the fashion retailer for using a model who wears a cochlear implant to showcase their £5 mushroom earrings
Twitter users, including some who have cochlear implants themselves, admitted they were left ‘tearing up’ and were ‘delighted’ for the ‘representation’.
Asia Smith, 22, shared her delight on Twitter after discovering earrings for sale on the site that were being worn by a model with a hearing device.
She penned: ‘Definitely not crying because of ASOS using an earring model with a hearing aid.
‘It’s the first time I’ve ever seen a model with a hearing impairment, let alone an earring model.
‘It’s so refreshing to see this kind of representation for people like me.’
The model who was pictured wearing the earrings, Natasha Ghouri, later responded to Asia’s post to reveal that she was born deaf.
Model Natasha Ghouri, who was born deaf, was pictured wearing ASOS’s £5 hoop earrings with a mushroom charm, much to the delight of ASOS shoppers
Hoards of Twitter users have expressed their delight at seeing a model wearing a cochlear implant, with many saying it will help to make wearing one ‘normal’ (pictured)
WHAT IS A COCHLEAR IMPLANT?
A cochlear implant is a small, complex electronic device that can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing.
The implant consists of an external portion that sits behind the ear and a second portion that is surgically placed under the skin.
An implant does not restore normal hearing. Instead, it can give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
Source: National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Natasha, from London, tweeted: ‘That’s me! Also just for confusion – this is a cochlear implant which is more advanced than hearing aids.
‘I’m also modelling their clothes etc! So not just doing earrings which is the biggest achievement I’ve done! Proving out there that no matter what disability you’ve got.. you can do it.’
Hoards of other Twitter users have expressed their delight at seeing a model wearing a cochlear implant, with many saying it will help to make wearing one ‘normal’.
One person commented: ‘I’m currently really hard of hearing, I’m sure I’m going to need a hearing aid soon, I was so nervous, but this has honestly made me tear up and made me realise it is completely normal!’
While a second wrote: ‘Omg what! me too! that’s so amazing. I’ve never seen any models on any sites with a hearing aid in.
‘I always wear my hair down because I’m still so self conscious of it.’
And a third penned: ‘Yes! I love this. I’ve also got hearing aids and I never thought anything like this was possible.
‘ASOS are incredible.’
Another person gushed: ‘Ahhh as someone who also wears hearing aids, this warms my heart so much!!’
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