09/10/2025
🎉 In celebration of d/Deaf Awareness Month, we’re shining a spotlight on one of our favorite Iowa Hawkeye Football 🏈 players — Kelby!
Kelby was diagnosed with bilateral profound hearing loss and received his cochlear implant at just 2.5 years old. Since then, he’s worked incredibly hard and accomplished so much, both on and off the field.
💬 Kelby’s Advice for Families Navigating the CI Journey:
"My biggest advice for both parents and kids going through the cochlear implant process is to start early — whether that means getting into speech and hearing clinics, consistently working on pronunciation and sentence structure, or even hiring a tutor to help grow vocabulary.
The key is to make it enjoyable — kids should never feel like it's all work and no fun. As a parent, it’s natural to want to push hard for the best outcomes, but remember: your child is still a kid.
It’s important for kids to stay positive and understand that nothing is going to happen overnight. Every parent and kid has to find that fine line in the middle that works for them."
🗣️ What Kelby Wants the Public to Know About Deafness and Hearing Loss:
"I wish more people understood that when someone is fully deaf, they can’t hear anything without their cochlear implant.
I get asked all the time, ‘What does it sound like when you take it off?’ and I just say, ‘Nothing. It’s total silence — like sitting in an empty attic or library.’
Sometimes in the middle of a conversation I’ll explain that I can’t hear because my CI died or isn’t working and people will just go on with what they’re saying not realizing what that means."
💛 Kelby’s mom also shared a beautiful reminder:
“Parents should never feel like their child can’t do something just because of hearing loss. Don’t hold them back. Give them every opportunity you would give a hearing child. The photos below show just how much Kelby has been able to accomplish at every stage of his life.”
👏 Kelby, we’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved. You inspire more people than you know!
