Meet the Fundraiser Ankitha Lavi

Breaking a Sound Barrier By Ankitha Lavi

To create awareness about hearing loss and share my passion for the piano, I teach American Sign Language and music through my organization QuiaPlus, Latin for “know more.”

Playing the piano is my passion. I took lessons from ages 6 to 14 and now I teach the instrument to my own students. Playing the piano has been helping me greatly throughout the chaos of my high school years and the COVID-19 pandemic. It relaxes me and gives me a sense of joy whenever I am stressed. In September 2020 I held an online fundraiser for Hearing Health Foundation (HHF). I don’t live with a hearing or balance condition and do not have any family members affected. Rather, I became inspired to help after a very memorable elementary school experience. In 4th grade, for the first time in my life, I met students who all lived with hearing loss. They used American Sign Language (ASL) to communicate and relied on transcribers in the classroom. I wanted to engage with them and make sure they felt included and socially connected in our school, but I felt powerless. I was unable to simply ask “how are you?” to help bridge the gap between students with hearing loss and those with typical hearing.

Since then I have also met students who use hearing aids. I realize that these devices are a helpful resource, but greater acceptance of them is urgently needed. Reducing the stigma around hearing aids would make life more comfortable for my peers who wear them.

I quickly understood that these students, whether they use ASL or hearing aids, are not able to listen to music the way that I do. The piano is so amazing to me, and students with hearing loss are missing out on some of its beauty.

Eager to break the barriers that persist between the hard of hearing and hearing communities, I learned ASL in high school and I am now teaching this amazing language to others—along with piano—for free through my organization, QuiaPlus. It’s Latin for “know more,” and I think it fits because you’re learning different activities. To help create more equitable access to sound, I ask the parents of my students to please donate to HHF.

I chose HHF because it appears to be the most credible organization helping people with hearing loss. I was impressed to see that HHF’s research projects and outreach methods help a large portion of this community. The scientists that HHF funds are working to create a world where everyone can choose to hear without limitations. With more research on hearing loss and related conditions, I hope that everyone will be able to hear music the way that I do.

Awareness of students with hearing loss has made me realize that people communicate and hear in different ways. It has also made me look at the world with more empathy toward others who may not be the same, and how we can all learn to move past communication barriers.

Share your story: Tell us why you support HHF at editor@hhf.org. Ankitha Lavi lives in Texas. For more, see QuiaPlus at quiaplus.org.