‘We do have misunderstandings over sign language, make fun of it, and show the funny side of it...’ These deaf stars are an inspiration!

Hearing loss is something that can affect anyone and celebrities are not immune from accidents, illnesses, habits and old age taking away their ability to hear properly. Some were even born deaf. These stars have all shared their stories and are a true inspiration...

The 27-year-old actress was born with moderate deafness, so she started to study British Sign Language at a very early age. Leon is best known for her role as Jade in UK TV show ‘Casualty’, who, just like her, is deaf. In an interview with Inside Soap magazine, Gabriella opened up about what the portrayal of this character means to her. She said: “It is so lovely to play someone like me. I’m able to add such depth and understanding to Jade, having experienced most of what she has experienced regarding her disability. I feel proud to be the first disabled regular in the show’s history. I also feel a duty to be authentic when representing what it is like to live as this endearing, yet clumsy, deaf nurse!”

The 68-year-old actor has struggled with partial hearing loss ever since a gun was fired next to his ear when he was shooting 1988 action movie 'Die Hard’. Speaking to The Guardian in 2007, Bruce said: “Due to an accident on the first 'Die Hard,' I suffer two-thirds partial hearing loss in my left ear and have a tendency to say, 'Whaaa?'" Bruce is now living with aphasia which has caused frontotemporal dementia, affecting his ability to communicate.

Shoshanna Stern, 43, is from a fourth generation deaf family. In the show ‘This Close’ she stars with fellow deaf actor Josh Feldman and the series revolves around the lives of two good friends who met at a school for the deaf. Shoshanna says the program is very much inspired by real life. She said: “Being deaf is a messy thing. Not only does it means different things to different people, for me sometimes it means different things daily. So, we went about handling our show the same way. It came from my real-life friendship and partnership with Josh.”

The ‘Airplane!’ actor was legally deaf, wearing hearing aids for most of his life. He went public with his condition during his career to take away the stigma surrounded hearing loss. He said: “It's not really that I've been an advocate for hearing aids for a long time, it's just that I've been losing my hearing for a long time! So, it's actually very important for me because I'm actually hearing-impaired and I simply want to hear better! Importantly, that word losing tells you something important. It says it's an active process, and because hearing loss is an active process, we have to actively participate to help control and manage it.”

Marlee Matlin, 58, became the first-ever deaf performer to win an Academy Award, when she landed the Best Actress prize for her performance in 1987 film ‘Children of a Lesser Gold’. Despite her pride, Matlin was hurt by suggestions that her victory was a "pity" vote due to ger disability. She fumed: “[Film critic Rex Reed said] I won out of pity – that I was a deaf person playing a deaf role, how is that acting?' "I thought, 'There are hearing people playing hearing roles; how’s that any different?'"

The 59-year-old TV host revealed in a 2005 interview with The New Yorker that an operation to repair a perforated eardrum caused him inner ear damage that left him deaf in his right ear. He said: “I had this weird tumor as a kid, and they scooped it out with a melon baller.”

'The Incredible Hulk' star, 71, was bullied at school because of the hearing problems he had suffered from since birth. Hearing aids didn't work for him and his condition slowed his speech development as he was only able to lip read. Because of his medical issues and the bullying, Lou began to immerse himself in comic books becoming a fan of Hulk and Spider-Man because of the power they had. And that fandom inspired him to take up bodybuilding, a journey that led him all the way to be crowned Mr. Universe and his famous TV role in the '70s. He said: “I had to work on both issues my whole life.” It all changed in a positive way when he began to pursue a career as a bodybuilder. "It changed my life. It gave me drive and determination. I knew that this was my journey to be successful because if I hadn't discovered bodybuilding, I would have gone the other way, feeling sorry for myself and maybe resorting to drugs. It's all about taking action, because nobody can do that for you except for yourself." Ferrigno stated that when he was finally able to "hear some sounds for the first time, it was like a dream come true".

The ‘Orphan’ and ‘Resident Evil’ actress, 22, has struggled with hearing loss since she was little. It was Aryana's ability to be able to use sign language that led her to be discovered by a Hollywood agent who noticed her communicating that way. In an interview with ‘The Early Edition’ host Rick Cluff, Engineer talked about her role in the film ‘Dreaming of Peggy’, in which she plays a deaf character. After stating that she wanted to take part in the project “just to show what deaf people can do," she added: “Other people think they can't do as much as normal people can do, but I don't believe that. It's a very powerful film.”

Known as Linda the Librarian on ‘Sesame Street’ - a role she played from 1971 to 2002 - Linda Bove, 77, has struggled with hearing loss since a very early age, just like her parents. In a 1991 interview with Barbara Harrington, the actress opened up about how she teamed up with the show’s writers to ensure her on-screen persona was defined by more than just her disability. She said: “When I joined the cast I found the writers would write about ‘How would a deaf person do this?’ ‘How does a deaf person do that?’ And it was just related to my deafness and it didn’t feel like they were treating me as a person. I found my character one-dimensional and kind of boring. It showed how brave a deaf person was to do this and that in everyday life. I said it was no big deal. I have a sense of humor; why don’t you show that? I can be angry over something. Show that I can have a relationship with another person. Maybe a love relationship with Bob. It’s not perfect. We do have misunderstandings over sign language, make fun of it, and show the funny side of it. It’s OK.”

Millie Bobby Brown, 19, was born with born with partial hearing loss in her left ear and eventually lost all hearing over the course of several years. Millie never let her deafness dissuade her from pursuing an acting career and she took up drama just for her own enjoyment at first. Speaking to Variety, she said: "I just started to sing, and if I sound bad I don’t care, because I’m just doing what I love. You don’t have to be good at singing. You don’t have to be good at dancing or acting. If you like to do it, if you genuinely enjoy doing it, then do it. No one should stop you."