Reality Star Adi Buzaglo Shares Emotional Struggle with Hearing Loss

Reality television personality Adi Buzaglo shared an emotional video on Instagram on Sunday detailing the significant emotional challenges she faces due to her hearing impairment. Buzaglo became overwhelmed during a commercial shoot when she struggled to pronounce a complex word, prompting her to open up about her daily struggles.

"Because of my hearing loss, there are times when it's simply hard for me to pronounce words," Buzaglo explained in the video, her voice breaking with emotion. "These are words I haven't heard often enough. It took me a while to say this word and film it." She added that after the difficulty on set, she realized, "Adi, I'm sure many people with hearing loss deal with this problem. Because someone who is hearing impaired, their brain doesn't understand the words they need to say, and sometimes I feel like I'm messed up."

Buzaglo elaborated that her difficulties intensified after she began using a hearing aid later in life. "Forget that if I'm now in a group of people and there's a situation where, say, there are 20 words in a sentence, I might hear maybe two," she revealed. "And it's like I have to piece together what that person said and adapt myself to the situation."

Buzaglo's candid disclosure follows similar personal revelations from other Israeli celebrities about their hearing loss. Hani Nachmias previously shared that she also wears hearing aids, a secret she kept for years. Liron "Tilteel" Orfali, another reality star, has spoken about his severe hearing loss, having lost 80% of hearing in his left ear and 50% in his right.

These public accounts aim to raise awareness about the challenges faced by individuals with hearing impairments in Israel. A study by the "1 out of 10" organization and the Central Bureau of Statistics in 2020 indicated that 22% of hearing-impaired individuals experience frequent depression, compared to 6% of the general population. Furthermore, 39% reported experiencing discrimination in the past year due to their disability, and 41% delayed purchasing hearing aids due to shame.