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Rebecca Turnbull Speaks Out on a Life in Perfoming Arts - with Hearing Aids

By Julie Perine on January 19, 2014 via Connect-Bridgeport.com

A Clarksburg Audiology commercial running on WBOY features Bridgeport High School senior Rebecca Turnbull.
 
In the ad, created by 1999 BHS graduate Jason Adams, Turnbull shares that her passion for and accomplishments in the performing arts would likely have been hindered had it not been for the wearing of hearing aids.
 
Adams, who knew Turnbull had experienced hearing loss since birth, asked her to star in the commercial.
 
“Her father John is a musician and he also wears hearing aids. We did a spot about his story probably about five years ago. I directed that too,” Adams said. “When it came time to do another spot, Valerie Graham of Clarksburg Audiology thought Rebecca might be great and would give us another demographic to reach out to and tell a story.”
 
Turnbull is an impressive young lady, who was a real pro to work with, Adams said. 
 
She explains her situation.
 
“There are two different types of hearing loss. One is conductive, due to something that happens, like an accident, and the other you are born with. That’s what I have,” Turnbull said. “I was born with sensorineural hearing loss.”
 
The condition is hereditary and has been passed on to Turnbull by her dad’s side of the family.
 
“My dad’s mom had it and he had it and now I have it,” she said. “Personally, I hear about 30 to 35 percent less than other people, so I do have to wear hearing aids sometimes.”
 
Turnbull’s hearing loss was first suspected when she was a toddler.
 
“I would talk, but it wouldn’t be words. It was just gibberish all the time,” she said. “I’ve been going to audiologists my whole life.”
 
She first wore hearing aids when she was in first or second grade at Heritage Christian School. She doesn’t remember being bothered by it until she attended Bridgeport Middle School.
 
“At a private elementary school, everyone knew me, but when I went to public school, it was a different story,” Turnbull said. “It’s just that era in your life when you want to fit in and hearing aids were making me sort of stand out. I didn’t want that to happen. It’s really the only time I remember feeling embarrassed.”
 
As she transitioned into 8th grade and ultimately high school, it wasn’t a problem.
 
In fact, Turnbull jokes, the only time her friends and fellow theater enthusiasts made fun of her is when she wasn’t wearing her aids. That reason is obvious.
 
At BHS, she has taken part in endeavors including writing, videography, music and theater, all of which she loves and believes she couldn’t have enjoyed without her hearing aids.
 
“I also took dance classes at Momentum Dance Center,” she said.
 
The aids enable her to amply hear instruction and fellow performers, thereafter learning everything from her lines in a production to choreography.
 
“First impressions are very important during auditions,” Turnbull said. “With theater or singing or anything, you have to have confidence and be on top of things. When you’re asked to do something, you need to show that you heard them and will go for it. My hearing aids help with that and have since I was in plays in elementary school. They help me learn and pay attention. There’s nothing between me and the director or judges and that breaks down another barrier and makes it easier to understand what I need to do.”
 
She doesn’t usually wear aids in the production for fear of them falling out and someone stepping on and/or tripping over them. But by that time, she has mastered her parts and they are not usually needed, she said.  
 
When she was younger, the aids were a little larger than her current ones and were easy to see. But now, no one even knows she is wearing them – unless she tells.
 
Upon her 2014 BHS graduation, she plans to attend Marshall University, pursuing a double major in journalism and international affairs. She appreciates Adams asking her to be in the commercial and hopes it encourages others. 
 
A couple of others were instrumental in the production of the spot, Adams said. 
 
“Jared St. Martin Brown kind of set it up so we could use the facility and some of the shots of Rebecca on stage were from the BHS production of ‘Godspell,’ which Jason Young helped us get access to,” he said. “We used B-roll of her singing and dancing on stage with a colleague. Everyone was really supportive and I think we were able to create a nice story.” 
 
For more information about director/cinematographer Jason Adams and his company, Adams Film, visit www.adamsfilm.com. The commercial can be viewed on the site. 
 
 
 
 
 


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