Boots Taboo Talk podcast is back for its fourth season. In the inaugural episode that is live now, host Vogue Williams is joined by Tasha Ghouri, ITV Love Island’s first ever deaf contestant, and Loose Women panellist Kaye Adams. Kaye was told she would need hearing aids in both ears just before taking part in Strictly Come Dancing last year, after a visit to a Boots Hearingcare store. The conversations in this podcast offer a heartfelt and empowering insight into living with hearing loss and how it can affect you, and why Tasha refers to her deafness as her ‘superpower’.

A live-signed version of this episode is also available on the Boots UK YouTube channel, with Pearl Clinton, a qualified British Sign Language interpreter. 

Tasha Ghouri speaks about being:“[My parents] found out [that I was deaf] when I was 12 months old, and I got my first cochlear implant when I was five."

And talks about her experience on Love Island: “On Love Island there were times where I did struggle, you know [if another Islander said] “I got a text” and they’d be on the other side of the villa, I wouldn’t be able to hear what the text said, and I’d just look around to see how everyone reacts."

On getting hearing aids, Kaye Adams says: “Your kids are very impatient with you, and I would be constantly telling them to repeat things and they would get so irritated with me …  It really started to get to me because I did feel like a bit of a joke. … The only reason I wasn’t doing something about it was vanity, because there’s a negative connotation with age.

“You wouldn’t think twice about getting reading glasses. You wouldn’t struggle on not being able to read things … so why would you do that with your hearing?

“It’s about [putting] your hearing first and foremost but it’s also about your mental health and also your brain activity. You use it or lose it.”

In 2022, Kaye visited the Boots Hearingcare store in Bromley where she underwent extensive testing by experienced audiologist Feraz Ashraf to understand the extent of the problem.

Following her tests, Feraz was able to conclude that Kaye was suffering with mild sensory hearing loss in both ears, as well as conductive hearing loss in her right ear - the latter of which resulted in her being referred to an Ear, Nose and Throat (ENT) consultant for further exploration. As a result of the diagnosis, it was recommended that Kaye wear hearing aids in both ears.

Boots Hearingcare is the leading provider of hearing care in the UK with over 400 stores. Boots customers can access an expert team of audiologists offering free hearing checks who can provide advanced solutions for hearing loss. Free hearing checks can be booked online at www.bootshearingcare.com.