How Sarah turns deafness into a cool style

As Sarah Adedeji's cochlear implant weaves gracefully into her orange cornrow braids, she wears her deafness like a fashion statement. A small tattoo behind Sarah's ear - of a mute button - reinforces her proud and assertive deaf identity.

Sarah is also one of a tiny number of deaf people working as an NHS audiologist.

“The seeds of my desire to do this job were watered by the prospect of being the audiologist I wish I’d had as a deaf child,” says Sarah.

“When I needed to pick my GCSE subjects, Mum and I were discussing career options and she pointed out that over the years we had never seen a deaf audiologist!”

“So, I chose the relevant GCSEs to enable me to go on to apply to Middlesex University for a degree in Healthcare Science Audiology. I graduated three years later.”

“My work isn’t just hearing tests and fitting devices, I also do rehab and counselling where I can have more impact - because I understand people’s concerns, even ones they’re not able to fully express - as I know first-hand what it is like to be deaf, a concept many hearing audiologists can’t fully grasp.”

When Sarah’s portrait was first published by Deaf Mosaic, it went viral online with over 350,000 views as deaf children, young people and their families all around the world - reacted positively to someone far from seeing deafness as something to hide, actually celebrates it.

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Sarah is one of 120 intimate portraits and stories by deaf photographer Stephen Iliffe

Stephen’s Deaf Mosaic project challenges the general public with an urgent message: It is not deafness that disables people but the barriers in hearing society that often frustrates our dreams. With the right support, deaf people can do anything.