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How Did The Bachelor’s Daisy Kent Lose Her Hearing? Everything She’s Said About Her Cochlear Implants
Joey Graziadei has been falling hard for Daisy Kent on The Bachelor. The season 28 contestant has also won over the hearts of viewers by opening up about her hearing loss and living with a cochlear implant.
How Did The Bachelor’s Daisy Kent Lose Her Hearing?
Daisy was diagnosed with Ménière’s disease when she was 17. Ménière’s is an “inner ear problem that can cause dizzy spells, also called vertigo, and hearing loss,” according to the Mayo Clinic. “Symptoms of Ménière’s disease may be due to extra fluid in the inner ear called endolymph. But it isn’t clear what causes this fluid to build up in the inner ear.”
Daisy first realized she was having trouble hearing when her dad tried to wake her up one morning and she couldn’t hear him. The Minnesota native said that her hearing problems were likely triggered by Lyme disease, which she didn’t receive a diagnosis for until she was 21. However, she spent years feeling sick before learning what was wrong.
“When I was 11, I started having stroke-like seizures,” she told Joey during a one-on-one date. “They didn’t really know why. When other people would, if my siblings got sick, if I would get what they got, I would be 10 times sicker.” As the years went on, Daisy “kept getting sick” to the point where she “didn’t feel good at all, like, ever.”
After moving back in with her parents she eventually learned that she had Lyme disease and traveled to Germany for treatment.
What Treatment Did The Bachelor’s Daisy Kent Have?
When Daisy first learned that she had Lyme disease, she “went the herbal route” for treatment. She soon realized that her condition was getting worse instead of better – “it was everywhere, all my joints, and it got to the point where I physically would just lay in bed all day,” Daisy shared on TikTok – and she “started doing antibiotic fusions and taking 26 pills a day.”
The treatment left her feeling sick with side effects, which led her to Klinik St. Georg, an inpatient treatment center for Lyme disease and cancer, in Germany. She spent 30 days in the facility and had “whole-body hypothermia” treatment.
“They put you under and raise your body temperature up to 107.6 degrees,” Daisy shared. “Your whole body, even your head. That kills off the Lyme. You can do that twice and they also do plasmapheresis, where they take out your blood, clean your plasma, and put it back in. When they took out my blood, it was dirt brown, and when they put it back in, it was a bright yellow color. My mercury levels were through the roof.”
Other treatments that Daisy underwent in Germany included a colonoscopy, endoscopy, blue light therapy, ozone therapy, infusions, injections, detox baths and enemas.
“I had tubes going into my chest,” she told Joey. “I lost a ton of hair. I lost, like, 15 pounds in five days. It’s been pretty wild.”
Why Does The Bachelor’s Daisy Kent Have a Cochlear Implant?
Daisy got a cochlear implant in her left ear in 2022 to help her hear. “It’s honestly really changed my life,” she admitted. “It’s exciting to me because I forgot everyday sounds. I’m so thankful and I’m so happy and my life is full of love.”
Today, Daisy is healthy and thriving with her cochlear implant. “I am fully capable with it,” she said. “I am doing so well. But I am still learning with it.”
A cochlear implant is “an electronic device that improves hearing,” according to the Mayo Clinic. Rather than amplifying sounds like a hearing aid, the cochlear implant “bypasses damaged portions of the ear to deliver sound signals to the hearing (auditory) nerve.”
In August 2023, Daisy released the children’s book Daisy Doo and All The Sounds She Knew about a little girl with a cochlear implant.
‘The Bachelor’ Star Daisy Kent’s Voice
While Daisy has received an influx of support amid her time on The Bachelor, she also hasn’t been able to avoid negative comments. In February 2024, she directly responded to those criticizing her voice on the show. Specifically, she replied to a commenter who asked, “How can y’all listen to that vocal fry?”
In a video message on Instagram, Daisy said, “I know I don’t have to explain myself but I have a cochlear implant, which is how I hear. I can’t always tell exactly what my voice is sounding like. I can’t always tell if I’m being loud or if I’m being quiet or if I have a vocal fry or if I don’t. It’s sad because when people do comment stuff like this, it does make me think about the way that I’m talking, especially when I’m in front of people, if I’m making a video like this.”
She also said that her confidence was affected when she had to get her cochlear implant. “The show – all the producers, the cast – it was such a confidence builder for me and everyone was so supportive of me,” she added. “And it’s just unfortunate that people online have to comment and stuff like this that makes me in my head about the way I talk and speak.”
