THE DARK SIDE OF HEARING LOSS LOSS Teen's near- death experience

Her refusal to wear the audio aids had a devastating effect on Madeleine

- HAYLEY MCLARIN

Madeleine Uaine woke in a panic after sleeping through her alarm. As she jumped out of bed to get ready for work, sand flew out from her sheets and was stuck all over her body. She had no recollection of where all the sand came from.

The realisation was slow and frightening. Only hours before – at 4am – she had decided to go for a swim at Auckland’s Eastern Beach, while intoxicated and on antidepressants.

In the cold light of day, the understanding of how she’d risked her life hit her – and that moment became her epiphany.

“It was a real wake-up call,” the 23-year-old says. “Before I left to go out with my friends that night, my mum had told me to look after myself, but I didn’t. I remember feeling so empty, as I had for months. I didn’t intend to do anything stupid, but I did.”

Alcohol had become a way to mask the statuesque beauty’s sadness, to hide her feelings of isolation and despair.

Born prematurely, Madeleine suffered moderate-to-severe hearing loss. But her condition wasn’t diagnosed until she’d had two years of speech therapy to treat what specialists originally thought was language delay.