Just two years ago Aimee-Louise Paddock started losing her hearing and in recent months it has deteriorated to the point she now struggles to hear a low flying jumbo jet.
Yet the 18-year-old talented musician from King's Lynn has not given up on her passion.
She is now going for top grade eight music exams and hopes to play her saxophone and flute to packed concert halls in the future.
The Springwood High School pupil, who was inspired to take up the saxophone by Lisa from The Simpson, will audition for a place the Royal Welsh College of Music next month.
“I started going deaf when I was 16. The hearing in my left ear went first. I was finding it hard to hear what people said and I was constantly asking people to repeat things”, she said.
“One day I put a phone to my ear and realised that I couldn't hear anything.”
Miss Paddock, who lives on the Fairstead Estate, in King's Lynn, said that she can feel the music through vibration in her saxophone, but with the flute it is harder and she is now hoping to raise money to buy an opened-holed flute, which could cost £3,000.
As well as practising for two hours each night and playing in five bands, Miss Paddock has a part-time job in Wilkinsons in Lynn at the weekend to help pay for her music and exams.
She also teaches an 11-year-old the saxophone and volunteers for the Brownies.
“Because I am doing music A-Level it does all fit in well together, but homework can sometimes be challenging because practice does take time.
“I love the saxaphone; it is just the feeling you get when you play it. It is amazing, especially playing in front of big audiences.
“I want to be a performer. It is just amazing sharing your music with everybody else.
“I am so glad that I managed to learn an instrument before I became deaf”, she said. “If I had been born deaf, I probably wouldn't have learnt anything.”
“I think losing my hearing has led me more to performing. It is something that I can do, no matter what.
“Although I cannot hear what I am playing, I can still hear it in my head. I work out the intervals.”
Her mother Lucille Omurcan took her to a Royal Philharmonic concert at the King's Lynn Corn Exchange in the summer before Miss Paddock completely lost her hearing.
She said: “I am so so proud of her. People do not realise how well she has coped with it all. It would be hard enough for an older person who has lived most of their life to lose their hearing. It is shocking.
“It is the affect it has had on her life. We have subtitles on the television. We are now doing a sign language course together. “She is an inspiration.”
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