Originally from Bangor, 33-year old PR professional Erin has been paired up by the First Dates matchmakers with 31-year-old Adam, a Judge Judy fan from Tipperary.
Ahead of the date - airing on RTÉ 2 and RTÉ Player on Thursday night - the media maven sat down with journalists to discuss her experience with profound hearing loss, her journey to self-acceptance, and how important representation truly is.
Excited to let this cat outta the bag.... I'll be on First Dates Ireland this Thursday, 15th February at 9.35pm on @RTE2. Tune in to see me chat about living with hearing loss, and use "Who's your favourite serial killer?" as a chat chat-up line. #firstdatesirl @COCOcontentie pic.twitter.com/aFp1T5tpbd
— Erin Fox (@ErinMTFox) February 12, 2024
Having originally lost her hearing at the age of nine, Erin has struggled with high-frequency hearing loss for most of her life. Telephones, doorbells, birdsong and some speech patterns were totally out of range for the Co. Down woman, but she says that hearing aids helped to make life more manageable.
When she began attending university, however, the then 19-year-old began to struggle with her coursework, explaining that she was constantly tired and found it difficult to keep up in lectures.
Unbeknownst to her, Erin's mild hearing loss had quickly deteriorated over the course of her first year at university to profound hearing loss.
"I spent the year just telling myself that I wasn't cut out for third-level education, that I wasn't smart enough," she says. "In a way, it was like I was gaslighting myself."
During a routine check-up with her audiologist, Erin was shocked to discover that her hearing had deteriorated by 25%, meaning that her hearing aids would have to be swapped for a cochlear implant - a small electronic device that assists those who are severely hard-of-hearing.
Describing the moment as "a huge shock", Erin says that there was some relief in realising why her lectures had felt so difficult, but she also felt that her "lifelong dream" of becoming a journalist was slipping away.
"I felt so displaced because I could barely keep up in conversation and I didn't know sign language," she says. "I didn't know where I fit."
A common impact of sudden hearing loss, she explains, is a loss of identity and lowered self-esteem. To combat this, Erin spent the following years doing a lot of "inner work" to cope with managing deafness, which eventually led her to a radical challenge.
"I needed to give myself a big kick up the hole and be more assertive," she smiles.
In 2012, just before she got her cochlear implant, Erin signed up to walk the Camino de Santiago - an extensive network of ancient pilgrim routes leading to the shrine of the apostle James in Spain.
As well as being an incredibly physical challenge, the marketing professional thought that putting herself in the way of a mix of strangers with different accents and ways of speaking would encourage her to be more assertive in how she communicated.
"Walking the Camino kind of became very symbolic of my hearing loss journey."
In terms of romance, Erin had two long-term relationships in the past, meaning that her recent single status has thrust her into the world of dating - something that comes with its own set of challenges when clear communication is so key.
To ensure a conversation goes smoothly, the aspiring stand-up says she needs a quiet space and a clear view of the person she's speaking with - a surprisingly tricky combination considering how often dates are set in crowded pubs or involve side-by-side strolls in the park.
"To me, making eye contact with someone and looking at their face when talking - I don't see that as intimate, I see that as the most basic form of communication."
In dating, she says she has learned that although some people aren't comfortable with eye contact, those who are interested won't mind at all. She also notes that finding someone who is willing to be patient and take her needs into consideration is a good indicator of whether the date will go well.
Speaking on her First Dates experience, Erin says she had a "lot of fun", and insisted that representing the hard of hearing community felt especially important to her.
"I had the best time and, if anything, it's given me a little boost in confidence."
The ninth series of First Dates Ireland continues on Thursday nights at 9.35pm on RTÉ2 and RTÉ Player.
