Be a Hearing Hero with Teresa Barnes Paulus Artwork

The Different Ability® Podcast

Why am I different? Why do things have to be so difficult? Am I dumb? Why am I scared? Will it be this hard forever? Will I ever find the help I need to succeed? When will being different be accepted? Welcome to The Different Ability® Podcast where we will answer all of these questions and a whole lot more! Each week host Katey Fortun brings you tips and tricks on how to navigate being different, along with inspiring stories of guests that are living an amazing life having Different Abilities of their own. Parents and Educators of kids with Different Abilities share their stories to encourage others that they are not alone and we can all get through this together! Katey, who has dyslexia, shares her personal Different Ability stories to show you that being different is a gift, being different is amazing and using your Different Abilities, you too can create and live the life you have always dreamed about! Katey believes that everyone has Different Abilities and it's time to let our Different Abilities shine bright! You are amazing, you are important, you are strong, you are smart and the world needs you just the way you were made! Are you ready to be inspired and encouraged to be the person you were made to be, Different Abilities and all? We know you're ready, so come along, we are all in this together! "You can do anything you put your mind to, with a lot of hard work, determination and never giving up! It's not your disability, it's your Different Ability®!" - Katey

All Episodes

The Different Ability® Podcast

Be a Hearing Hero with Teresa Barnes Paulus

April 09, 2025 • Katey Fortun • Season 5 • Episode 211

Send us a text

Teresa is an amazing story teller and I'm so grateful to have learned so much from her all about hearing loss! It's a must listen!

Teresa's Bio

Teresa Barnes Paulus, RN, is an advocate for hearing awareness. With her personal experience of hearing loss since birth, Teresa has become the go-to expert for organizations looking to tap into a trillion-dollar market by enhancing any organization's social responsibility and culture.

After a potentially life-threatening accident for not hearing a warning shout. She saw a need in society as a former Emergency Department RN Manager. Teresa realized the critical lack of accommodations for the hard of hearing in workplaces. She pioneered the federally registered Hearing Hero Friendly Symbol, a tool that boosts safety and awareness while increasing business opportunities and customer satisfaction through specialized training and certification. Based on the Olmec Culture 2500 BC standards where they believed people with hearing loss needed a special way to communicate and wore a jade Olmec symbol to bring visibility to hearing loss.

Featured on ESPN BizShow and Good Morning America in San Diego. She drives change with consultancy, keynotes, online courses, and a new book called Be A Hearing Hero to alert others that by 2050, 2.5 billion will have hearing loss unless we change our environments and hearing loss knowledge. Teresa empowers others alongside her service dog, Stella, encouraging everyone to become Hearing Heroes in today's diverse world. For future acceptance and understanding, so no more discrimination against hearing loss, but better inclusion.

Hearing Hero Friendly Spaces can allow those with hearing loss to hear others, potentially prevent hearing loss for babies in utero, and provide space for others that need, say, a quieter place to dine that have PTSD, anxiety disorder, autism, or want to save their hearing.

Help prevent this health and social issue and reduce stigma, too with with understanding.

Connect with Teresa

Website

Instagram

Decibel X App - Apple Store

Decibel X App - Google Play

Email Teresa: info@beahearinghero.com

This episodes ad break:

Join my email list to: get behind the scenes, special videos, book launch date, book tours, discounts, freebies and so much more!
www.kateyfortun.com/thebook

Stay in the loop with the new Different Ability® product I'll be launching!
Sign Up Here!

Shop new products here!

Places you can reach me at:
Website:
https://kateyfortun.com/
https://kateyfortun.com/podcast

Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/kateyfortun/
https://www.instagram.com/differentabilitypodcast/