Heartbreaking lot

Drama! Visually impaired Para ace also loses his hearing

Taliso Engel

(Bild: APA/dpa/Julian Stratenschulte; www.instagram.com/taliso_engel)

It's almost unbelievable, yet a sad reality: what a truly tragic twist of fate to befall German Paralympic swimmer Taliso Engel! The defending champion in the 100-metre breaststroke in the SB13 class, who has been visually impaired since birth, has now announced to the wider public at the Paralympics in Paris that he has also lost half of his hearing ...

According to the 22-year-old swimmer from Middle Franconia, he suddenly lost all hearing in his right ear at the beginning of 2023 following an illness. Despite the best efforts of his doctors, there was no improvement for a long time - and so an implant was finally supposed to provide relief.

"... so hearing with the implant doesn't really help me!"
But "the operation didn't go so well and the course of the illness was not without problems, so hearing with the implant doesn't really help me," Engel told Sport-Informations-Dienst.

In any case, his ear "is still deaf" and apart from the associated difficulties for his sporting career, everyday life is a major challenge for Engel, who is also handicapped by his visual impairment.

"... to understand as many people as possible ..."
For example, it is "super difficult to sit together with friends in a restaurant in a relaxed atmosphere. Because A I always have to pay attention to where I'm sitting in order to understand as many people as possible. And B it's super stressful with music in the background and lots of voices".

Nevertheless, although the sense of balance is also located in the ear and could therefore also potentially have been at risk in the event of an illness in this area, there were only minor problems right at the start. This means that Engel can definitely stay involved in para-swimming ...