Her world is dark and silent because of a rare disorder

Life for Ms Tan Siew Ling, 38, an assistant manager in the innovation division at SG Enable, is not only dark, but also silent.

- Judith Tan

Ms Tan Siew Ling says she takes life “a day at a time, hoping for the best”. With her is her brother and caregiver Tan Yan Cai. ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO

(ST PHOTO: BRIAN TEO)

Ms Tan lost her sight when she was 10 and, after fully depending on her hearing thereafter to navigate life, she also lost her auditory sense when she was 32.

"She was around the age of eight or nine when she complained she could not see very well. Thinking it was shortsightedness, our mother took her to the optician to get a pair of glasses made. It did not help her at all," her brother and primary caregiver Tan Yan Cai, 41, told The Sunday Times.

She was then taken to the Singapore National Eye Centre, where she was diagnosed with vision loss due to weak optical nerves. To prepare her for a life of blindness, she went to the Singapore Association Of The Visually Handicapped to learn braille, he said.

Determined not to let her visual impairment hinder her education, Ms Tan completed her secondary education, passed her A levels and pursued a degree in economics and finance at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

"I did so relying on my hearing and with close friends motivating me and cheering me on. I do not want to be a burden to anyone — not friends, not family. With my education and a well-paying job, I would say I am now financially independent," she said.

However, Ms Tan faced further challenges as her hearing began to deteriorate. In 2016, she lost hearing in her left ear, just a year after her mother's death. And in 2019, hearing in her right ear was gone too.

Dr Amanda Cheang, who is currently a consultant at the department of otorhinolaryngology at Woodlands Health, said when Ms Tan lost her hearing in her left ear, an MRI scan showed that it was because of a growth on the nerve responsible for hearing.