Joaquin Arce opened up about being deaf in one ear, saying it made him unique and that he considers it as his ‘superpower’ growing up.
The ‘Pinoy Big Brother’ housemate talked about this in a conversation with Big Brother, in which they discussed a group activity Joaquin was working on with his fellow housemates Lella Ford and Marco Masa.
Joaquin then spoke about his condition as he stated how the story Masa shared about a disability tug at the former’s heartstrings.
‘Masaya po ako na pinili niya akong maging part ng kwento niya (I am happy that he chose me to become a part of his story). I really feel for him,’ Joaquin said.
‘Pinanganak po akong bingi sa kanang tainga. Never ko po naranasan na may dalawa akong tainga na nakakarinig,’ he continued. ‘But my entire life, I’ve been looking at it in such a positive light na hindi ko po napansin ang mga negatibong effects.’
(I was born deaf in my right ear. I never experienced having two fully functioning ears. But my entire life, I’ve been looking at it in such a positive light that I didn’t notice its negative effects.)
Joaquin credited his parents for their relentless support, which prevented him from dwelling on his special needs.
‘They treated me like I wasn’t deaf. They didn’t treat me na kawawa ako (as if I’m pitiful),’ he said of them. ‘They enforced positivity – na dahil dito, unique ako.’ (that because of this, I am unique.)
‘As a kid, inisip ko po siya na superpowers ko siya,’ he added. ‘At dahil po dito, actually, I made it a habit na mas [makinig] sa mga tao para marinig ko lahat ng mga sinasabi. I guess I became a good listener because of that.’
(As a kid, I thought of it as my superpowers. And actually, because of this, I made it a habit to listen more closely to people so I can hear what they say. I guess I became a good listener because of that.) Neil Arce, Joaquin’s dad, admired his son and underscored how the latter is an inspiration to him.
‘From an accident to a blessing; from having special needs to having super powers; from inspiring me to inspiring millions,’ Neil said via his Instagram page. It was actress Angel Locsin, Neil’s wife and Joaquin’s stepmom, who first made public about the ‘PBB’ housemate’s condition earlier this month