Jackson Hinze spends his days at Gretna High School educating students on all things to do with math. While he may seem like your typical math teacher, Hinze is almost entirely unable to hear out of his left ear. Since he was in elementary school, his hearing has slowly deteriorated until today, where it is comparable to that of an 80-year-old man.
At the age of nine, Hinze, his friends and his family were lighting off fireworks in celebration of the Fourth of July. While lighting off six artillery shells, one tipped over and shot back at Hinze as he stood near the house. The rocket exploded to Hinze’s left, instantly making it difficult to hear from that ear.
“At school, I had to do a hearing test,” Hinze said. “The lady thought I was joking because I said I couldn’t hear anything out of the ear. She called my mom and told her I had to redo it and that I couldn’t mess around anymore. Once I did it again and got the same result, that’s when I knew I had some hearing issues.”
Persevering through the challenge, Hinze continued to live a normal life, participating in sports as a child and attending college in order to become a teacher. Even though Hinze has been able to overcome his hearing challenges with his students, it still influences his teaching and communication abilities.
“I usually have to get closer in order to hear people,” Hinze said. “I read lips a lot more, and so I have to make sure that I make eye contact so that I can see people when they talk. I don’t always know who’s talking, especially if it’s on my left side, and I have a tough time with kids who are a little bit quieter.”
Occasionally, students do notice.
“I kind of had a hunch that he was hard of hearing because sometimes when I would speak, he wouldn’t listen,” junior Emmy Wieczorek said. “I don’t think it affects his teaching, though.”
She added that she believes Hinze is a great teacher because he focuses and pays attention to his students.
Hinze has overcome his hearing difficulties both in the classroom and on the football field, coaching the GHS players alongside head coach Joe Dalton. Hinze doesn’t let his poor hearing stop him, adapting in ways such as turning to listen to students on his good side and relying on his context clues to understand others around him. Hinze has adapted so well, most people cannot tell that he has hearing difficulties until he informs them.
“I found out once he told me,” Dalton said. “It was also through multiple times of talking to him on his left side and noticing that he didn’t respond. I think I first noticed that he was reading my lips instead of listening before I asked him about it.”
Hinze will talk openly about his struggles and perseverance with his students and other teachers at GHS. He has also had students with hearing loss before, some with hearing aids and others with less visible troubles. Hinze makes a point to support these students, and he uses his own experiences as a child to help further their education.
“Some kids will make fun and they’ll try to test [my hearing],” Hinze said. “It doesn’t bother me. I don’t shy away from it since some kids are curious and want to know more… I’ve never been a person who’s shied from it or been ashamed. I think it’s just part of who I am and part of my everyday life now.”
