We first met Abigail Heringer on Matt James’ 25th season of The Bachelor. While it didn’t work out for the two of them on the show, despite getting his First Impression Rose, Abi found love with Noah Erb on Season 7 of Bachelor in Paradise, although the horizons weren’t always the brightest between the two.
Fast forward just a bit now…Heringer, through her brand new Instagram/TikTok series, Hear Me Out, is speaking out about an issue that’s super important to her: why her family’s personal choice of not learning or teaching ASL worked just right for them!
Here’s Abigail Heringer sharing her family’s journey of not knowing ASL
Ever since Heringer was two years old, she’s had her cochlear implant. Other than her and her sister, no one else in their family was deaf. That was the main reason why her family decided to go the route of relying solely on oral communication rather than sign language. At that time, she was practicing using her processor; that way, there was a higher probability of her implantation being successful and allowing her to reach the point she’s at today.
Here are a few more takeaways from this particular episode of Hear Me Out:
"So I’m deaf and I don’t know ASL…Other families will choose to learn a mix of both sign language and oral communication…Not one of these choices is better than the other…We did take a risk in relying on oral communication, but it was a choice that made the most sense for my family and our situation…Because I’m deaf and I don’t rely on sign language does not mean I’m against the language myself…I’m extremely privileged to be able to have a cochlear implant…None of it is cheap and they are very time-consuming."
This video was informative on why certain situations may have a better reason for choosing either option. She was very fortunate to receive a successful implantation with her cochlear implant; others aren’t so lucky with their implantations, and some don’t even get the chance at one in the first place. Her now fiancé, Noah Erb, has also been the perfect advocate, as he constantly shares tips and tricks that he’s learned that have best helped Abi!
Abigail Heringer is the perfect advocate for the deaf community and many others going through similar situations. Anyone with a deaf family member or child should head to her Instagram to find more resources, videos, and weekly Hear Me Out episodes!
Keep up the absolutely amazing work, Abigail!
We’re so proud of you and cannot wait to see what the future holds (for you, Noah, and now puppers Macchiato “Maki”)!