Catriona Gray's Miss Universe ear cuffs turned into stylish hearing aid
MANILA, Philippines — A Filipino woman with hearing loss made hearing aid accessories inspired by Filipino culture, including the ear cuffs that Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray wore at the prestigious pageant.
According to a CBC News report published early this week, Ruselle Gasmen said she created the hearing aid accessories to help raise money for people who can't afford hearing aid in British Colombia.
Ruselle said she knows how to live without hearing aid so she wanted to help.
"It can be very isolating. I hear words, but sometimes they don't make sense because some of the sounds are missing," Ruselle said.
Russelle professed that she wanted to wear Catriona’s earrings but she knows that it wouldn’t work well with her hearing aid so she created a hearing aid just like that.
"I really wanted it but I knew it wouldn't work well with the hearing aid, because the metal would clink and it would impact my hearing," she explained.
"So I just decided to make one for myself, for my hearing aid."
Apart from Catriona’s earrings, Ruselle also created hearing aid based on the wings of “aswang.” She said it’s very therapeutic for her to create accessories based on her culture.
"It's very therapeutic for me. It allows me to embrace my heritage and culture in a way that I never really did before growing up," she said.
Catriona shared Ruselle's story on her Twitter account.
???????????? https://t.co/PtriBapK0A
— Catriona Gray (@catrionaelisa) August 3, 2021
Catriona was featured on Nas Daily earlier this week. She is one of the celebrities who has an academy and provides mentorship on Nas Academy.
“Who wins a beauty queen?! And how?! For the first time ever, I want to show you the heart warming story of Catriona Gray! She just launched her Academy on Nas Academy, and we're super excited to learn from her!” Nas wrote in the caption of the video.
Nas was recently under fire for allegedly using Apo Whang-od as one of the featured creators on Nas Academy without permission.
Nas, however, issued a statement today, attesting that the Whang-Od Academy is legitimate.
RELATED: 'Not a scam': Nas Daily clarifies Whang-Od inclusion in Nas Academy
