I was born completely deaf but it’s not a disability, now I see it as my superpower, says Love Island’s Tasha Ghouri

LOVE Island’s Tasha Ghouri says that being deaf is her “superpower” – especially when it comes to dating.

Viewers will see the hearing-impaired model and dancer, 23, wearing a cochlear implant and lip-reading in the villa.

But Tasha says she is far from self-conscious about her disability.

Chatting before entering the ITV2 villa in Majorca, she said: “I call it my superpower.

“I don’t call it a disability because it’s something I don’t like — it sounds negative. With boys, because I’m so confident about it, I think they find that attractive.

“I don’t shy away from it. It’s like, if you don’t accept it that’s your loss, but I’m a fun, wild girl.”

Tasha was born deaf due to sensory loss, with the tiny, essential hairs on the cochlear in her inner ear missing or damaged.

Her implant has small fibre optics which are pushed into the cochlear to stimulate fluid and send messages to the brain, while the outer section contains a tiny computer that is programmed for the frequency of her loss.

Tasha, who has modelled for huge brands including Asos, said: “That’s what’s got me to where I am now. I’ve had this since I was born so it’s nothing that has changed in my life. I’m used to being around so many people, I’ve had to train my brain to deal with noise.

“There’s some accents I might not understand but I’m confident enough to say, ‘Please can you repeat that’.”

Tasha, from Thirsk, North Yorks, is no stranger to fame after a photo of her wearing her implant to model earrings on the Asos website went viral and she received ­messages from hundreds of people.

Teasing some might have been famous, she laughed: “Maybe they have, maybe they haven’t — but that’s in the past now and I’m looking forward to the future.

‘Exciting goals’

“Strictly’s Rose Ayling-Ellis follows me on Instagram. I think she’s an amazing role model. I definitely have some ­exciting goals for after the villa — I’ll scream from the rooftops when I achieve them.”

For now, Tasha is just days away from strutting on to ­Britain’s biggest dating show.

She added: “I’ve packed loads of bikinis — some sexy, some a bit more casual. I might have packed something a bit sexy for The Hideaway, but that depends if someone wants to see it.

“I just hope my superpower shows people it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t define you, it makes you special and unique and different to other people, but in a good, positive way.”

•  Love Island returns on ­ Monday at 9pm on ITV2.