MAN's best friend will soon become the ears for a hearing-impaired music teacher whose life as a professional opera singer was cut short by a devastating infection.
Sophie Biebuyck has been virtually deaf since the age of 25 when she was struck down with a virus of the cochlea – seven years after a similar infection had already significantly reduced the hearing in her right ear.
She used to perform the works of Mozart and Benjamin Britten in front of packed audiences in venues including the Italian Riveria and the Vatican.
But for the past two years, the 27-year-old has struggled to distinguish voices in a crowd and has overslept at least once after failing to hear the angry tones of her alarm clock.
Yet now, after being introduced to the charity Hearing Dogs for Deaf People by her consultant doctor, Miss Biebuyck is set to be guided through life with a dog which will warn her if the phone rings, when her alarm clock goes off or if the fire alarm sounds.
Miss Biebuyck, a soprano who teachers singing, piano and music theory at Brentwood School, in Ingrave Road, said: "It was devastating when I lost my hearing.
"Effectively my career as an opera singer was over, but you've two options in these situations.
"You either feel sorry for yourself and crash or get up and get on with it."
Miss Biebuyck, a former pupil at Brentwood School, added: "I've never been one for hiding away.
"You've just got to deal with it."
The dog, likely to be either a cockerpoo (a mix of a cocker spaniel and a poodle) or a sproodle (a mix of a springer spaniel and a poodle) will be able to tell her if one of her students is trying to get her attention.
Miss Biebuyck, who studied at Trinity College and the Royal Academy of Music, both in London, said: "I first lost some of my hearing at the age of 17 but the rest of the damage was done two years ago.
"Without my hearing aids I am pretty useless."
"Most of my hearing has been lost from the upper frequencies and I do lip read to a certain extent.
"I think the main reason why I don't have a speech impediment is the amount of work I had done training as a singer."
Besides teaching two to three days a week, Miss Biebuyck, who will soon be moving to Ongar Road after nine years in London, is the founder and director of the newly-formed Brentwood Songsters, which will meet at Becket Keys Free School on Tuesdays and which aims to inspire the next generation of Brentwood singers.
Brentwood Songsters is a new youth choir designed to provide fun choral experience for children aged eight to 16 and will bring children together from different schools in the area.
Miss Biebuyck added: "I want all the schools involved to perform loads of different types of music, from TV and film, musicals and classical."
Visit www.brentwoodsongsters.co.uk for more information.
