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Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching

Read the original at South China Morning Post ↗
Cite

Chow, J. (2026, October 14). Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching. South China Morning Post. https://www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/society/article/3370801/unexpected-path-lasting-impact-hearing-loss-setback-leads-decades-teaching?utm_source=rss_feed

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South China Morning Post · collected 2026-10-14 · by Jimmy Chow

Quick Summary

Ivan Fung Wing-hong, a finalist for the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, faced significant challenges due to hearing loss that affected his ability to find work in the construction industry after graduation. Despite this setback, he went on to have a long and diverse teaching career, impacting students from kindergarten through postgraduate levels as well as elderly learners. Born with a hearing impairment, Fung's academic journey initially focused on subjects like math and art where he excelled before studying building-related topics at City Polytechnic of Hong Kong, which later became City University of Hong Kong in 1994.
Written by AI on 2026-10-14, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

Story summary

Ivan Fung Wing-hong, a finalist for the Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, has dedicated nearly three decades to teaching after facing employment setbacks due to his hearing impairment. Born with a hearing loss that made it difficult for him to hear clearly and excel in language subjects at school, Fung struggled initially to find work in Hong Kong’s construction industry upon graduation from City Polytechnic of Hong Kong (now known as City University of Hong Kong or CityU). Despite these challenges, he pursued studies in building-related fields due to his strengths in maths and art. Over the years, Fung has taught a wide range of students including young children, postgraduate students, and elderly individuals, demonstrating resilience and commitment across generations.

Written for “Hearing Loss Impact On Teaching Career” on 2026-11-04, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 Hearing Loss Impact On Teaching Career
Education · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

Nothing to compare against. No article is close enough to this one for the pipeline to have linked or judged the pair.
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
5
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
20%
1 of 5 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
62/100
South China Morning Post's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Education
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-10-14 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

South China Morning Post · 3720 article(s) · 8 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 8 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Jimmy Chow
25 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 Alfred Lam says helping elderly people and disadvantaged communities allows him to look beyond symptoms and understand those he may one day treat Years of volunteering to serve elderly people and disadvantaged communities have informed medical student Alfred Lam’s approach to medicine, teaching the University of Hong Kong undergraduate to look beyond symptoms and understand the people he may one day treat. Lam is a finalist in the youth category of this year’s Spirit of Hong Kong Awards, which recognise the city’s unsung heroes and organisations whose work might otherwise escape public attention.
🔮 Claudia Chan Shu-ying, a medical student at the Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK), is developing CancerCompanion, a digital companion designed to offer emotional support between appointments, including late at night when professional help may not be immediately available.
🔮 Founded in 2014, the organisation helps people who may not qualify for legal aid or cannot afford private representation.
🔮 Spirit of Hong Kong Awards finalist Dr Ng Kwai-lun provides transparent funeral care and end-of-life planning through his social enterprise After years of teaching Hongkongers about death and end-of-life arrangements, Dr Ng Kwai-lun realised there was a gap between what people were told they could do and the services actually available to them.
🔮 Dream Compassioneers co-founder Chan Yik-yeung said the response also showed what students could achieve when trusted with responsibility.
🔮 Born with a hearing impairment, Fung struggled with language subjects at school because he could not always hear clearly.
🔮 Mahtani, founder of OCD & Anxiety Support Hong Kong, said better referrals between hospitals, community mental health services and specialist charities could help people receive timely support while they wait for formal treatment.
🔮 “If I had given up after losing six scholarship opportunities, I would not be here in Hong Kong teaching today,” he said.
🔮 She heard the applause but could not see who it came from.
Also by Jimmy Chow
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 25 articles by Jimmy Chow →

Topics

City Polytechnic of Hong Kong City University of Hong Kong CityU Hong Kong’s

Subjects

City Polytechnic of Hong Kong ORG · 1× City University of Hong Kong ORG · 1× CityU ORG · 1× Fung PERSON · 1× Hong Kong’s GPE · 1× Ivan Fung PERSON · 1× Ivan Fung Wing-hong PERSON · 1×

Narrative

Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching Spirit of Hong Kong Awards finalist Ivan Fung overcame job setbacks linked to his hearing impairment to help others across generations Hearing loss made it difficult for Ivan Fung Wing-hong to find work in Hong Kong’s construction industry after graduation.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 2026-10-14
🔮 Born with a hearing impairment, Fung struggled with language subjects at school because he could not always hear clearly.
2026-10-14 · South China Morning Post
Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching · assertive framing

Claims (5 extracted, 1 hedged)

Unexpected path, lasting impact: hearing loss setback leads to decades of teaching Spirit of Hong Kong Awards finalist Ivan Fung overcame job setbacks linked to his hearing impairment to help others across generations Hearing loss made it difficult for Ivan Fung Wing-hong to find work in Hong Kong’s construction industry after graduation. asserted
hong → last → graduation
Nearly three decades later, that early setback has led to a teaching career spanning young children, postgraduate students and elderly people. asserted
setback → lead → children
Born with a hearing impairment, Fung struggled with language subjects at school because he could not always hear clearly. uncertain
he → bear → school
He was stronger in maths and art, which eventually led him to study building-related subjects at what was then City Polytechnic of Hong Kong. asserted
what → lead → Kong
The institution became City University of Hong Kong (CityU) in 1994. asserted
institution → become → 1994
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