A Deaf Woman Who Can Finally Hear

[Mickey]

Severely hearing impaired since birth, Sarah Churman had long managed to cope in a world where sounds came as if they were under water. But now, a surgical implant lets her hear her own voice, the sounds of birds singing, her two daughters chattering — and her husband snoring.

linked from Youtube.com


Sarah was born with a rare genetic deformity that means she's missing the hair in her inner ear that transmits sound to the brain. She was fitted with her first hearing aid at age 2, but even with that technology she could only hear some vibrations and loud noises. She compensated throughout her life by becoming adept at reading people’s lips.

But earlier this year, Sloan Churman heard a radio ad for the Esteem Inner Ear Stimulator, billed as the only full implantable hearing aid for what his wife suffered from — sensorineural hearing loss.

The $30,000 implant was pricey for the working class family. But they saved and borrowed — Sloan’s mother helped out greatly — and in July, Sarah had the procedure.

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/44756127/ ... ad-accent/


I love Ellen
linked from Youtube.com


http://sarahchurman.blogspot.com

[Indospice]

[Toefje]

Aww so touching. Like woah. She speaks so well too????

[Lizzy]

that video went viral like.. 2 years ago?

EDIT; oh, a year ago.

[Flutey]

That was really amazing

[Andres]

[Alastair]

that video went viral like.. 2 years ago?

EDIT; oh, a year ago.

Yeah this haha!
But I never understood how she could speak... If you've never spoken or needed to speak before, how could you suddenly start...? She shouldn't have an accent either surely?
Idk it just seems weird that she can speak if she has never heard the english language before.
Still very cool video.

[dre]

Aww now I need a tissue! Thanks for sharing! Even if it already went viral *cough Lizzy cough* , cuz this way those of us who are not in touch with such things can also appreciate the magic. I mean, I only discovered trololo this past fall and it was a life changer.

[Andres]

that video went viral like.. 2 years ago?

EDIT; oh, a year ago.

Yeah this haha!
But I never understood how she could speak... If you've never spoken or needed to speak before, how could you suddenly start...? She shouldn't have an accent either surely?
Idk it just seems weird that she can speak if she has never heard the english language before.
Still very cool video.

sounds came as if they were under water

So she wasn't completely deaf, she could hear with difficulty. That's how she knew how to speak

[Aurelien]

i work with a deaf person, and well he love Techno because he can feel the beat. but can read perfectly on my lips and we have normal conversation.

[Madrigal]

i work with a deaf person, and well he love Techno because he can feel the beat. but can read perfectly on my lips and we have normal conversation.

Beethoven was deaf (though not all his life, he got an infection as a kid and turned deaf as a result) and composed his music based on vibrations. It's amazing!


I have a cousin who is deaf, and has hearing aids. Not the Cochlear Implant though. She speaks just fine, with the except that she can't hear her voice 100% so she sounds kind of muted.