Sounds from Silence: Graeme Clark and the Bionic Ear Story

‘In those early weeks post op, he had been aware of sound but not of speech. We were sitting in the sofa having a lesson, practising 'a’ when suddenly it came out loud and clear. Then, hardly daring, I said ‘i’. He followed very softly. I went on: ‘e’, ‘o’, u’, and each time Teddy followed. I felt awed, so filled with emotion I couldn’t speak. Teddy was shining, as if a light had been switched on. Then, very slowly, he leaned over and kissed me very gently on the mouth. That kiss belongs to you.‘ A letter from a grateful grandmother after Graeme Clark restored her grandson’s hearing.

Sounds From Silence is the very personal story of how Professor Graeme Clark developed the Bionic Ear, how he conceived and directed research and how Cochlear took it up to give so many people, both young and old, the chance to hear. It movingly tells of how the profoundly deaf and their families cope with the silence of deafness, and of their joy in being given the gift of hearing.

However, Graeme Clark also reveals the often seemingly insurmountable barriers put in his way: the mistrust of sections of the deaf community, the scepticism of many of his professional colleagues and the constant frustration in trying to find funding for his research.

This is a powerful and moving story of one man’s professional and personal journey to give sounds from silence.