第十篇： How Deafness Makes It Easier to Hear

　　Most people think of Beethoven's hearing loss as an obstacle to composing music.

　　However, he produced his most powerful works in the last decade of his life when he was

　　completely deaf.

　　This is one of the most glorious cases of the triumph of will over adversity, but his

　　biographer, Maynard Solomon, takes a different view. l . In his deaf world Beethoven

　　could experiment, free from the sounds of the outside world, free to create new forms and

　　harmonies.

　　Hearing loss does not seem to affect the musical ability of musicians who become deaf. They continue to "hear" music with as much, or greater, accuracy than if they were actually hearing it being played.

　　2 . He described a fascinating phenomenon that happened within three months:"my former musical experiences began to play back to me. I couldn't differentiate between what I heard and real hearing. After many years, it is still rewarding to listen to these playbacks, to 'hear' music which is new to me and to find many quiet accompaniments for ali of my moods. "

　　How is it that the world we see, touch, hear, and smell is both "out there" and at the same time within us? There is no better example of this connection between external stimulus and internal perception than the cochlear implant. 3 . However,it might be possible to use the brain's remarkable power to make sense of the electrical signals the implant produces.

　　When Michael Edgar first "switched on" his cochlear implant, the sounds he heard were not at all Clear. Gradually, with much hard work, he began to identify everyday sounds. For example," The insistent ringing of the telephone became clear almost at once. "

　　The primary purpose of the implant is to allow communication with others. When people

　　spoke to Eagar, he heard their voices "coming through like a long-distance telephone call on

　　a poor connection. " But when it came to his beloved music, the implant was of no help.

　　4 . He said, "I play the piano as I used to and hear it in my head at the same time.

　　The movement of my fingers and the feel of the keys give added ' clarity' to hearing in my

　　head. "

　　Cochlear implants allow the deaf to hear again in a way that is not perfect, but which can

　　change their lives. 5 . Even the most amazing cochlear implants would have been useless to Beethoven as he composed his Ninth Symphony at the end of his life.

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