This story has a very deep place in my heart, my mother was born deaf and after countless surgeries in her early youth she was able to regain (or to have the start of) the hearing in her left ear. She is still entirely deaf in her right, but I am very happy that she can hear at all - if she hadn't, both her and my own life would be far different (and I wouldn't likely have existed at all!).
Growing up I always had to subtitles on, driven to speak loudly and clearly, and learn just enough sign language (not much, but being italian grants you the starting ability to hand wave at all hours of the day). This story catalogues all the attempts to create and invent a medical device that could restore or grant the power of hearing. The story is excellently written, and written by the very man who has changed millions of lives over the past few decades, Professor Graeme Clark.
This story goes into the thought process of the device, the manufacturing, the attempt to raise funding (many times! many failures!), the stress of integration within the deaf community, and many more. If you have an interest in technology and how it is a net-benefit of humanity, or are worried about the use of technology, this should be your first choice to see how great the world can be.
