Charles Limb: Building the musical muscle

Traducător: Florian Surcel Corector: Stefan Molnar

Now when we think of our senses,

Cand ne gandim la simturile noastre,

we don't usually think of the reasons

nu ne gandim de obicei la motivele

why they probably evolved, from a biological perspective.

din cauza carora probabil s-au dezvoltat, dintr-o perspectiva biologica.

We don't really think of the evolutionary need

Chiar nu ne imaginam nevoia evolutiva

to be protected by our senses,

de a fi protejati de simturile noastre,

but that's probably why our senses really evolved --

dar din aceasta cauza probabil, simturile noastre au evoluat --

to keep us safe, to allow us to live.

pentru a ne mentine in siguranta, pentru a ne permite sa traim.

Really when we think of our senses,

Sincer, cand ne imaginam simturile noastre,

or when we think of the loss of the sense,

sau cand ne imaginam pierderea simtului,

we really think about something more like this:

ne gandim in fapt la ceva de genul:

the ability to touch something luxurious, to taste something delicious,

abilitatea de a atinge ceva luxos, de a gusta ceva delicios,

to smell something fragrant,

de a mirosi ceva parfumat,

to see something beautiful.

de a vedea ceva frumos.

This is what we want out of our senses.

Asta este ceea ce ne dorim de la simturile noastre.

We want beauty; we don't just want function.

Ne dorim frumusete, nu ne dorim o simpla functie.

And when it comes to sensory restoration,

Si cand vorbim despre restabilirea senzoriala,

we're still very far away from being able to provide beauty.

putem spune ca suntem inca foarte departe de a fi in stare sa furnizam frumusete.

And that's what I'd like to talk to you a little bit about today.

Despre aceasta imi doresc sa va vorbesc putin astazi.

Likewise for hearing.

In special despre auz.

When we think about why we hear,

Cand ne gandim la motivul pentru care auzim,

we don't often think about the ability to hear an alarm or a siren,

nu ne gandim prea des la abilitatea de a auzi o alarma sau o sirena,

although clearly that's an important thing.

desi cu siguranta acesta este un lucru important.

Really what we want to hear is music.

Ceea ce ne dorim cu adevarat sa auzim este muzica.

(Music)

Muzica.♫

So many of you know that that's Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

Multi dintre dumneavoastra stiu ca aceasta este Simfonia nr. 7 de Beethoven.

Many of you know that he was deaf, or near profoundly deaf,

Multi dintre dumneavostra cunosc ca a fost surd, sau aproape de surzenia totala,

when he wrote that.

cand a scris asta.

Now I'd like to impress upon you

Acum vreau sa va fac sa intelegeti

how unusual it is that we can hear music.

cat de neobisnuit este ca putem sa auzim muzica.

Music is just one of the strangest things that there is.

Muzica este unul dintre cele mai stranii lucruri

It's acoustic vibrations in the air,

Consta intr-o vibratie acustica in aer,

little waves of energy in the air that tickle our eardrum.

mici unde de energie in aer care ne ating timpanul

Somehow in tickling our eardrum

Stimuland intr-un anume fel timpanul nostru

that transmits energy down our hearing bones,

ce transmite energie mai departe catre oscioarele de auz

which get converted to a fluid impulse inside the cochlea

care o convertesc intr-un impuls fluid in interiorul cohlearului

and then somehow converted into an electrical signal in our auditory nerves

si apoi transformata cumva intr-un semnal electric in nervii nostri auditivi

that somehow wind up in our brains

care se finalizeaza intr-un fel anume in creierele noastre

as a perception of a song or a beautiful piece of music.

ca o perceptie a unui cantec sau a unei frumoase piese muzicale.

That process is entirely abstract and very, very unusual.

Acest proces este in intregime abstract, si foarte, foarte neobisnuit.

And we could discuss that topic alone for days

Si putem discuta doar despre acest subiect zile intregi

to really try to figure out, how is it that we hear something that's emotional

pentru a incerca intr-adevar sa intelegem, cum se face ca auzim ceva ca fiind emotionant

from something that starts out as a vibration in the air?

din ceva ce a inceput ca o vibratie in aer?

Turns out that if you have hearing loss,

Privita invers, daca ti-ai pierdut auzul,

most people that lose their hearing

majoritatea celor care si-au pierdut auzul

lose it at what's called the cochlea, the inner ear.

il pierd la nivelul asa numitul cohlea, urechea interna.

And it's at the hair cell level that they do this.

Si asta se intampla la nivelul celulei firului de par.

Now if you had to pick a sense to lose,

Daca acum ati fi nevoiti sa alegeti un simt pe care sa-l pierdeti,

I have to be very honest with you

Trebuie sa fiu foarte sincer cu voi

and say, we're better at restoring hearing

si sa spun, suntem mai buni in recuperarea auzului

than we are at restoring any sense that there is.

decat in recuperarea oricarui alt simt care exista,

In fact, nothing even actually comes close

De fapt, nimic altceva nici macar nu se apropie

to our ability to restore hearing.

de abilitatea noastra de a restabili auzul.

And as a physician and a surgeon, I can confidently tell my patients

Si ca fizician si chirurg, pot sa spun cu incredere pacientilor mei

that if you had to pick a sense to lose,

ca daca este nevoie sa aleaga un simt pe care sa-l piarda,

we are the furthest along medically and surgically with hearing.

suntem apropiati din punct de vedere medical si chirurgical intr-o masura mai mare de auz.

As a musician, I can tell you

Ca si muzician, va pot spune

that if I had to have a cochlear implant,

ca daca ar fi sa am un implant cohlear,

I'd be heartbroken. I'd just be plainly heartbroken,

as avea inima franta, as fi de-a dreptul zdrobit

because I know that music would never sound the same to me.

deoarece as sti ca muzica nu ar mai suna niciodata la fel pentru mine.

Now this is a video that I'm going to show you

Acum o sa va arat un material video

of a girl who's born deaf.

cu o fetita care s-a nascut surda.

She's in a very supportive environment.

Ea se afla intr-un mediu care o sprijina foarte mult.

Her mother's doing everything she can.

Mama ei face tot ceea ce poate.

Okay, play that video please.

OK, pune-ti materialul va rog.

(Video) Mother: That's an owl.

(Video) Mama: Asta este o bufnita!

Owl, yeah.

Bufnita, da.

Owl. Owl.

Bufnita. Bufnita.

Yeah.

Da.

Baby. Baby.

Baby. Baby.

You want it?

O vrei?

(Kiss)

(Pupic)

Charles Limb: Now despite everything going for this child

Charles Limb: Acum in ciuda a tot ce se face pentru acest copil

in terms of family support

in ceea ce priveste suportul familiei

and simple infused learning,

ai al invataturilor simple insuflate,

there is a limitation to what a child who's deaf, an infant who was born deaf,

exista o limitarea la ceea ce copilul care este surd, bebelusul care s-a nascut surd,

has in this world

are in lumea lui

in terms of social, educational, vocational opportunities.

in ceea ce priveste viata sociala, educationala, oportunitatile vocationale.

I'm not saying that they can't live a beautiful, wonderful life.

Nu spun ca ei nu pot sa traiasca o viata frumoasa, minunata.

I'm saying that they're going to face obstacles

Spun doar ca vor avea de infruntat obstacole

that most people who have normal hearing will not have to face.

pe care oamenii cu auz normal nu trebuie sa le intampine.

Now hearing loss and the treatment for hearing loss

Pierderea auzului si tratamentul pentru pierderea auzului

has really evolved in the past 200 years.

chiar a evoluat in ultimii 200 de ani.

I mean literally,

Si spun asta fara exagerare,

they used to do things like stick ear-shaped objects onto your ears

foloseau lucruri ca lipirea unor obiecte in forma de ureche peste urechi

and stick funnels in.

si alipeau acestora niste palnii.

And that was the best you could do for hearing loss.

Si asta era tot ce se putea mai bine pentru pierderea auzului.

Back then you couldn't even look at the eardrum.

Pe atunci nici macar nu puteai sa te uiti la un timpan.

So it's not too surprising

asa ca nu este atat de surprinzator

that there were no good treatments for hearing loss.

ca nu existau tratamente cu rezultate bune pentru pierderea auzului.

And now today we have the modern multi-channel cochlear implant,

In prezent avem implanturi moderne de cohlea multi-canelari,

which is an outpatient procedure.

ce reprezinta o procedura ambulatorie.

It's surgically placed inside the inner ear.

Este plasat chirurgical in urechea interna.

It takes about an hour and a half to two hours, depending on where it's done,

Dureaza aproximativ o ora si jumatate - doua ore, in functie de locul unde este executata,

under general anesthesia.

sub anestezie generala.

And in the end, you achieve something like this

Si la sfarsit se obtine ceva de genul

where an electrode array is inserted inside the cochlea.

unui sir de electrozi introdusi in interiorul cohlea-rului

Now actually, this is quite crude

De fapt, este chiar crud

in comparison to our regular inner ear.

in comparatie cu ureche noastra interna normala.

But here is that same girl who is implanted now.

Dar priviti aceeasi fetita care are un implant acum.

This is her 10 years later.

Aceasta este ea dupa 10 ani.

And this is a video that was taken

Si acesta este un material video care a fost facut

by my surgical mentor, Dr. John Niparko, who implanted her.

de catre mentorul meu in chirurgie, Dr. John Niparko, cel care i-a facut implantul.

If we could play this video please.

daca am putea sa punem acest materal video va rog.

(Video) John Niparko: So you've written two books?

(Video) John Niparko: deci ai scris doua carti?

Girl: I have written two books. (Mother: Was the other one a book or a journal entry?)

Fetita: Am scris doua carti. (Mama: Cealalta a fost o carte sau un jurnal?)

Girl: No, the other one was a book. (Mother: Oh, okay.)

Fetita: Nu, celalata a fost o carte. (Mama: O, ok.)

JN: Well this book has seven chapters,

JN: Ei bine cartea aceasta are sapte capitole,

and the last chapter

si ultimul capitol

is entitled "The Good Things About Being Deaf."

este intitulat "Lucrurile bune in a fi surd"

Do you remember writing that chapter?

Iti amintesti de scrierea acestui capitol?

Girl: Yes I do. I remember writing every chapter.

Fetita: Da. Imi amintesc de scrierea fiecarui capitol.

JN: Yeah.

JN: Yeah.

Girl: Well sometimes my sister can be kind of annoying.

Fetita: Ei bine cateodata sora mea poate fi cam enervanta.

So it comes in handy to not be annoyed by her.

Asa ca imi vine la indemana sa nu fiu deranjata de ea.

JN: I see. And who is that?

JN: Inteleg. Si cine este?

Girl: Holly. (JN: Okay.)

Fetita: Holly. (JN: Ok)

Mother: Her sister. (JN: Her sister.) Girl: My sister.

Mama: Sora ei. (JN: Sora ei.) Fetita: Sora mea.

JN: And how can you avoid being annoyed by her?

JN: Si cum poti evita sa fi deranjata de catre ea?

Girl: I just take off my CI, and I don't hear anything.

Fetita: Imi scot pur si simplu CI-ul si nu mai aud nimic.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

It comes in handy.

E la indemana.

JN: So you don't want to hear everything that's out there?

JN: Deci nu vrei sa auzi chiar totul?

Girl: No.

Fetita: Nu.

CL: And so she's phenomenal.

CL: Este fenomenala.

And there's no way that you can't look at that as an overwhelming success.

Nu este nicio posibilitate ca sa nu te uiti la asta ca la un succes extraordinar.

It is. It's a huge success story in modern medicine.

Chiar este. Este o imensa povesta de succes in medicina moderna.

However, despite this incredible facility

Oricum, in ciuda acestei facilitati incredibile

that some cochlear implant users display with language,

pe care cativa utilizatori de impanturi auditive o expun prin vorbe,

you turn on the radio and all of a sudden they can't hear music almost at all.

deschizi radioul si deodata ei nu pot sa asculte muzica aproape deloc.

In fact, most implant users really struggle

De fapt, majoritatea utilizatorilor de implanturi se chinuie intr-adevar

and dislike music because it sounds so bad.

si nu apreciaza muzica deoarece suna foarte rau.

And so when it comes to this idea

Si atunci a aparut ideea

of restoring beauty to somebody's life,

de recastigare a frumusetii vietii unora,

we have a long way to go when it comes to audition.

avem un drum lung de parcurs cand vine lvorba de auditie

Now there are a lot of reasons for that.

Acum exista un numar mare de motive pentru acesata.

I mentioned earlier the fact

Am mentionat mai devreme faptul ca

that music is a different capacity because it's abstract.

muzica este o dimensiune aparte deoarece este abstracta.

Language is very different. Language is very precise.

Vorbirea este foarte diferita. Vorbirea este foarte precisa.

In fact, the whole reason we use it

De fapt, motivul complet din cauza caruia o folosim

is because it has semantic-specificity.

este fiindca are o specificitate semantica.

When you say a word,

Cand spui un cuvant,

what you care is that word was perceived correctly.

ceea ce te intereseaza este ca acel cuvant sa fie perceput corect.

You don't care that the word sounded pretty

Nu te intereseaza ca acel cuvant sa sune dragut

when it was spoken.

atunci cand este spus.

Music is entirely different.

Cu muzica este total diferit.

When you hear music, if it doesn't sound good, what's the point?

Cand asculti muzica, daca nu suna bine, care mai este scopul?

There's really very little point in listening to music

Este un punct foarte mic in ascultarea muzicii

when it doesn't sound good to you.

cand nu-ti suna bine.

The acoustics of music are much harder than those of language.

Acustica muzicii este mult mai puternica decat cea a vorbirii.

And you can see on this figure,

Si puteti vede pe aceasta imagine,

that the frequency range

in care nivelul frecventei,

and the decibel range, the dynamic range of music

si nivelul decibelic, dinamica nivelului muzicii

is far more heterogeneous.

este de departe mai eterogena.

So if we had to design a perfect cochlear implant,

Asa ca daca ar fi sa proiectam implantul perfect de cohlea

what we would try to do

ceea ce am incerca sa facem

is target it to be able to allow music transmission.

ar fi sa fim capabili sa ascultam transmiterea muzicii.

Because I always view music as the pinnacle of hearing.

Deoarece vad intotdeauna muzica ca fiind un apogeu al ascultarii.

If you can hear music,

Daca poti sa asculti muzica,

you should be able to hear anything.

vei fi in stare sa auzi orice.

Now the problems begin first with pitch perception.

Problemele incep cu perceperea masurii..

I mean, most of us know that pitch is a fundamental building block of music.

Vreau sa spun ca, multi dintre noi stiu ca masura este o componenta fundamentala in construirea muzicii.

And without the ability to perceive pitch well,

Si fara abilitatea de a percepe masura asa cum trebuie,

music and melody is a very difficult thing to do --

muzica si melodia sunt un lucru foarte greu de facut --

forget about a harmony and things like that.

uitati de armonie si lucruri de genul asta.

Now this is a MIDI arrangement of Rachmaninoff's Prelude.

Acesta este un aranjament MIDI al Preludiului lui Rahmaninoff

Now if we could just play this.

Daca putem sa-i dam drumul.

(Music)

(Muzica)

Okay, now if we consider

Ok, acum daca luam in considerare

that in a cochlear implant patient

asta la un pacient cu implant auditiv

pitch perception could be off as much as two octaves,

perceperea masurii poate fi gresita cu pana la doua octave,

let's see what happens here

sa vedem ce se intampla aici

when we randomize this to within one semitone.

cand generam asta intr-un semiton

We would be thrilled if we had one semitone pitch perception in cochlear implant users.

Vom vibra daca vom avea perceptia masurii unui semiton in implantul cohlear al utilizatorului.

Go ahead and play this one.

Dati drumul si puneti asta

(Music)

(Muzica)

Now my goal in showing you that

Acum scopul meu este sa va arat

is to show you that music is not robust to degradation.

sa va arat ca muzica nu este rezistenta la degradare.

You distort it a little bit, especially in terms of pitch, and you've changed it.

Distorsionati-i foarte putin, in special in ceea ce priveste masura, si o veti avea schimbata.

And it might be that you kind of like that.

Si poate fi ceva ce ar putea sa va placa.

That's kind of hypnotic.

Un fel de hipnoza

But it certainly wasn't the way the music was intended.

Dar cu siguranta nu a fost modul in care trebuia sa fie acea muzica

And you're not hearing the same thing

Si nu ascultati acelasi lucru

that most people who have normal hearing are hearing.

cu ceea ce majoritatea oamenilor cu auz normal aud.

Now the other issue comes with,

Acum apare un alt aspect,

not just the ability to tell pitches apart,

nu doar abilitatea de a identifica separat masurile,

but the ability to tell sounds apart.

ci abilitatea de a identifica separat sunetele.

Most cochlear implant users cannot tell the difference between an instrument.

Majoritatea utilizatorilor de implant auditiv nu pot spune care este diferenta dintre instrumente

If we could play these two sound clips in succession.

daca putem sa punem aceste doua clipuri audio succesiv.

(Trumpet)

(Trompeta)

The trumpet.

Trompeta

And the second one.

Si urmatorul

(Violin)

Vioara

That's a violin.

Acesta este vioara

These have similar wave forms. They're both sustained instruments.

Au forma undelor similara. Sunt amandoua instrumente sustinute

Cochlear implant users cannot tell the difference

Utilizatorii de implant cohlear nu pot sa faca diferenta

between these instruments.

dintre aceste instrumente.

The sound quality, or the sound of the sound

Calitatea sunetului, sau sunetul sunetului

is how I like to describe timbre, tone color --

este modul in care imi place sa desciu timbrul, tonalitatea --

they cannot tell these things whatsoever.

ei nu pot sa spuna aceste lucruri orice ar fi.

This implant is not transmitting

Acest implant nu transmite

the quality of music that usually provides things like warmth.

calitatea muzicii care de obicei genereaza lucruri ca si caldura

Now if you look at the brain of an individual who has a cochlear implant

Daca va uitati la creierul unui individ care are un implant cohlear.

and you have them listen to speech,

si il studiati in timp ce asculta un speech

have them listen to rhythm and have them listen to melody,

un ritm si o melodie,

what you find is that the auditory cortex

ceea ce veti gasi este ca, cortexul auditiv

is the most active during speech.

este mult mai activ in timpul speech-ului

You would think that because these implants are optimized for speech,

Va ganditi ca se intampla asa deoarece aceste implanturi sunt optimizate pentru vorbire,

they were designed for speech.

finnd concepute pentru vorbire.

But actually if you look at melody,

dar daca va uitati de fapt la melodie,

what you find is that there's very little cortical activity

ceea ce veti gasi este ca acolo va fi o foarte mica activitate a cortexului

in implant users compared with normal hearing controls.

la utilizatorii de implanturi decat la cei cu auzul normal.

So for whatever reason,

Asa ca nu conteaza din ce motiv,

this implant is not successfully stimulating auditory cortices

implantul nu stimuleaza cu succes cortexul auditiv

during melody perception.

in timpul perceperii melodiei.

Now the next question is,

Acum intrebarea care se pune este,

well how does it really sound?

Bun, cum suna in realitate?

Now we've been doing some studies

Facem cateva studii

to really get a sense of what sound quality is like for these implant users.

pentru a obtine un sens la ceea ce reprezinta calitatea sunetului pentru acesti utilizatori de implant auditiv

I'm going to play you two clips of Usher,

Va voi pune doua clipuri ale lui Usher

one which is normal

unul care este normal

and one which has almost no high frequencies, almost no low frequencies

si unul care nu are majoritatea frecventelor inalte si joase

and not even that many mid frequencies.

nici macar majoritatea frecventelor medii.

Go ahead and play that.

Dati-i drumul

(Music)

(Musica)

(Limited Frequency Music)

(Muzica cu frecvente limitate)

I had patients tell me that those sound the same.

Am avut pacienti care mi-au spus ca aceste sunete sunt la fel.

They cannot differentiate sound quality differences

Nu au putut sa distinga diferente in calitatea sunetului

between those two clips.

intre cele doua clipuri

Again, we are very, very far away in just getting to where we want to get to.

Inca o data, suntem foarte, foarte departe de ceea ce ne dorim sa obtinem.

Now the question comes to mind: Is there any hope?

Acum o intrebare ne vine in minte. Exista vreo speranta?

And yes, there is hope.

Si da, exista o speranta.

Now I don't know if anybody knows who this is.

Nu stiu daca cineva stie cine este

This is ... does somebody know?

Este... stie cineva?

This is Beethoven.

este Beethoven.

Now why would we know what Beethoven's skull looks like?

De ce-am sti cum arata craniul lui Beethoven?

Because his grave was exhumed.

Deoarece mromantul lui a fost exhumat.

And it turns out that his temporal bones were harvested when he died

avand ca rezultat oasele lui scoase asa cum erau la momentul mortii

to try to look at the cause of his deafness,

in incercarea de a descoperi cauzele surzeniei sale

which is why he has molding clay

de aceea avea mocirla

and his skull is bulging out on the side there.

si craniul sau era umflat in acea parte.

But Beethoven composed music

Dar Beethoven a compus muzica

long after he lost his hearing.

si mult dupa ce si-a pierdut auzul.

What that suggests is that, even in the case of hearing loss,

Ceea ce ne spune ca , chiar si in cazul pierderii auzului,

the capacity for music remains.

capacitatea pentru muzica ramane.

The brains remain hardwired for music.

Creierul ramane in functiune pentru muzica.

I've been very lucky to work with Dr. David Ryugo

Sunt foarte norocos sa lucrez cu Dr. David Ryogo

where I've been working on deaf cats that are white

unde lucram pe pisici surde care sunt apte

and trying to figure out what happens when we give them cochlear implants.

si incercam sa intelegem ce se intampla cand le punem implant cohlear

This is a cat that's been trained to respond to a trumpet for food.

Aceasta este o pisica ce a fost antrenata sa reactioneze la o trompeta pentru mancare.

(Music)

(Muzica)

Text: Beethoven doesn't excite her.

Text: Beethoven nu o stimuleaza.

(Music)

(Muzica)

The "1812 Overture" isn't worth waking for.

"Uvertura 1812" nu merita efortul de a se deplasa

(Trumpet)

(Trompeta)

But she jumps to action when called to duty!

Dar se arunca in actiune atunci cand e chemata la datorie!

(Trumpet)

(Trompeta)

CL: Now I'm not suggesting

CL: Nu sugerez

that the cat is hearing that trumpet the way we're hearing it.

ca pisica aude trompeta in acelasi fel in care o auzim noi.

I'm suggesting that with training

sugerez doar ca, cu antrenament

you can imbue a musical sound with significance,

poti insufla un sunet muzical cu semnificatie,

even in a cat.

chiar si pentru o pisica.

If we were to direct efforts

Daca ar fi sa depunem eforturi directionate

towards training cochlear implant users to hear music --

catre antrenarea utilizatorilor de implant cohlear de a asculta muzica --

because right now there's virtually no effort put towards that,

fiindca in acest moment nu sunt eforturi depuse in acest sens,

no rehabilitative strategies,

nu sunt strategii de restaurare,

very little in the way of technological advances to actually improve music --

s-a avansat foarte putin pe drumul tehnologic in vederea imbunatatirii muzicii --

we would come a long way.

ne asteapta un drum lung.

Now I want to show you one last video.

Acum vreau sa va arat un ultim material video.

And this is of a student of mine named Joseph

Acesta este despre un student de-al meu pe nume Joseph

who I had the good fortune to work with for three years in my lab.

cu care am avut norocul sa lucrez timp de 3 ani in laboratorul meu.

He's deaf, and he learned to play the piano

Este surd, si a invatat sa cante la pian

after he received the cochlear implant.

dupa ce a primit un implant cohlear.

And here's a video of Joseph.

Si acesta este un material video cu Joseph.

(Music)

(Musica)

(Video) Joseph: I was born in 1986.

(Video) Joseph: M-am nascut in 1986

And at about four months old,

Si cam la varsta de 4 luni

I was diagnosed with profoundly severe hearing loss.

Am fost diagnosticat cu o pierdere profunda si severa a auzului.

Not long after,

Nu mult dupa aceea,

I was fitted with hearing aids.

Mi-au fost fixate dispozitive ajutatoare pentru urechi

But although these hearing aids

Dar cu toate ca aceste dispozitive ajutatoare

were the most powerful hearing aids on the market at the time,

erau cele mai puternice dispozitive de pe piata de la acea vreme,

they weren't very helpful.

nu au fost foarte folositoare.

So as a result, I had to rely on lip reading a lot,

Ca urmare, a trebuit sa ma bazez foarte mult pe citirea de pe buze,

and I couldn't really hear what people were saying.

si nu puteam cu adevarat sa aud ce spuneau ceilalti.

When I was 12 years old,

Cand aveam 12 ani,

I was one of the first few people in Singapore

am fost unul dintre primii oameni din Singapore

who underwent cochlear implantation.

caruia i s-a facut un test pentru implant cohlear.

And not long after I got my cochlear implant,

Si nu mult dupa aceea am obtinut implantul cohlear

I started learning how to play piano.

Am inceput sa invat sa cant la pian.

And it was absolutely wonderful.

Si a fost absolut minunat.

Since then, I've never looked back.

si de atunci, nu m-am uitat niciodata inapoi.

CL: Joseph is phenomenal. He's brilliant.

CL: Joseph este fenomenal. este briliant.

He is now a medical student at Yale University,

Acum este student la medicina la Universitatea Yale,

and he's contemplating a surgical career --

si intentioneaza sa urmeze o cariera in chirurgie --

one of the first deaf individuals to consider a career in surgery.

unul dintre primele persoane surde care iau in considerare o cariera in chirurgie.

There are almost no deaf surgeons anywhere.

Aproape ca nu exista chirurgi surzi pe nicaieri.

And this is really unheard of stuff, and this is all because of this technology.

Si asta chiar nu s-a mai auzit, si toate acestea datorita acestei tehnologii.

And the fact that he can play the piano like that

Si faptul ca poate sa cante la pian in asa fel

is a testament to his brain.

este un testament pentru creierul sau.

Truth of the matter is you can play the piano without a cochlear implant,

Adevarul care conteaza este ca voi puteti canta la pian fara un implant cohlear,

because all you have to do is press the keys at the right time.

pentru ca tot ce aveti de facut este sa apasati clapele la momentul potrivit.

You don't actually have to hear it.

Nu trebuie in fond sa auziti.

I know he doesn't hear well, because I've heard him do Karaoke.

Stiu ca nu aude bine, pentru ca l-am auzit la Karaoke.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

And it's one of the most awful things --

Si este unul dintre cele mai urate lucruri --

heartwarming, but awful.

un lucru ce te incalzeste, dar groaznic.

(Laughter)

(Rasete)

And so there is certainly a lot of hope,

Asa ca exista cu siguranta destula speranta

but there's a lot more that needs to be done.

dar sunt atatea altele ce trebuiesc facute.

So I just want to conclude with the following words.

Vreau sa concluzionez cu urmatoarele cuvinte.

When it comes to restoration of hearing,

Cand vine vorba de restabilirea auzului,

we have certainly come a long way, a remarkably long way.

am facut cu siguranta un drum lung, un drum remarcabil de lung.

And we have a much longer way to go

si avem de facut mult mai mult decat pana acum.

when it comes to the idea of restoring perfect hearing.

cand vorbim despre ideea restaurarii auzului perfect

And let me tell you right now,

Si lasati-ma sa va spun acum,

it's fine that we would all be very happy with speech.

este in regula ca vom fi toti foarte fericiti cu vorbirea

But I tell you, if we lost our hearing,

Dar va spun ca, daca pierdem auzul

if anyone here suddenly lost your hearing,

daca cineva isi pierde brusc auzul,

you would want perfect hearing back.

veti dori inapoi auzul perfect.

You wouldn't want decent hearing, you would want perfect hearing.

Nu veti dori un auz decent, veti dori auzul perfect.

Restoration of basic sensory function is critical.

Restabilirea functiilor senzoriale de baza este critica.

And I don't mean to understate

Si nu vreau sa inteleg

how important it is to restore basic function.

cat de importanta este restabilirea functiilor de baza.

But it's really restoration of the ability to perceive beauty

ci restabilirea cu adevarat a abilitatii de a percepe frumusetea

where we can get inspiring.

acolo unde putem fi impresionati

And I don't think that we should give up on beauty.

Si nu cred ca trebuie sa renuntam la frumusete.

And I want to thank you for your time.

Si vreau sa va multumesc pentru timpul acordat

(Applause)

(Aplauze)