Deaf AND blind, the boy who is Britain’s pluckiest musician
HE WAS born deaf and is slowly losing his sight – but that hasn’t stopped 11-year-old Charlie Dent on l earning not one but four musical instruments.
His musician parents Emma and Matt feared he would probably never enjoy music, yet now he plays the violin, piano, guitar and drums.
Emma, 40, from Stonehouse in Gloucestershire, said: ‘ We were told Charlie wouldn’t even be able to hear a plane taking off right next to him.’
But, determined that he should get the same joy from music as they do, his parents encouraged him – and got Charlie his own violin when he was t hree. Although he couldn’t hear a thing, Emma said he ‘seemed to get something from playing’, enjoying the sensation of the strings vibrating through his body.
His deafness was caused by problems with his cochleae, the tiny spiral-shaped cavities in the inner ear that should convert sound waves into nerve impulses.
Before his fourth birthday, he had implants of two synthetic cochleae, made by hearing- aid specialists MED-EL. These directly stimulate the auditory nerve, giving Charlie the hardware to hear.
But he still had to train his brain to understand sound, which until the operation was completely alien to him. Despite the difficulties, he persevered – and last year passed his Grade 3 violin exam with distinction.
He took to the piano, passing Grade 1 when he was eight and Grade 2 last year.
Charlie’s hearing problem was triggered by a rare genetic condition called Usher syndrome, which is the main cause of deaf-blindness. It also results in progressive sight loss, with the sufferer eventually confined to tunnel vision and being all but blind in dim light.
Last summer he att ended a festival in Poland for young musicians with hearing problems, where a troupe of Greek drummers introduced him to the joys of percussion. That, and a fondness for Ed Sheeran’s music, convinced him to take up drums and guitar too. ‘He really is quite a performer. I think he sees himself as a bit of a rocker!’ said Emma.
Each year about 500 children in Britain receive cochlear implants.
The operation was first attempted 61 years ago today by a French surgeon. The milestone is marked annually by International Cochlear Implant Day.
‘He likes Ed Sheeran – he’s a bit of a rocker!’