0:00:04 > 0:00:06Archive programmes chosen by experts.
0:00:06 > 0:00:09For this collection, Prof Alice Roberts has selected
0:00:09 > 0:00:13a range of programmes to celebrate Horizon's 50th anniversary.
0:00:13 > 0:00:16More Horizon programmes and other BBC Four Collections
0:00:16 > 0:00:18are available on BBC iPlayer.
0:00:30 > 0:00:37Oh, yes, I can hear if anybody is knocking on the front door.
0:00:37 > 0:00:42I go to the door, I watch their mouths move.
0:00:42 > 0:00:44HE MIMICS A PHONE RINGING
0:00:44 > 0:00:47- Hello! - Hello!
0:00:47 > 0:00:50THEY CHATTER
0:00:54 > 0:00:55OK. Bye-bye.
0:00:55 > 0:00:58I cannot hear the birds sing.
0:01:00 > 0:01:05Early morning, the sunrise and the birds, the larks, the thrushes,
0:01:05 > 0:01:10the jays, the finches, even. All of that.
0:01:10 > 0:01:14To wake up in the morning and see the sun shining and hear those birds,
0:01:14 > 0:01:17it must be a wonderful, wonderful thing.
0:01:25 > 0:01:27THEY CHAT
0:01:27 > 0:01:31'If you're lucky, you can probably hear what everyone is saying.
0:01:31 > 0:01:35'With too many voices, you're able to concentrate on one of them.'
0:01:36 > 0:01:38..Saying that it's not a good spot,
0:01:38 > 0:01:41because they're going to be limited for playground space.
0:01:41 > 0:01:46'Some say the ability to hear human speech is our most precious gift.
0:01:46 > 0:01:51'Equally important is the ability to pick it out from other sounds.'
0:01:51 > 0:01:54...right outside and they have their lunches all laid out
0:01:54 > 0:01:56and the lunch ladies come and...
0:01:56 > 0:01:58'But for the deaf, it's very different.'
0:01:58 > 0:02:00SILENCE
0:02:05 > 0:02:09'Nearly all of us are born with virtually perfect hearing.'
0:02:09 > 0:02:12SHIP SIREN BLARES
0:02:12 > 0:02:16'The baby easily hears the low frequency of a ship's siren.
0:02:16 > 0:02:19'It also picks up the high-pitched
0:02:19 > 0:02:21'squeaking of a bat at a very high frequency.'
0:02:23 > 0:02:27'But as we get older, our hearing ability begins to fall off,
0:02:27 > 0:02:32'particularly with high frequencies.' SHIP SOUNDS LESS AUDIBLE
0:02:32 > 0:02:34VOLUME INCREASES
0:02:34 > 0:02:37'We can still hear the ship, but many of us can't hear a bat,
0:02:37 > 0:02:39'however loud it squeaks.'
0:02:39 > 0:02:41SQUEAKING
0:02:42 > 0:02:45'To hear bats may not matter, but to hear speech does.
0:02:45 > 0:02:49'In the whole range of sound - low frequency, top left,
0:02:49 > 0:02:51'high, top right and loudest at the bottom -
0:02:51 > 0:02:53'speech is bang in the middle.
0:02:53 > 0:02:57'It's neither very high- nor low-frequency, nor very loud,
0:02:57 > 0:03:00'but for normal life, it's vital to hear it.
0:03:00 > 0:03:03'Normal adults have no difficulty, but if you're deaf,
0:03:03 > 0:03:06'the curtain of silence cuts you off from speech.'
0:03:09 > 0:03:12'Degrees of deafness are plotted on audiograms.
0:03:12 > 0:03:15'Old people often show some hearing at low frequencies on the left,
0:03:15 > 0:03:18'but little at high ones on the right.
0:03:18 > 0:03:22'This person could hear about half the range of human speech,
0:03:22 > 0:03:24'but would miss any high notes.'
0:03:26 > 0:03:29'Audiograms chart the hearing in each ear separately,
0:03:29 > 0:03:31'as it can vary considerably.
0:03:31 > 0:03:34'This is what your audiogram should look like if you haven't had to turn
0:03:34 > 0:03:38'up the volume on your set and your hearing's really good.
0:03:38 > 0:03:40'You should hear everything from the quietest squeak
0:03:40 > 0:03:43'to the most distant thunder.
0:03:43 > 0:03:47'This is the chart of a deaf child. Normal speech is way above his range.
0:03:47 > 0:03:51'Here's another who can barely hear even the very loudest noises.
0:03:52 > 0:03:55'Even with two hearing aids blasting in,
0:03:55 > 0:03:58'such a child lives in a world of distant rumbles.
0:04:00 > 0:04:04'They look normal, noisy, happy children. Certainly they're happy,
0:04:04 > 0:04:08'but none of them hear any of the noise they're making.'
0:04:13 > 0:04:16Find a bowl. Yes, you've to find a bowl first.
0:04:16 > 0:04:20'In class, their lessons are at full volume in the hope that
0:04:20 > 0:04:23'something gets through. This is probably all they hear.
0:04:23 > 0:04:25TEACHER IS BARELY AUDIBLE
0:04:28 > 0:04:32'It's no ordinary lesson. They are learning to lip read, to understand
0:04:32 > 0:04:34'the meaning behind flickering lips.
0:04:34 > 0:04:37'For without some form of language, there is
0:04:37 > 0:04:40'little hope of gaining any of the knowledge we take for granted.
0:04:40 > 0:04:44'To teach these children involves incredible patience.
0:04:44 > 0:04:48'Only when the child can lip read or relate any faint sounds with speech,
0:04:48 > 0:04:51'will it begin to understand the importance of language
0:04:51 > 0:04:54'and attempt to reply in words it will never hear.'
0:04:55 > 0:04:58'Earphones help, for very few children are totally deaf.'
0:04:58 > 0:05:01I had a green bowl. And I put some...
0:05:01 > 0:05:05'If any sound at all gets through, it encourages the child to listen
0:05:05 > 0:05:09'harder, often causing a slight improvement in hearing and
0:05:09 > 0:05:13'when you're deaf, any improvement, however small, means a lot.
0:05:13 > 0:05:15'We sympathise with such children,
0:05:15 > 0:05:17'because we can see their hearing aids,
0:05:17 > 0:05:21'but no young man wants to reveal he's deaf, he's disabled.
0:05:21 > 0:05:25'We tend to sympathise with the disabilities we can see.
0:05:25 > 0:05:27'The white stick becomes a cry for help
0:05:27 > 0:05:30'when you see a blind person approaching heavy traffic.'
0:05:33 > 0:05:35CAR HORNS TOOT
0:05:41 > 0:05:43'We give more than ten times as much to
0:05:43 > 0:05:47'charities for the blind as for the deaf.
0:05:47 > 0:05:49'But if this girl were deaf,
0:05:49 > 0:05:53'she might be equally at risk from the fast car she hadn't heard,
0:05:53 > 0:05:56'but no-one would have helped, no-one would have known.'
0:06:01 > 0:06:04'Even what are still probably the most neglected people among us,
0:06:04 > 0:06:07'the old, get some help, some understanding.
0:06:07 > 0:06:10'But if you're old and deaf, as millions are, you're very likely to
0:06:10 > 0:06:15'be treated as either stupid or an annoying embarrassment.
0:06:15 > 0:06:18'When did you last see this sign? Probably never.
0:06:18 > 0:06:20'It could help us to help the deaf,
0:06:20 > 0:06:25'but do you blame the deaf for only rarely branding themselves with it?
0:06:25 > 0:06:29'For many, the badge of deafness is the hearing aid,
0:06:29 > 0:06:32'yet, in some ways, their wearers are the lucky majority.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36'They at least hear something. Others are less fortunate.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39'Sound enters our ear as a complex set of ripples in the air.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43'It's channelled by the ear into a tiny living instrument
0:06:43 > 0:06:45'of incredible sensitivity.
0:06:45 > 0:06:47'At the end of the passage is the eardrum, which converts
0:06:47 > 0:06:51'the vibrations of sound in the air into mechanical movement.'
0:06:55 > 0:06:58'Attached to the drum are three minute bones, the hammer,
0:06:58 > 0:07:00'anvil and stirrup.
0:07:00 > 0:07:03'There in the middle ear, the physical joints
0:07:03 > 0:07:05'which relay to the brain
0:07:05 > 0:07:09'both the squeak of a bat and the explosion of a bomb.
0:07:09 > 0:07:11'If you hear these words,
0:07:11 > 0:07:15'your middle ear is vibrating with similar activity, but if you can't,
0:07:15 > 0:07:18'the bones may have become ossified and stilled to silence.
0:07:18 > 0:07:21'This particular deafness can be cured.
0:07:21 > 0:07:24'The operation involves great dexterity,
0:07:24 > 0:07:26'working under the microscope.
0:07:26 > 0:07:29'The cavity of the middle ear is penetrated to remove the stirrup.'
0:07:35 > 0:07:38'It's replaced by a tiny plastic piston.
0:07:38 > 0:07:42'This operation has given thousands a new chance to hear,
0:07:42 > 0:07:46'but that's only a fraction of those suffering other forms of deafness.'
0:07:48 > 0:07:50'It enables the vibrations of the middle ear
0:07:50 > 0:07:51'to pass into the inner ear,
0:07:51 > 0:07:54'a shell-like receiver, smaller than a pea,
0:07:54 > 0:07:57'which captures every sound you will ever hear.
0:07:57 > 0:07:59'The inner ear is like a spiral corridor
0:07:59 > 0:08:01'edged with microscopic hairs,
0:08:01 > 0:08:05'each of which somehow senses the frequency and volume of sound,
0:08:05 > 0:08:08'resonates with it and relays it to the brain.
0:08:08 > 0:08:11'The tragedy is, that though we know what the inner ear does,
0:08:11 > 0:08:15'no-one is certain about precisely how it works.
0:08:15 > 0:08:19'Until they are, no-one can repair any suspected faults inside it.
0:08:19 > 0:08:20'For the time being,
0:08:20 > 0:08:23'its tiny confines are beyond the reach of medical practice.
0:08:23 > 0:08:26'For the deaf person who hasn't learned to speak,
0:08:26 > 0:08:29'this is the easiest way of talking. It's slow
0:08:29 > 0:08:32'and few hearing people understand sign language.'
0:08:40 > 0:08:44'Even slower is spelling each word letter by letter.
0:08:44 > 0:08:46'To spell this fast takes practice.
0:08:46 > 0:08:50'At this speed, not even many experts can decipher what is being spelt,
0:08:50 > 0:08:53'but compared with speech, it's pathetically slow.'
0:08:59 > 0:09:03'Many of these children are potentially very bright indeed.
0:09:03 > 0:09:06'Their tragedy is that they have to spend much of the time
0:09:06 > 0:09:09'when their minds are most receptive, learning speech
0:09:09 > 0:09:12'which other children, however dim, take for granted.
0:09:12 > 0:09:16'Such a delay is often a major educational handicap.
0:09:16 > 0:09:19'It makes early detection of deafness essential.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21'Adam's parents suspected something was wrong
0:09:21 > 0:09:24'and their doctor referred them to this clinic in Manchester,
0:09:24 > 0:09:26'where a precise measure of the degree of his deafness
0:09:26 > 0:09:28'is to be taken.'
0:09:28 > 0:09:29All right? Good.
0:09:29 > 0:09:31- I think that's OK. - There we are.
0:09:31 > 0:09:36'A two-year-old can't tell you about what he can't hear,
0:09:36 > 0:09:38'so special equipment is used to check
0:09:38 > 0:09:40'if the mechanism of the middle ear
0:09:40 > 0:09:43'is relaying sound vibrations properly.
0:09:43 > 0:09:47'The graph of sound bounced back from the ear showed that the middle ear
0:09:47 > 0:09:51'was working normally, so the problem lay with the inner ear.
0:09:51 > 0:09:54'Unfortunately, many deaf children
0:09:54 > 0:09:56'are not diagnosed before the age of two,
0:09:56 > 0:09:59'the critical period for learning speech.
0:09:59 > 0:10:01'As a result, they may be retarded
0:10:01 > 0:10:03'and the longer the delay in finding them,
0:10:03 > 0:10:06'the worse the handicap.'
0:10:06 > 0:10:09That's fine. There. Good.
0:10:09 > 0:10:13That's it! That's a good boy! We'll put this one. Here you are.
0:10:13 > 0:10:14Let's put that one.
0:10:14 > 0:10:17'The child is now exposed to various sounds, all of which have been
0:10:17 > 0:10:21'previously checked to determine their exact frequency.
0:10:21 > 0:10:23'The object is to see which he can hear
0:10:23 > 0:10:25'and if both ears are working equally well.'
0:10:26 > 0:10:28We've got that one. It goes like that.
0:10:28 > 0:10:33Let's try some sounds a wee bit louder now. All right?
0:10:33 > 0:10:36HE CLAPS Bump. There, like that. That's right.
0:10:37 > 0:10:41That's right. Terry. TAPPING
0:10:43 > 0:10:44Very good.
0:10:44 > 0:10:45'It's a very skilled job.
0:10:45 > 0:10:48'The child's attention must be held all the time to be certain
0:10:48 > 0:10:51'he's only distracted by the specific sound under study.'
0:10:53 > 0:10:56CUP TAPS
0:10:59 > 0:11:03'Few ordinary hospital outpatient departments have time or staff
0:11:03 > 0:11:05'to give every child this kind of attention.'
0:11:05 > 0:11:08What's this one? Make it go like this.
0:11:08 > 0:11:11'Now, they try his response to speech.'
0:11:11 > 0:11:12Baba. Baba.
0:11:13 > 0:11:15Baba! BABA!
0:11:15 > 0:11:18'His better ear has picked it up.'
0:11:18 > 0:11:20- Once again. To your right. - Hello. Hello!
0:11:20 > 0:11:21There we are.
0:11:21 > 0:11:24'Now they try a pure tone device.'
0:11:24 > 0:11:26THE DEVICE BEEPS
0:11:29 > 0:11:32BEEPS GET LOUDER
0:11:32 > 0:11:35'Again, his better ear detects the sound first.'
0:11:35 > 0:11:37There was the build-up. That's right.
0:11:37 > 0:11:41HE BLOWS A WHISTLE
0:11:41 > 0:11:43Hey. Here. Watch.
0:11:44 > 0:11:46'All the time, his attention must be held.'
0:11:46 > 0:11:48He's doing very well.
0:11:48 > 0:11:52We'll make this one go, let's make this one go round.
0:11:52 > 0:11:54Make it go round and round.
0:11:57 > 0:12:00THE DEVICE BEEPS
0:12:06 > 0:12:08Yes. BEEPING
0:12:08 > 0:12:12Yes. Still the left is dominant. Hey, there we are!
0:12:12 > 0:12:17HE BLOWS Like that. Make it go there.
0:12:17 > 0:12:19HE TAPS THE XYLOPHONE
0:12:19 > 0:12:24'Such testing takes hours of patient, skilled work.
0:12:24 > 0:12:26'In Britain, it's a lottery whether you live near one of the few centres
0:12:26 > 0:12:30'with either the equipment or the gifted staff to guarantee that
0:12:30 > 0:12:33'a child's deafness is detected early.
0:12:33 > 0:12:35'Too many children slip through the net.'
0:12:35 > 0:12:37Still, the turn tends to be on the right.
0:12:40 > 0:12:42'This family were lucky.
0:12:42 > 0:12:45'They live near Manchester where they can bring their daughter Claire
0:12:45 > 0:12:47'to one of the best hearing centres in the country.
0:12:51 > 0:12:55'Claire 's deafness was detected quite early and although, at four,
0:12:55 > 0:12:58'she's still too young for a special school, her parents
0:12:58 > 0:13:01'can come to this clinic with her to learn to teach her lip-reading
0:13:01 > 0:13:03'and even the rudiments of speech,
0:13:03 > 0:13:06'for every second counts for the developing child.
0:13:09 > 0:13:13'First, a routine check to confirm her degree of hearing loss.
0:13:16 > 0:13:20'The test shows how loud various sound frequencies have to be
0:13:20 > 0:13:23'before she hears them. For Claire, it's a game.
0:13:23 > 0:13:27'She put a ball on a stick when she hears something.'
0:13:30 > 0:13:32Wait and listen. Wait and listen.
0:13:34 > 0:13:39I've got the boost on. We'll start at 250.
0:13:39 > 0:13:45LOW-PITCHED SOUND PLAYS Good girl. Wait and listen.
0:13:45 > 0:13:48HIGHER-PITCHED SOUND PLAYS
0:13:50 > 0:13:54Good. We've got a threshold response there.
0:13:54 > 0:13:56'Catching that threshold response was important.
0:13:57 > 0:13:58'It marked the precise volume
0:13:58 > 0:14:01'at which Claire just perceived the sound.
0:14:01 > 0:14:04'In the future, that volume intensity will be tested again to see
0:14:04 > 0:14:07'if it's got lower and if, therefore, her hearing is getting better.
0:14:07 > 0:14:09HIGH-PITCHED SOUND PLAYS
0:14:09 > 0:14:12Right, good girl. That's right.
0:14:12 > 0:14:13'This is what it's like now.
0:14:13 > 0:14:16'A few years ago, she'd have been called deaf and dumb.
0:14:16 > 0:14:20'Detected young, she'll have a good chance of speaking normally.
0:14:20 > 0:14:25'Claire is now presented with objects, each verbally identified.
0:14:25 > 0:14:28'The tester will then make sure that Claire can't hear him
0:14:28 > 0:14:31'and check whether she's really begun to lip-read.'
0:14:31 > 0:14:32What's that one? SHE RESPONDS
0:14:32 > 0:14:34Spoon. That's right.
0:14:34 > 0:14:35And that is a...?
0:14:35 > 0:14:37SHE RESPONDS Brick.
0:14:37 > 0:14:41What's that? Have a look.
0:14:41 > 0:14:43SHE RESPONDS
0:14:43 > 0:14:45A shoe. And a...?
0:14:45 > 0:14:48Glove.
0:14:48 > 0:14:51- Mmmou... - Mouse. Yes.
0:14:51 > 0:14:57Now, then. OK. Now, then, look. Let's get your finger.
0:14:57 > 0:15:01You show me. You show me. Where is the fish?
0:15:04 > 0:15:08That's a good girl. Watch. Where is the shoe?
0:15:12 > 0:15:17That's a good girl. Where is the spoon?
0:15:20 > 0:15:24Good girl. Show me the house.
0:15:24 > 0:15:27That's right. You listen. You listen.
0:15:29 > 0:15:34SHOUTS: Where's the house?! Where's the house?!
0:15:34 > 0:15:37NORMAL VOLUME: Where's the house?
0:15:37 > 0:15:39'She's lip-reading.'
0:15:39 > 0:15:41OK, listen.
0:15:41 > 0:15:43SHOUTS: Where's the brick? Show me the brick!
0:15:45 > 0:15:47NORMAL VOLUME: Show me the brick.
0:15:50 > 0:15:51Show me the brick.
0:15:51 > 0:15:53'Lip-reading is vital.
0:15:53 > 0:15:56'These parents are getting one of their first lessons in how to teach
0:15:56 > 0:15:59'the skill to their 18-month-old daughter, Tracey.
0:15:59 > 0:16:01'It demands very special techniques.'
0:16:01 > 0:16:08No. Pull. No. Pull. There's the man. That's the man.
0:16:08 > 0:16:11Now, I will roll the man to you. I will roll him to you. Hands ready.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15Come on. Let's get your hands ready. That's right. Hands ready.
0:16:15 > 0:16:19There we are. Now, then, I will roll the man to you. Here he comes.
0:16:19 > 0:16:25I will roll him. There we are. There. There. Now, there. Yes.
0:16:25 > 0:16:30Those are his eyes. Those are his eyes. Now put him in your hand.
0:16:30 > 0:16:33There, like that. But I want to take them off. Let's switch off.
0:16:33 > 0:16:36That's it. Now, let's take them off.
0:16:36 > 0:16:38Take it off like that. That's right.
0:16:38 > 0:16:42And we sit on Mummy's knee. Come on. Sit on Mummy's knee.
0:16:42 > 0:16:45Right, you take her on her knee, on your knee.
0:16:45 > 0:16:46That's good. That's fine. Lovely.
0:16:46 > 0:16:48Now, then...
0:16:48 > 0:16:51It isn't automatic that a child
0:16:51 > 0:16:53or a person who has a hearing loss
0:16:53 > 0:16:55automatically lip-reads. They've got to be helped.
0:16:55 > 0:16:58They've got to be taught on this one, all right?
0:16:58 > 0:17:02Now, I did certain things while I was getting her to watch me.
0:17:02 > 0:17:07For one thing, I held items close to my mouth. They were there.
0:17:07 > 0:17:10So that the item is seen and so is the pattern on the lips,
0:17:10 > 0:17:13and it's really not just the pattern on the lips,
0:17:13 > 0:17:14it's the whole expression.
0:17:14 > 0:17:20So, I spoke about the man. Here's the man. I will roll the man to you.
0:17:20 > 0:17:24And when I was doing this, I had it there,
0:17:24 > 0:17:27I didn't have it three inches away, that makes a difference.
0:17:27 > 0:17:33If I move that item, even if looks a short distance, but move it away,
0:17:33 > 0:17:37and a child will follow the item. That's the interest factor.
0:17:37 > 0:17:40And so she's not watching your lips. So I want it there.
0:17:40 > 0:17:44I want it either there or there. But not there.
0:17:44 > 0:17:47Now this is the other danger you've got to watch.
0:17:47 > 0:17:49When you're talking to her and saying, "Here's the man,
0:17:49 > 0:17:51"do you want the man, Tracey?"
0:17:51 > 0:17:54We are blocking the pattern.
0:17:54 > 0:18:00No, I want it there or there. I didn't do this. Here's the man.
0:18:00 > 0:18:02I'll roll the man to you.
0:18:02 > 0:18:06Because if I had have done, I'd have lost something.
0:18:06 > 0:18:09And I want to get in as much as I can in this situation.
0:18:09 > 0:18:15That's a green bus. Green like that. Isn't it? What colour is that?
0:18:15 > 0:18:21Green. Green. It's green. Yes. The Bury bus is a green bus.
0:18:22 > 0:18:24'Claire's mother has already mastered such basic essentials
0:18:25 > 0:18:27'and is now learning how to encourage Claire to reply
0:18:27 > 0:18:31'while teaching her spatial concepts with toys and games.'
0:18:31 > 0:18:33Yes. CLAIRE IMPERSONATES A BUS
0:18:33 > 0:18:37Can you put it on the picture? Can you find the space for it?
0:18:37 > 0:18:40CLAIRE RESPONDS
0:18:40 > 0:18:42Oh, it doesn't fit in there!
0:18:42 > 0:18:46That's right. Press it. Press it down.
0:18:46 > 0:18:48Make sure it's in properly.
0:18:49 > 0:18:51CLAIRE MIMICS SOME SOUNDS
0:18:51 > 0:18:52It's in properly.
0:18:52 > 0:18:54Good. Now, can we take this point up here?
0:18:54 > 0:18:56We've talked about the front wheel.
0:18:56 > 0:18:59And we've talked about the back wheel.
0:18:59 > 0:19:01Now let's take this a step further
0:19:01 > 0:19:04and talk about something in front of the bus, the car,
0:19:04 > 0:19:08and then for the next one, something behind the bus, all right?
0:19:08 > 0:19:10- Yes, I see, yes. - At the back.
0:19:10 > 0:19:14I know, we'll find something else. In the bag.
0:19:14 > 0:19:19Something that goes in front of the bus. What do you think it is?
0:19:19 > 0:19:21- Ah! - You think it's the car?
0:19:21 > 0:19:23Do you think...?
0:19:23 > 0:19:25- A lorry! - A lorry?!
0:19:25 > 0:19:27Oh, no, where's the lorry?
0:19:29 > 0:19:31That goes BEHIND the bus.
0:19:31 > 0:19:33'Claire's lucky, she's now got a place
0:19:33 > 0:19:35'at this special school in Southport,
0:19:35 > 0:19:37'regarded by many experts as being
0:19:37 > 0:19:39'one of the best of its type in the country.
0:19:39 > 0:19:41'Several thousands are less fortunate,
0:19:41 > 0:19:44'going to schools generally agreed as less well-equipped,
0:19:44 > 0:19:48'less able to give the essential, individual tuition, without which,
0:19:48 > 0:19:52'the deaf child will be unable to cope with the hearing world.
0:19:52 > 0:19:55'These children desperately need all of the help we can give them.
0:19:55 > 0:19:57'Too often, they don't get it.
0:19:58 > 0:20:02'This little boy's audiogram shows he can barely hear anything at all,
0:20:02 > 0:20:04'certainly no speech.
0:20:04 > 0:20:07'Unlike Claire, he's had no help with speech until now
0:20:07 > 0:20:09'and he's already five years old.
0:20:10 > 0:20:12'The headphones relay speech at high volume,
0:20:12 > 0:20:17'taking maximum advantage of whatever hearing he may have, however little.'
0:20:17 > 0:20:19Let's have a look at your home book.
0:20:19 > 0:20:21See if you can tell me what you were doing at the weekend.
0:20:21 > 0:20:23You tell me about that. Who's that?
0:20:23 > 0:20:26- Dog. - Yes, whose dog is it?
0:20:26 > 0:20:28UNCLEAR
0:20:33 > 0:20:34Who was catching it?
0:20:35 > 0:20:38- The dog was catching it. - (UNCLEAR) Dog.
0:20:38 > 0:20:40The dog was catching the ball, yes.
0:20:41 > 0:20:44- Ball. - Yes, what colour was that?
0:20:44 > 0:20:47'This book, the work of parents and child,
0:20:48 > 0:20:50'tells what the child has been up to at home,
0:20:50 > 0:20:52'a great help to a teacher making conversation.'
0:20:52 > 0:20:55- Not a big one. It was a small one. - Small.
0:20:56 > 0:20:58What colour was the ball?
0:20:58 > 0:21:02'The child must be exposed to absolutely normal speech
0:21:02 > 0:21:04'with natural rhythms.
0:21:04 > 0:21:05'The over-emphasis we tend to use
0:21:05 > 0:21:08'teaching hearing children to pronounce words
0:21:08 > 0:21:11'just adds to a deaf child's difficulty.'
0:21:11 > 0:21:13What's your dog's name?
0:21:13 > 0:21:15UNCLEAR
0:21:19 > 0:21:22Yes, he was catching the ball. What's the dog's name?
0:21:25 > 0:21:29He's called Frenchy. You say, "My dog's called Frenchy."
0:21:29 > 0:21:32UNCLEAR
0:21:33 > 0:21:35And you were playing with Frenchy.
0:21:36 > 0:21:39UNCLEAR
0:21:39 > 0:21:41You say, "I was throwing the ball..."
0:21:41 > 0:21:44'Teaching the deaf can be most frustrating,
0:21:44 > 0:21:48'for often, its benefits will only be seen years later by another teacher.'
0:21:50 > 0:21:52UNCLEAR
0:21:53 > 0:21:55Those are fireworks. Who is that?
0:21:55 > 0:21:57UNCLEAR
0:22:00 > 0:22:01Fireworks.
0:22:02 > 0:22:03Let's have a look.
0:22:04 > 0:22:06We're going to have a look at what we brought to school...
0:22:06 > 0:22:08'Individual tuition is the ideal,
0:22:08 > 0:22:11'though much can be achieved with small groups.
0:22:11 > 0:22:14'But here again, there are too few schools like this,
0:22:14 > 0:22:18'too few classes sufficiently small and too few teachers
0:22:18 > 0:22:20'either capable or unselfish enough
0:22:20 > 0:22:22'to wait months for seemingly minimal results.'
0:22:22 > 0:22:24Sit down.
0:22:24 > 0:22:27That's a good boy. You smell.
0:22:29 > 0:22:32It makes a dust. It's old paint.
0:22:33 > 0:22:35It was stuck onto the brush.
0:22:35 > 0:22:37I think your daddy didn't clean it properly.
0:22:39 > 0:22:41Sean, you say, "It makes a dust."
0:22:41 > 0:22:42It makes dust.
0:22:42 > 0:22:44Yes, it's a very dusty brush.
0:22:46 > 0:22:48Your daddy didn't clean it properly, did he?
0:22:48 > 0:22:51My daddy... (UNCLEAR) ..brush.
0:22:51 > 0:22:54Yes. What's this one? What's this?
0:22:55 > 0:22:58It's a toothbrush. A toothbrush.
0:22:58 > 0:22:59What colour is it, Sarah?
0:23:01 > 0:23:03A red one. Yes, it's a red toothbrush.
0:23:03 > 0:23:06Sean? Are you looking?
0:23:06 > 0:23:07All right.
0:23:07 > 0:23:10All right, just look at the toothbrushes.
0:23:10 > 0:23:12UNCLEAR
0:23:12 > 0:23:15That's like a little toothbrush, isn't it?
0:23:17 > 0:23:19Yours is at home. You say,
0:23:19 > 0:23:22"My toothbrush is at home."
0:23:22 > 0:23:25Yes, that's right. Let him have yours.
0:23:25 > 0:23:27Let's have yours. That's right.
0:23:27 > 0:23:30Now, let's have a look at the colours.
0:23:30 > 0:23:32What colour is that one, Darren?
0:23:32 > 0:23:34UNCLEAR It's blue.
0:23:34 > 0:23:37- What colour is this one? - Blue.
0:23:37 > 0:23:40It's pale blue. Pale blue.
0:23:40 > 0:23:42What colour is this one?
0:23:42 > 0:23:44- Pink. - Pink.
0:23:44 > 0:23:46Yes, and that one is...?
0:23:46 > 0:23:48- Red. - Red.
0:23:48 > 0:23:50It's your toothbrush, isn't it?
0:23:50 > 0:23:52It's a red one.
0:23:52 > 0:23:54Carl...
0:23:54 > 0:23:57'Only when the teacher has improved their speech and lip-reading
0:23:57 > 0:23:59'can she begin their wider education.
0:23:59 > 0:24:02'It's laborious and critics say the children would be happier
0:24:02 > 0:24:04'with sign language.
0:24:04 > 0:24:06'But then, there'd be no chance of coming to terms
0:24:06 > 0:24:08'with us, the hearing world.'
0:24:08 > 0:24:09All right.
0:24:12 > 0:24:14'These are some of the more senior pupils.
0:24:14 > 0:24:17'They hear nothing, but by now can talk remarkably clearly,
0:24:17 > 0:24:20'even in the presence of their headmaster.'
0:24:20 > 0:24:24..Arranged a football match. It was Manchester who played Derby County.
0:24:24 > 0:24:26I thought it was a good game.
0:24:26 > 0:24:27They won 4-0.
0:24:28 > 0:24:31I've never seen a game like that before, they all played well.
0:24:33 > 0:24:35He was married in St Helen's.
0:24:35 > 0:24:37Got married at three o'clock.
0:24:37 > 0:24:40Married with Ann, who used to be here.
0:24:40 > 0:24:41TEACHER: Ann McDermott, yes.
0:24:41 > 0:24:43And, er...
0:24:44 > 0:24:48There were 80 people in the reception in the afternoon.
0:24:48 > 0:24:51- And 150 in the evening. - 150?
0:24:51 > 0:24:54- What did you have in the evening? - A party, dance.
0:24:54 > 0:24:56A party and dance?
0:24:56 > 0:24:58I see, and then what happened after that?
0:24:58 > 0:25:00- We went home. - You went to...?
0:25:01 > 0:25:02I went home...
0:25:02 > 0:25:05'It's difficult for us hearing people to begin to understand
0:25:05 > 0:25:09'quite what an achievement for a deaf person speech is, however faltering.'
0:25:09 > 0:25:11Yeah...
0:25:11 > 0:25:14'The deaf can't even tell if they are shouting or whispering.
0:25:14 > 0:25:16'That too can be embarrassing.'
0:25:16 > 0:25:17Outside St Helen's...
0:25:17 > 0:25:21'Ken Skarratt has been totally deaf from 18 months old.
0:25:21 > 0:25:24'We asked him about those early days.'
0:25:24 > 0:25:26I remember very distinctly
0:25:26 > 0:25:29my parents being very, very concerned about my deafness.
0:25:29 > 0:25:33And they took me to several specialists.
0:25:33 > 0:25:35I have vivid memories of this.
0:25:35 > 0:25:40Because they kept probing into my ear and it was frightening,
0:25:40 > 0:25:43a very frightening experience at that time.
0:25:45 > 0:25:50And of course I did eventually go to a normal school for children.
0:25:51 > 0:25:53And I never got anywhere there at all.
0:25:53 > 0:25:55And I did...
0:25:55 > 0:25:58well, in fact I'm given to understand,
0:25:58 > 0:26:01pick up a certain amount of lip-reading ability,
0:26:01 > 0:26:04which proved very useful indeed to me.
0:26:05 > 0:26:08And of course, later on, I was admitted
0:26:08 > 0:26:10to a special school for deaf children.
0:26:10 > 0:26:15And it was then that I began to make real progress.
0:26:16 > 0:26:19'Frequently, too little progress can be made
0:26:19 > 0:26:22'by any child with such educational handicaps.
0:26:22 > 0:26:25'The emphasis in the outside world is on paper qualifications,
0:26:25 > 0:26:29'hard to come by for children whose main struggle is learning to speak.
0:26:29 > 0:26:33'Often very able mentally, they regularly find themselves
0:26:33 > 0:26:36'limited to jobs well below their abilities.
0:26:37 > 0:26:40'In our loquacious society, the deaf are linguistic lepers.
0:26:40 > 0:26:43'Rarely can we be bothered to make that little extra effort
0:26:43 > 0:26:46'in talking to them, trying to understand them.
0:26:46 > 0:26:48'We give them the jobs we don't want.
0:26:48 > 0:26:50'Having struggled into our world of speech,
0:26:50 > 0:26:53'their opportunities are very limited.'
0:26:53 > 0:26:56I am concerned at the moment
0:26:56 > 0:27:00not only with the placement of deaf children
0:27:00 > 0:27:05in jobs which are, at that time, commensurate with their ability.
0:27:05 > 0:27:09But I'm very concerned at the opportunities
0:27:09 > 0:27:12which are not given to the deaf.
0:27:14 > 0:27:18The deaf can be given more opportunity to better themselves
0:27:18 > 0:27:20in the industrial field.
0:27:20 > 0:27:21I feel this very strongly.
0:27:21 > 0:27:27Because many of them are doing jobs which are far below their potential,
0:27:27 > 0:27:32when they can be doing something greater and more rewarding.
0:27:32 > 0:27:36Not only to themselves financially, but to the rest of the deaf world.
0:27:36 > 0:27:41MUSIC: Gudbuy T'Jane by Slade
0:27:48 > 0:27:52'The cruel irony is that we hearing people live in a world
0:27:52 > 0:27:54'we choose to make more and more deafening.
0:27:55 > 0:27:58'This sound isn't too damaging in small doses,
0:27:58 > 0:28:02'but many hours of it close to loudspeakers can ruin your hearing.'
0:28:02 > 0:28:06# Goodbye to Jane Goodbye to Jane
0:28:06 > 0:28:09# Painted up like a fancy young man
0:28:09 > 0:28:11# She's a queen... #
0:28:11 > 0:28:15'Far too many discotheques amplify sound to danger levels,
0:28:15 > 0:28:18'with few, if any, breaks between numbers for the ear to recover.'
0:28:18 > 0:28:21INDUSTRIAL DIN
0:28:21 > 0:28:25'And if you spend your whole working life in this din,
0:28:25 > 0:28:27'your hearing is almost certain to be damaged.'
0:28:27 > 0:28:30REPETITIVE BANGING
0:28:32 > 0:28:35'The human ear can often recover from brief exposures to noise,
0:28:35 > 0:28:39'but long-term exposure gives no time for recovery.
0:28:39 > 0:28:43'Aircraft noise, traffic noise, even excess pop music,
0:28:43 > 0:28:45'they are our latest pollution.
0:28:45 > 0:28:48'But it's constant noise like this that really gets you.
0:28:48 > 0:28:50'Not mentally, but physically.'
0:28:50 > 0:28:51GRINDING
0:28:54 > 0:28:59'In remote parts of Africa, where the loudest normal sound is birdsong,
0:28:59 > 0:29:02'recent research has discovered some alarming facts.'
0:29:02 > 0:29:04BIRDSONG
0:29:04 > 0:29:08'It was found here that deterioration of hearing as people get older
0:29:08 > 0:29:10'hardly occurs at all.
0:29:12 > 0:29:16'Children's hearing was compared with that of the most senior citizens.
0:29:16 > 0:29:18'They were both excellent.
0:29:18 > 0:29:21'Although it's not yet possible to say lack of noise is the reason,
0:29:21 > 0:29:23'the implications for us are obvious.'
0:29:23 > 0:29:26# I say you're so young
0:29:26 > 0:29:28# You're so young... #
0:29:31 > 0:29:34GRINDING
0:29:36 > 0:29:38BANGING
0:29:40 > 0:29:42'Loud noises can perforate the eardrum,
0:29:42 > 0:29:44'but that nearly always heals up,
0:29:44 > 0:29:48'unlike the inner ear where prolonged noise louder than 90 decibels
0:29:48 > 0:29:51'can cause permanent damage.
0:29:51 > 0:29:54'The inner ear is minute, only a fifth of an inch across.
0:29:54 > 0:29:57'It contains 30,000 hair clusters like this,
0:29:57 > 0:30:00'seen under the electron microscope.
0:30:00 > 0:30:02'Each cluster senses a specific frequency,
0:30:02 > 0:30:06'and for perfect hearing every single fibre is important.
0:30:06 > 0:30:10'Whole areas of these tiny receptors can be knocked out for ever
0:30:10 > 0:30:13'by sustained excess volume or a quick series of shocks.
0:30:13 > 0:30:17'This damage was caused by listening to rifle shots.'
0:30:17 > 0:30:19RIFLE SHOTS
0:30:19 > 0:30:21BANGING
0:30:22 > 0:30:26'In industry, there's a growing awareness of the dangers of noise.
0:30:28 > 0:30:32'Unfortunately, sometimes even acoustically treating a machine
0:30:32 > 0:30:34'doesn't get noise down to safe levels.
0:30:34 > 0:30:39'Here, in an iron foundry, noise was above 100 decibels,
0:30:39 > 0:30:42'certain to induce deafness if heard for any duration of time.
0:30:44 > 0:30:47'Research shows some people are more prone to noise-induced deafness
0:30:48 > 0:30:51'than others, but so far there's been no attempt to spot such people
0:30:51 > 0:30:53'and give them quieter jobs.
0:30:55 > 0:30:57'At this foundry, the management
0:30:57 > 0:30:59'provided ear protection, both ear muffs
0:31:00 > 0:31:03'and medically recommended fibre down to wear inside the ear.
0:31:03 > 0:31:08'Wherever possible, they'd introduced sound dampers to cut noise levels.
0:31:08 > 0:31:09'But this isn't the Army,
0:31:09 > 0:31:12'and it's impossible to force people to take precautions.
0:31:12 > 0:31:16'It'll be a long battle using every persuasion technique available,
0:31:16 > 0:31:18'and today it's hardly begun.'
0:31:18 > 0:31:19I know the noise is deafening,
0:31:20 > 0:31:22but you still want to hear things around you.
0:31:22 > 0:31:23For safety reasons.
0:31:23 > 0:31:25GRINDING
0:31:25 > 0:31:28I do know you should wear something,
0:31:28 > 0:31:31but...I suppose I'm too idle really to do, you know.
0:31:31 > 0:31:34Nobody else does it, so I suppose why should I do it?
0:31:34 > 0:31:37GRINDING
0:31:37 > 0:31:41The biggest danger, I think, is overhead cranes.
0:31:43 > 0:31:46Accidents to eyes, fingers.
0:31:48 > 0:31:52Er, normal accidents that happen at work where they could grind stuff
0:31:52 > 0:31:55and probably cut their fingers, their kneecaps.
0:31:55 > 0:31:58I think noise, myself, comes very low on the list,
0:31:58 > 0:32:00as a danger point of view.
0:32:00 > 0:32:04I don't know if noise has ever killed anybody yet.
0:32:05 > 0:32:07I have recommended them to wear
0:32:07 > 0:32:10the fibreglass that's provided by the management.
0:32:10 > 0:32:12MAN: I haven't seen anybody wearing them.
0:32:13 > 0:32:16- Well, it's left to the men. - Why don't you wear them?
0:32:16 > 0:32:19I've tried it and I find it irritates my ears.
0:32:21 > 0:32:22The management seems to be worried.
0:32:23 > 0:32:26And the Inspectorate, they seem to be worried, but I'm not.
0:32:28 > 0:32:31'Management, unions and Inspectorate are concerned
0:32:31 > 0:32:33'about men refusing the protection provided.
0:32:34 > 0:32:38'Noise-induced deafness is, after all, a disability which is avoidable.
0:32:39 > 0:32:41'But in one form of deafness,
0:32:41 > 0:32:44'all hearing is swamped by noises like this,
0:32:44 > 0:32:45'inside the sufferer's head.
0:32:45 > 0:32:48'It's called tinnitus. Luckily, it's very rare.'
0:32:50 > 0:32:52THEY LAUGH
0:32:52 > 0:32:55They all seem to get some, except me.
0:32:55 > 0:32:57I think they're taking the competition out of school...
0:32:57 > 0:33:00'The father of this family is Jack Ashley MP,
0:33:00 > 0:33:03'whose crusade for thalidomide victims made headline news.'
0:33:03 > 0:33:05Do you know what time Jane came home last night?
0:33:05 > 0:33:08- What time was it, Janey? - I was in by 11.15.
0:33:08 > 0:33:12'Jack Ashley suffers from tinnitus. This is all he hears.'
0:33:12 > 0:33:15WHOOSHING
0:33:19 > 0:33:23'He considers himself lucky. He only went deaf five years ago.
0:33:23 > 0:33:24'He wanted to resign,
0:33:24 > 0:33:28'but his constituents persuaded him to carry on.'
0:33:28 > 0:33:30WHOOSHING
0:33:31 > 0:33:39To me, it consists of a hissing noise, like the escaping of steam.
0:33:39 > 0:33:43Or a roaring noise, like an express train.
0:33:45 > 0:33:48Or a thundering noise, like thunder itself.
0:33:50 > 0:33:55Sometimes, I can hear a cacophony of all kinds of these noises.
0:33:57 > 0:34:03I think perhaps the worst of all is like a whine through my skull.
0:34:04 > 0:34:07Which, at times, can be almost unbearable.
0:34:09 > 0:34:12When this happens, when it is almost unbearable,
0:34:12 > 0:34:17the only thing I can do is to take a sedative and hope to sleep,
0:34:17 > 0:34:20or really throw myself into work in the hope of forgetting.
0:34:20 > 0:34:24But of course sometimes that doesn't work and one really has to,
0:34:24 > 0:34:27as the doctor says, learn to live with it.
0:34:27 > 0:34:30I can't hear my own voice at all.
0:34:30 > 0:34:32It's one of the oddities of being totally deaf,
0:34:32 > 0:34:35that one is communicating to viewers,
0:34:35 > 0:34:38but I can't hear what I'm saying.
0:34:38 > 0:34:41I'm only judging the level of my voice
0:34:41 > 0:34:44and the timbre and quality of my voice,
0:34:44 > 0:34:48I think by memory, and partly by the flickering of muscles.
0:34:48 > 0:34:52And while I've been fighting to come to terms with deafness,
0:34:52 > 0:34:55the House of Commons, unostentatiously,
0:34:55 > 0:34:59has been coming to terms with me and helping me out.
0:34:59 > 0:35:04You see, remarkably enough, the man who I find easiest of all
0:35:04 > 0:35:07and most helpful of all,
0:35:07 > 0:35:10is an arch political opponent, the Prime Minister.
0:35:10 > 0:35:13Because I'm very critical with the Prime Minister.
0:35:13 > 0:35:17I ask lots of very critical questions on a Tuesday and Thursday,
0:35:17 > 0:35:20that's part of my job, is to attack him.
0:35:20 > 0:35:22And yet it's Ted Heath who,
0:35:22 > 0:35:25when I put these critical questions to him,
0:35:25 > 0:35:27turns to me and speaks clearly.
0:35:27 > 0:35:30I think it's marvellous the way he does it.
0:35:31 > 0:35:34PHONE RINGS
0:35:34 > 0:35:38'Today, to be both executive and deaf is well nigh impossible.
0:35:38 > 0:35:42'Even the simplest so-called aids become barriers.
0:35:42 > 0:35:44'Mrs Grant holds down a high-powered job
0:35:44 > 0:35:46'with the Royal National Institute for the Deaf,
0:35:46 > 0:35:49'but she can't even hear the telephone.
0:35:49 > 0:35:50'She needs help.'
0:35:51 > 0:35:54Royal National Institute for the Deaf.
0:35:54 > 0:35:55Good morning.
0:35:57 > 0:35:58Oh, yes, just a moment.
0:35:59 > 0:36:02A gentleman inquiring about homes for deaf people.
0:36:02 > 0:36:06How many people to each home?
0:36:06 > 0:36:11Well, it's about 30, although we do have a larger home for men only.
0:36:11 > 0:36:14'Everything Mrs Grant wants to hear
0:36:14 > 0:36:16'must be mouthed at her for her to lip-read.'
0:36:16 > 0:36:17..To go into the home.
0:36:19 > 0:36:23I think you have to get in touch with the local welfare officer first,
0:36:23 > 0:36:25for a recommendation.
0:36:25 > 0:36:29Send your application form to the Institute.
0:36:29 > 0:36:34Then we will go into it with the local welfare office.
0:36:34 > 0:36:38Or even our own welfare officer will go and visit
0:36:38 > 0:36:39the man or the woman who wants to come in.
0:36:41 > 0:36:43'This could be an answer.
0:36:43 > 0:36:45'Her phone and that of the person on the other end
0:36:45 > 0:36:49'are each plugged into a television and a special typewriter.
0:36:49 > 0:36:52'She sees the phone ring and switches on.
0:36:57 > 0:37:00'She reads the message as it's written on her television.
0:37:03 > 0:37:05'The total cost to the deaf subscriber
0:37:05 > 0:37:08'would be little more than an average telephone rental.
0:37:17 > 0:37:21'Without even having to speak, Mrs Grant can now reply.
0:37:45 > 0:37:49'It's a new American device now being tried out for the British market.
0:37:49 > 0:37:52'Mrs Grant was surprised, considering its seeming simplicity,
0:37:52 > 0:37:55'why we hadn't come up with it ourselves.
0:37:56 > 0:37:59'Until now, technology has mainly helped the deaf with hearing aids.
0:38:00 > 0:38:03'But today, at last, other ideas are getting off the drawing board.
0:38:03 > 0:38:07'These are finger vibrators, devised at Imperial College,
0:38:07 > 0:38:09'to help the deaf actually sense
0:38:09 > 0:38:11'through their fingers what sound feels like.
0:38:11 > 0:38:15'The box damps the buzz of the vibrating pads.
0:38:15 > 0:38:17'Through them, the deaf can sense
0:38:17 > 0:38:19'different frequencies and volumes in each finger.
0:38:19 > 0:38:22'The advantage is that both the hearing and the deaf
0:38:22 > 0:38:24'can feel the words they speak.'
0:38:27 > 0:38:28Start reading.
0:38:28 > 0:38:32UNCLEAR
0:38:33 > 0:38:35'The vibrators cause the buzz.
0:38:35 > 0:38:38'Lydia's totally deaf, but here can feel the sound
0:38:38 > 0:38:40'as she speaks or lip-reads.
0:38:41 > 0:38:42Now.
0:38:46 > 0:38:49With the word "human", you had difficulty.
0:38:49 > 0:38:50Human.
0:38:50 > 0:38:52Human.
0:38:52 > 0:38:57You have to remember the I before the U.
0:38:57 > 0:38:59- Human. - Human.
0:38:59 > 0:39:00- Right. - Human.
0:39:00 > 0:39:02Human.
0:39:03 > 0:39:04- Human. - Right.
0:39:04 > 0:39:05Human.
0:39:05 > 0:39:07So it's...
0:39:07 > 0:39:08hiu-man.
0:39:08 > 0:39:10Hiu-man.
0:39:10 > 0:39:12Now, you should feel that on the finger.
0:39:12 > 0:39:18If I exaggerate it a lot, you'll feel the "ee" slightly on that finger.
0:39:18 > 0:39:21- Hu... - Human.
0:39:21 > 0:39:23Hoo-man is wrong.
0:39:23 > 0:39:26Hiu-man is right.
0:39:26 > 0:39:28- OK? Human. - Human.
0:39:28 > 0:39:30- Hu-man. - Human.
0:39:30 > 0:39:34Fine. Now try "human being".
0:39:34 > 0:39:36Human being.
0:39:36 > 0:39:38That's good.
0:39:38 > 0:39:40Now try a little bit more attack.
0:39:40 > 0:39:42Being.
0:39:42 > 0:39:43- Being. - Being.
0:39:43 > 0:39:45- That's very good. - Human being.
0:39:45 > 0:39:48That's marvellous, excellent. Very good.
0:39:48 > 0:39:52'Other work at University College London concentrates on intonation,
0:39:53 > 0:39:56'showing the deaf how they speak as they speak.'
0:39:56 > 0:39:59WOMAN: Good morning. How are you?
0:39:59 > 0:40:02'The screen shows the natural rhythms and emphasis of speech.'
0:40:02 > 0:40:05Good morning. How are you?
0:40:05 > 0:40:07'It helps the deaf copy the sounds as they lip-read.
0:40:08 > 0:40:11Good morning. How are you?
0:40:11 > 0:40:16You can see that the voice goes high in one place
0:40:16 > 0:40:19and then falls down quite quickly.
0:40:19 > 0:40:22It starts to fall on the first bit of "morning".
0:40:24 > 0:40:28And in the second phrase, it's basically the same pattern
0:40:28 > 0:40:30and it starts to fall on "are".
0:40:30 > 0:40:32Now, I'd like you to put the electrodes on
0:40:33 > 0:40:36and we'll ask you to say it and see what yours looks like.
0:40:36 > 0:40:38And if it doesn't look exactly the same as mine,
0:40:38 > 0:40:41then we'll work on it and try and make it look more like that
0:40:41 > 0:40:44and sound more natural. All right?
0:40:45 > 0:40:46That's it.
0:40:46 > 0:40:48Hold them fairly firmly.
0:40:48 > 0:40:49- Errr. - That's right.
0:40:49 > 0:40:51Now, I'm going to start this
0:40:51 > 0:40:54and when you see the dot appearing in the left-hand corner,
0:40:54 > 0:40:57you can start. Good morning, how are you?
0:40:58 > 0:40:59MAN: Good morning.
0:40:59 > 0:41:00How are you?
0:41:02 > 0:41:04Try and put a bit of energy into "mor",
0:41:04 > 0:41:07that'll give us the right pitch change.
0:41:09 > 0:41:11Good morning.
0:41:11 > 0:41:12How are you?
0:41:12 > 0:41:13That's fine.
0:41:13 > 0:41:17You can see now you've got something which is very much like my pattern,
0:41:17 > 0:41:20with a fall beginning on the right syllable and then falling.
0:41:20 > 0:41:24And the speed is pretty much the same as mine, I think that's fine.
0:41:24 > 0:41:27Could you do it once again to see if you can repeat it?
0:41:27 > 0:41:29Here we go.
0:41:29 > 0:41:30MAN: Good morning.
0:41:30 > 0:41:31How are you?
0:41:32 > 0:41:33WOMAN: Very good.
0:41:33 > 0:41:36What we'll do now is to say the same pattern with different words.
0:41:36 > 0:41:40So we'll go on after "good morning" and say something else.
0:41:40 > 0:41:42We'll say, "I'm fine, thanks."
0:41:42 > 0:41:44"I'm fine, thanks."
0:41:45 > 0:41:47I'm fine, thank you.
0:41:49 > 0:41:50That's the same pattern.
0:41:50 > 0:41:51Would you like to try again?
0:41:53 > 0:41:55I'm fine, thank you.
0:41:55 > 0:41:59OK, you can see that you didn't get much of a fall there.
0:41:59 > 0:42:01Try again on "fine".
0:42:03 > 0:42:05MAN: I'm fine, thank you.
0:42:05 > 0:42:07That's coming on.
0:42:07 > 0:42:08Good. You try again.
0:42:10 > 0:42:14'This new system is now being tried out with very young children.
0:42:14 > 0:42:16'They can learn and remember even more easily.'
0:42:16 > 0:42:18OK, that's fine.
0:42:19 > 0:42:22'But for the majority of the deaf, the old and very old,
0:42:22 > 0:42:25'it's a bit late to start learning new tricks.
0:42:25 > 0:42:29'Most old people can still talk, but need a hearing aid.
0:42:29 > 0:42:31'Some don't even get that.
0:42:32 > 0:42:36'A consultant who has closely studied the problems of the old, Dr Fisch.'
0:42:36 > 0:42:41I can recall an elderly lady I examined
0:42:41 > 0:42:44in one of these old people's homes
0:42:44 > 0:42:48when we investigated hearing, deafness in the elderly,
0:42:49 > 0:42:53and I was informed by some of the staff
0:42:53 > 0:42:55that she was confused,
0:42:55 > 0:42:58that really you can't talk to her,
0:42:58 > 0:43:01there's not much point to talk to her and so on.
0:43:01 > 0:43:07Well, I ignored that and I placed a hearing aid in her ear
0:43:07 > 0:43:11and talked to her as one should, face-to-face, slowly.
0:43:11 > 0:43:14Her eyes lit up and she heard me.
0:43:14 > 0:43:16She understood everything what I said.
0:43:16 > 0:43:20And I had an intelligent conversation with her.
0:43:20 > 0:43:25She was a highly intelligent woman, about 78, a former teacher.
0:43:26 > 0:43:30And I... Probably I was the first person who talked to her
0:43:30 > 0:43:34in a way that she could understand after many, many months.
0:43:35 > 0:43:39She was deaf, she wasn't confused, she was deaf.
0:43:39 > 0:43:42But nobody knew how to talk to her.
0:43:42 > 0:43:44And in fact, it wasn't recognised
0:43:44 > 0:43:47that what they called confusion and...
0:43:49 > 0:43:53..possibly not a very high intelligence was simply deafness.
0:43:53 > 0:43:57'Not even counting those whose deafness hasn't been detected,
0:43:57 > 0:43:59'there are over two million people
0:43:59 > 0:44:02'with some degree of hearing disability in Britain today.
0:44:02 > 0:44:06'Less than a third of them have been given free government hearing aids.
0:44:06 > 0:44:09'They're worn on the chest and called Medrescos,
0:44:09 > 0:44:12'after the Medical Research Council who designed them.
0:44:12 > 0:44:14'If you're an adult and you want anything else,
0:44:14 > 0:44:16'you've got to pay for it.
0:44:17 > 0:44:20'You'll be faced with a very confusing variety of choices.
0:44:20 > 0:44:25'And worse, an even more confusing variety of prices.
0:44:25 > 0:44:27'Head of the technical department,
0:44:27 > 0:44:29'Royal National Institute for the Deaf, Mr Martin.'
0:44:29 > 0:44:32This collection of hearing aids
0:44:32 > 0:44:35represents about £3,000 worth of aids.
0:44:35 > 0:44:41And it's just a small portion of the tremendously wide range of aids
0:44:41 > 0:44:44that are currently available on the market.
0:44:44 > 0:44:48These aids, in fact, vary from type to type.
0:44:48 > 0:44:53And the type that is most widely used is probably the body-worn type.
0:44:53 > 0:44:56But this is difficult to wear
0:44:56 > 0:45:00and very many people prefer the type that is worn on the head,
0:45:01 > 0:45:03such as these, which is worn behind the ear.
0:45:03 > 0:45:06You've got spectacle aids here,
0:45:06 > 0:45:09where the aid is built into the arm of the spectacle.
0:45:09 > 0:45:12And you can even have tiny little aids
0:45:12 > 0:45:15which fit right into the ear itself.
0:45:15 > 0:45:16'But you won't get invisible
0:45:16 > 0:45:18'head-worn aids on the National Health.
0:45:18 > 0:45:22'What you'll get is the Medresco, designed over 20 years ago.
0:45:23 > 0:45:26'It's clumsy and ugly, but fairly efficient,
0:45:26 > 0:45:28'if you don't mind displaying your deafness.
0:45:28 > 0:45:31'Long-awaited improvements are a story of crass bungling.'
0:45:31 > 0:45:36The latest thing which appeared last year was in fact the OL 66.
0:45:36 > 0:45:41They aid, which probably cost over £100,000 to produce,
0:45:41 > 0:45:44in fact never got beyond the trial stage,
0:45:44 > 0:45:47and after criticisms, in fact was withdrawn.
0:45:47 > 0:45:53So that, after 15 years, we have in fact not progressed very far.
0:45:53 > 0:45:56'In Denmark, they took our National Health idea,
0:45:56 > 0:45:58'but spend seven times more than us on the deaf.
0:45:58 > 0:46:02'Their flourishing industry provides a truly comprehensive service,
0:46:02 > 0:46:04'offering not only chest-worn hearing aids,
0:46:04 > 0:46:06'but free head-worn aids for all who need them.
0:46:06 > 0:46:10'In Britain, it's said we just can't afford to give away aids
0:46:10 > 0:46:13'that often cost more than £70 bought privately.
0:46:13 > 0:46:16'But the actual components can cost under £5
0:46:16 > 0:46:19'and two companies have offered to service us with head-worn aids
0:46:20 > 0:46:21'at about £9 each.
0:46:21 > 0:46:23'It doesn't seem too high a price to pay,
0:46:23 > 0:46:26'but in Britain, the deaf always come last in priority.'
0:46:26 > 0:46:30All other disabled people have the best possible facilities
0:46:30 > 0:46:32the government can give them.
0:46:32 > 0:46:35But the deaf don't. And I think it's quite wrong.
0:46:35 > 0:46:37The government ought to provide
0:46:37 > 0:46:40ear-level hearing aids for all people.
0:46:40 > 0:46:44Deafness is a Cinderella of all the disabilities.
0:46:44 > 0:46:48But although it doesn't appear as a crippling disability,
0:46:48 > 0:46:54in fact, it is something which can ruin people's lives.
0:46:54 > 0:46:59And what is needed is a reappraisal of the whole situation.
0:46:59 > 0:47:04It needs an enormous injection of money and staff and ideas.
0:47:04 > 0:47:07It isn't a political, a party political question,
0:47:07 > 0:47:11it's a question no government, Labour or Conservative,
0:47:11 > 0:47:14have helped the deaf as much as they ought to have done.
0:47:14 > 0:47:18Practically every service that you look at for the deaf is run down.
0:47:18 > 0:47:23And this is not just one opinion,
0:47:23 > 0:47:27this is an opinion that was even expressed by Sir George Godber,
0:47:27 > 0:47:30who is the Chief Medical Officer for the Department of Health.
0:47:45 > 0:47:49INDUSTRIAL DIN
0:47:54 > 0:47:55BIRDSONG
0:47:56 > 0:47:57BEES BUZZING
0:47:59 > 0:48:01EXPLOSION
0:48:07 > 0:48:09WHIRRING
0:48:15 > 0:48:18POP MUSIC
0:48:21 > 0:48:24HAMMERING
0:48:27 > 0:48:29WHIRRING
0:48:34 > 0:48:36ELECTRONIC HOWLING
0:48:39 > 0:48:42CRICKETS CHIRRUP
0:48:46 > 0:48:49GRINDING METAL