About 8.6% of all Americans can’t hear the everyday sounds around them.  There have been numerous devices developed over the years to assist the deaf and hard of hearing - perhaps none with more promise and controversy than the Cochlear Implant, or CI. 

A Bridge Between Silence and Sound weaves a tapestry of personal stories of deaf and deaf-blind individuals affected by hearing loss. Some live with frustration, some with resignation, and still others celebrate their deaf culture and community.  The documentary, narrated by Mario Cuomo and produced, written, and directed by Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Ron Rudaitis, explores the somewhat controversial technology called the Cochlear Implant, a device that gives the deaf and hard of hearing the ability to hear sound by bypassing the damaged part of the ear and giving direct stimulation to the auditory nerve.  These signals reach the brain, which recognizes the signals as sound.

Though the controversy surrounding the Cochlear Implant has been well documented in the past several years, this documentary picks up the story further on in the evolution of the technology itself, and reveals the varied viewpoints within and outside the deaf community.

Some voices from “A Bridge Between Silence and Sound”:
 “They hooked me up and I went into a shock. It sounded like Marilyn Manson and R2-D2 combining together…it was devastating.”

“I’m much more outgoing…for many years we never, ever went to the movies…I go to the movies… I do hear things I never heard before. It is wonderful for me.

“I’m afraid that if these kids keep coming in implanted, as they grow up, what’s going to happen to deaf culture, where will it be?”

“More deaf people have more opportunity for jobs…they have more opportunities…so it is more and more acceptable now.”

2007
Rudaitis Media Inc, USA