Ideas worth spreading

How technology has changed what it's like to be deaf

3,098,445 views |

Rebecca Knill |

TED@WellsFargo

• February 2020

"Complete silence is very addictive," says Rebecca Knill, a writer who has cochlear implants that enable her to hear. In this funny, insightful talk, she explores the evolution of assistive listening technology, the outdated way people still respond to deafness and how we can shift our cultural understanding of ability to build a more inclusive world. "Technology has come so far," Knill says. "Our mindset just needs to catch up."

"Complete silence is very addictive," says Rebecca Knill, a writer who has cochlear implants that enable her to hear. In this funny, insightful talk, she explores the evolution of assistive listening technology, the outdated way people still respond to deafness and how we can shift our cultural understanding of ability to build a more inclusive world. "Technology has come so far," Knill says. "Our mindset just needs to catch up."

Support Dogs for Better Lives to match assistance dogs with individuals who are Deaf or with hearing loss.

About the speaker

Rebecca Knill

Writer, business systems consultant manager

See speaker profile

A writer and a part-time cyborg, Rebecca Knill embraces the humor in her bionic journey while balancing life as a deaf person with cochlear implants which enable her to hear.

Harlan Lane | Vintage Books, 1993 | Book

The Mask of Benevolence: Disabling the Deaf Community

Written by by MacArthur Fellow Harlan Lane, this is one of the first books I read about deafness. It examines the division between the Deaf and hearing communities.

Bonnie Poitras Tucker | McFarland & Company, 2009 | Book

Cochlear Implants: A Handbook

This handbook provides a wide range of general information on cochlear implants, case studies and a personal story by the author.

Paul C. Higgins | Sage Publications, 1980 | Book

Outsiders in a Hearing World: A Sociology of Deafness

A look at Deaf culture and the lives of the Deaf within a social and historical context.

Judy B. Gilbert | Cambridge University Press, 2001 | Book

Clear Speech From the Start: Basic Pronunciation and Listening Comprehension in North American English

Cochlear implantation requires reteaching the brain how to hear. I used this workbook during several months of aural rehab to relearn how to listen to specific vowels and syllables. Includes quizzes on an audio CD.

About TED Institute

Every year, TED works with a group of select companies and foundations to identify internal ideators, inventors, connectors, and creators. Drawing on the same rigorous regimen that has prepared speakers for the TED main stage, TED Institute works closely with each partner, overseeing curation and providing intensive one-on-one talk development to sharpen and fine tune ideas. The culmination is an event produced, recorded, and hosted by TED, generating a growing library of valuable TED Talks that can spur innovation and transform organizations.

Read more about the TED Institute

Support Dogs for Better Lives to match assistance dogs with individuals who are Deaf or with hearing loss.