MED-EL Presents: Design Meets Technology – International Artists with Hearing Loss…
MED EL GmbH
Innsbruck, Austria, April 20 /PRNewswire/
More than 1.5 billion people worldwide are living with hearing loss, and although it affects one in five people, it is often viewed as an invisible disability. To raise public awareness of hearing loss and enable hearing implant users to wear their audio processors with confidence and pride, MED-EL showcases the creative talents of cochlear implant users.
Under the motto “What does sound mean to you?”, four professional artists have created unique and exceptional designs that will appear as limited edition covers for MED-EL’s hearing implant audio processors to creatively share with, but also give to, those with hearing loss the opportunity to support and empower other hearing implant wearers on their own path.
- Back to basics: Chella Man is a 24-year-old American artist, actress, model, disability and LGBTQ+ educator, and speaker from Brooklyn, New York. His artworks consider the continuities of disability, race, gender and sexuality. He has had a cochlear implant since he was 12, which has made him feel less isolated and able to reconnect with the world.
- The joy of sound conveyed through colour: Olivia Cranwell is an artist from Argentina who specializes in acrylic paintings. She lost her hearing in one ear as a child, but over time her hearing deteriorated and at one point she was profoundly deaf. The decision to have an implant is difficult for her, but she decided to get a cochlear implant at the age of 50 after 15 years of not being able to hear music or anyone speaking to her.
- Depicting the Beauty of Hearing: Freddy Rode is an 80-year-old German artist specializing in portraiture. He lost his hearing at the age of 44 through surgery on his right ear and only decided to get a cochlear implant seven years ago. This decision not only restored his hearing, but also gave him his life back.
- Live and feel free with a cochlear implant: Alessia Florea is a 31-year-old artist from Moldova currently residing in Turin. Tragically, when she was 3 years old, her parents’ house caught fire – luckily she was saved but lost her hearing as a side effect of the medication she needed. This decisive life event prompted her to pursue her passion and love for art and painting. When she was 22, she moved to Italy and received her first cochlear implant.
The special audio processor designs are as diverse as their artists. “We at MED-EL believe that creativity drives innovation. So we’re very excited to be collaborating with these four artists and helping people around the world express themselves through wearable art.” says Alexander Hofer, director of product management at MED-EL.
The design cover is part of a limited edition of 2,000 pieces, which will be given away in sets of 4. Some of these can be entered as part of a social media contest on MED-EL’s social media channels Facebook and Instagram be won.
In addition, the designs will be exhibited at the Audioversum Sound Gallery in Innsbruck from July 22 to October 31, 2022.
Read more about the artists, their inspiration and life with hearing loss below blog.medel.com.
About MED EL
MED-EL Medical Electronics, a leader in implantable hearing solutions, is committed to overcoming hearing loss as a barrier to communication. Based in Austria, the privately held company was co-founded by industry pioneers Ingeborg and Erwin Hochmair, whose pioneering research led to the development of the world’s first multi-channel microelectronic cochlear implant (CI), which was successfully implanted in 1977 and formed the basis for the, what is now known as modern CI. This laid the foundation for the successful growth of the company when the first employees were hired in 1990. To date, MED-EL employs more than 2,400 people from around 80 nations and 30 locations worldwide.
The company offers the widest range of implantable and non-implantable solutions to treat all types of hearing loss and enables people in 134 countries to enjoy the gift of hearing with the help of a MED-EL device. MED-EL’s hearing solutions include cochlear and middle ear implant systems, a combined Electroacoustic Stimulation hearing implant system, auditory brainstem implants, and surgical and non-surgical bone conduction devices. www.medel.com
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Press contact:
PR and Corporate Communications: Ms. Carmen Kronawettleitner/Ms. Nicola Trussell,
+43 577880,
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Original content from: MED-EL GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell