Question: Do you think n the future deafness and muteness will no longer exist?

Rebecca Dewey answered on 25 Jun 2015:

I don’t know.

Muteness isn’t really a condition – it’s more a consequence of not hearing any sound, so not being able to produce any yourself. Some people are mute because their vocal chords don’t work properly, but their hearing is fine, so surgeons can do something about that.

As far as eradicating deafness, there are a lot of people who don’t want to prevent people from being deaf. There is a really huge Deaf culture, where people communicate in sign language, and there are plays and poetry in sign language and art that is really suited to visual interpretations. A lot of people who are deaf can’t ever imaging wanting to be able to hear, because they are doing just fine without hearing anything. They don’t feel that their lives are limited in any way, and they want to preserve the Deaf culture. So there may well be improvements in treatments for late onset (old-age) deafness, and treatments for people who become deaf through trauma to the ears. There may also be genetic treatments for people who want to make sure their child will be able to hear. But I think there will still be Deaf culture for quite a long time to come as well. Diversity enriches society!