We Don’t Hear, We Listen: Lessons from Social Entrepreneurship and Science

Dear Friends,

This week, I discussed social entrepreneurship with our MBA students. As part of this, I was presenting about Mirakle Couriers, a National Award-winning courier agency that employs low-income deaf adults. I really liked their slogan, “We don’t hear, we listen.” The concept was amazing and forward-looking.

The WHO estimates that in India, there are approximately 63 million people suffering from significant auditory impairment. India is believed to be the country with the largest number of Deaf individuals. Approximately 1.5 billion people worldwide experience hearing loss.

For the first time, I learned that Deaf and deaf are different. ‘deaf’ with a lowercase ‘d’ refers to the medical condition of significant hearing loss. ‘Deaf’ with a capital ‘D’ extends beyond the medical definition to signify a distinct cultural and social identity.

I was also presenting in my class about Helen Keller, who was a remarkable American educator, disability activist, and author. She is the most famous Deaf-Blind person in history. Vint Cerf, known as one of the fathers of the Internet, a mathematician and inventor who co-invented the TCP/IP protocol, had hearing loss. Thomas Edison spent much of his life with little to no hearing. Having said that, sometimes it also provides an excellent opportunity—Edison was better able to concentrate on his work due to his hearing loss.

Louis Laurent Marie Clerc was a key figure in the development of American Sign Language and deaf education. He is considered the first deaf teacher of the deaf in the United States and is sometimes known as “The Apostle of the Deaf in America.”

Why am I driving this conversation?

Sheffield researchers are developing novel cell therapies that could repair the damaged inner ear, potentially reversing deafness for many. Currently, there is no cure or therapy for sensorineural hearing loss; the only treatments available to manage the condition are hearing aids and cochlear implants.

This research brings significant value to the community. It also has implications beyond hearing. The same regenerative principles could potentially be applied to vision loss, spinal cord injuries, and other neurological conditions where nerve damage is the primary problem.

Having said that, questions around stem cells—such as ethical issues, feasibility, and cost—still remain unanswered.

While we appreciate this research, in the mid-course, the only help we can render is to support individuals in all possible ways and not discourage them.

We never know what disability may come to us in our lifetime.

Ravi Saripalle