Under the leadership of the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), researchers in Göttingen, together with audiologists and artists from the fields of film and music, have translated the sound experience with an optogenetic cochlear implant into images and sound. The music video artistically conveys the restoration of ‘hearing with light’, a technology that promises an improved hearing experience compared to conventional cochlear implants.
What does music sound like to someone who has been silent for years and is hearing it for the first time? How does it feel when new technologies make the world of sound clearer and more nuanced than ever before? These are the questions addressed by ‘Klang Licht’, an animated music video created by the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG) in collaboration with scientists, audiologists, and artists specialising in music and film. The project aims to provide audiences with a tangible understanding of the current research being conducted in Göttingen on the restoration of ‘hearing with light’.
According to the World Health Organization (WHO), 466 million people worldwide have hearing loss requiring treatment, including around 16 million people in Germany, of whom 80,000 are deaf. Those who are deaf or have little hearing from birth only learn to speak with difficulty, if at all. Hearing disorders in the inner ear can currently be partially corrected using electrical cochlear implants (eCIs). These enable those affected to understand speech in a quiet environment, but the auditory experience remains far from natural hearing. Further development of cochlear implants is required to enable complex hearing perception, such as understanding speech in background noise, interpreting the emotional tone of speech, and enjoying melodies in music.
Scientists from the Institute of Auditory Neuroscience at the University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG), the Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Optogenetic Therapies (EKFZ OT) and the Cluster of Excellence ‘Multiscale Bioimaging: From Molecular Machines to Networks of Excitable Cells’ (MBExC), the CRC 1690 ‘Disease Mechanisms and Functional Restoration of Sensory and Motor Systems’, and the German Primate Centre – Leibniz Institute for Primate Research (DPZ). Together, they are developing novel optogenetic cochlear implants (oCIs) that respond to finely dosed light stimuli. ‘Hearing with light’ promises an improved, more natural auditory experience.
The audiovisual art project
The specially composed piece of music begins with an explosion of fragmented sounds, rhythms and distorted speech, symbolising the recovery of hearing through an eCI. As the piece progresses, these sounds evolve into a clearer, more emotional musical composition, offering the listener a new sensory experience. This illustrates the possibilities of ‘hearing with light’ through the oCI, which is currently being developed in Göttingen. Combined with an animation of pulsating light forms, flowing colours and rhythmic dance interludes, the music comes to life. The impression is created that music and speech are visible as well as audible.
“This is where innovative research and art converge to convey the concept of optogenetic hearing restoration to society,” says Jenny Blum, an audiologist in the Department of Otorhinolaryngology at UMG who is the main point of contact for patients with cochlear implants.
‘This exciting project has succeeded in a unique way in capturing the fresh courage, drive and joyful expectation of the researchers for better hearing,’ says Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser, Director of the Institute for Auditory Neuroscience at the UMG and spokesperson for the EKFZ OT and the MBExC.
The film was directed by the award-winning video artist Boris Seewald and features music by the internationally renowned composer Ralf Hildenbeutel. Together, they have created an intense visual and auditory experience that combines research, technology and emotion. Funding for the music video came from the MBExC and the EKFZ OT.
About the artists:
Boris Seewald is an award-winning video director. Treating film as visual choreography, he composes images in a rhythmic flow that complements and expands upon music and sound. Preferring an experimental approach, he combines a variety of film techniques, blending abstract animation and painting with live-action film. He has received several awards for his work, including the Cinedans Dioraphte Jury Award, the Promax Gold Award, and a nomination for the German Camera Award.
Ralf Hildenbeutel is a producer and film composer whose eclectic style is characterised by his classical training and passion for electronic music. In the 1990s, he played a key role in the development of trance music, collaborating with Sven Väth on his most notable albums and touring Europe with his electronic project, ‘Earth Nation’. He performed at prestigious venues such as the Montreux Jazz Festival and London’s Brixton Academy. He has focused on film music for many years, working on countless national and international productions, including “Vincent will Meer”, “Maltese” (RAI), “Supersex” (Netflix) and “Everybody Loves Diamonds” (Amazon Prime).
The Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Optogenetic Therapies (EKFZ OT)
The new Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Optogenetic Therapies at the UMG has been funded by the Else Kröner-Fresenius Foundation, the state of Lower Saxony, and the UMG itself. The center develops innovative therapies for patients with deafness, blindness, movement disorders and gastroparalysis. Combining gene therapy with optical medical technology, optogenetic therapies promise more precise and effective treatment than conventional approaches — including in the area of hearing.
Further Information:
Else Kröner Fresenius Center for Optogenetic Therapies (EKFZ OT): https://ekfz.uni-goettingen.de/
Collaborative Research Center (CRC) 1690 „Disease Mechanisms and Functional Restoration of Sensory and Motor Systems“: UMG press release from 25 November 2024
Contact person:
Prof. Dr. Tobias Moser, Institute for Auditory Neurscience, Phone: +49 (0)551 / 39-63071, tobias.moser(at)med.uni-goettingen.de, www.auditory-neuroscience.uni-goettingen.de
Press contact:
University Medical Center Göttingen, Georg-August-Universität
Head of Corporate Communications
Lena Bösch
Von-Siebold-Straße 3, 37075 Göttingen
Phone: +49 (0)551 / 39-61020, Fax: 0551 / 39-61023
presse.medizin(at)med.uni-goettingen.de
www.umg.eu
Link to the UMG press release (in German)
