thewayne | Bionic Ear

The writer was born partially deaf after his mother contracted rubella while carrying him. His hearing was poor for a very long time, but he developed a love for a certain musical work by Ravel, the Bolero. As an adult, he suffered sudden onset deafness and his good ear failed. Wanting to hear again, he found a team that could wire a computer directly into his brain to bypass the ear and directly stimulate the audio nerves.

Interesting stuff.

http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero.html