Thousands of Deaf people have had their hearing restored by a revolutionary device called a cochlear implant, which bypasses the damaged part of the ear to transmit digitally processed sound directly into the cochlea. Since it is advantageous to have the surgery when young, many of the Deaf feel it violates a child’s "right to choose" and threatens the Deaf way of life, whose core is in American Sign Language. This program examines both the innovation of the device and the debate it has caused in the Deaf community. A leading expert at Johns Hopkins Hospital performs the procedure on camera. Interviews include the president of Gallaudet University and the director of the Deafness Research Foundation. A Discovery Channel Production. (51 minutes)