For most of his life he wore hearing aids, and then unexpectedly in 2001 he lost the hearing he did have, and was fitted with a cochlear implant. In Wired magazine Michael writes movingly about his bionic quest to hear one of his favourite compositions, Ravel's Bolero.

What shines through the piece is Michael's amazing positive attitude. He says: "The implant was embedded in my head; it wasn't some flawed hearing aid I could just send back. But it was a computer. Which meant that, at least in theory, its effectiveness was limited only by the ingenuity of software engineers. As researchers learn more about how the ear works, they continually revise cochlear implant software. Users await new releases with all the anticipation of Apple zealots lining up for the latest Mac OS...

"...My hearing is no longer limited by the physical circumstances of my body. While my friends' ears will inevitably decline with age, mine will only get better."

The full article can be found here: http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/13.11/bolero.html