Hollywood actor Channing Tatum will reportedly star in and produce a movie based on a true story about a young man who had an auditory brainstem implant following deafness triggered by tumours.
Before the movie hits the screen, people can watch a documentary short film co-produced by American-born Queensland audiologist Dr Angela Alexander detailing her auditory processing treatment of the man the movie is based on, American Mr Matt Hay.
Dr Alexander, a specialist in auditory processing disorder (APD), co-wrote the documentary, Between Two Ears, which will screen online on 22 November 2024. The documentary demonstrates her work with Hay using the power of systematic training and music memory to retrain his brain.
Hay shared his story on a podcast which reportedly inspired Tatum and Paramount Pictures to option the motion picture rights to his life story, and St Martin’s Press, an imprint of MacMillan Books optioned his memoir, published in 2024.
“Channing Tatum was so inspired by Matt’s story that he purchased the rights to make a feature film about his life,” Dr Alexander said.
American magazine The Hollywood Reporter, said the movie, Soundtrack of Silence, was based on the story of Hay, a US college student who wanted to capture the sounds that were slipping away as he was losing his hearing including the songs and soundtrack of his youth.
“That has the young man listening to music with a new appreciation as he develops a silent soundtrack in his head and deeper love for his girlfriend,” the magazine states.
Hay has neurofibromatosis type 2 (NF2), an autosomal dominant disorder characterised by development of multiple tumours involving the central nervous system. Bilateral vestibular schwannomas are its hallmark feature.
Hay has a doctorate of public health,and is US director of advocacy for metabolics – neurofibromatosis and hypophosphatasia with Alexion Pharmaceuticals.
His TEDx talk, where he shares his experience, recently went live.
Hay’s memoir, Soundtrack of Silence: Love, Loss, and a Playlist for Life, was published in January 2024 and is described on Amazon as “an inspiring memoir of a young man who discovered he was going completely deaf just at the moment he’d fallen in love for the first time.”
The Amazon blurb states: “As a child, Matt Hay didn’t know his hearing wasn’t the way everyone else processed sound ― because of the workarounds he did to fit in, even the school nurse didn’t catch his condition at the annual hearing and vision checks.
“But by the time he was a prospective college student and couldn’t pass the entrance requirements for West Point, Hay’s condition, generated by a tumour, was unavoidable: his hearing was going, and fast.“
A personal soundtrack was Hay’s determined compensation for his condition.
“As a typical Midwestern kid growing up in the 1980s whose life events were pegged to pop music, Hay planned to commit his favourite songs to memory. He prepared a mental playlist of the bands he loved and created a way to tap into his most resonant memories.
“And the track he needed to cement most clearly? The one he and his new girlfriend, Nora―the love of his life―listened to in the car on their first date.”
The blurb says the memoir includes references to instantly recognisable songs―from the Eagles to Elton John, Bob Marley to Bing Crosby, U2 to Peter Frampton―and asks readers to run the soundtrack of their own lives through their minds.
“It’s an involving memoir of loss and disability, and, ultimately, a both unique and universal love story,” the Amazon blurb states.
Between Two Ears documentary
Dr Alexander, also a TEDX speaker who founded the Auditory Processing Institute, said Between Two Ears, “challenges everything we know about hearing”.
“This 18-minute documentary demonstrates the link between hearing loss and auditory processing by highlighting Matt’s auditory brainstem implant journey,” she said.
“It explores the intricacies of auditory processing and the brain’s remarkable ability to relearn sound, illustrated through the fascinating case of Matt Hay.”
The documentary blurb states: “Diagnosed with NF2, Matt embarks on a journey to regain his hearing with the help of an auditory brainstem implant. Working alongside Dr Angela Alexander, Matt utilises the power of auditory training and his own process of using music memory to retrain his brain.
A screenshot from the documentary of Nina Kraus, professor of neurobiology and otolaryngology at Northwestern University, America. Image: Between Two Ears.
“This film delves into the innovative techniques used in auditory rehabilitation and showcases the resilience of the human spirit in overcoming hearing loss.”
Its directors are Mr Joel Corbett and Ms Denise Edmonds, while Dr Alexander and Edmonds wrote the script.
The blurb for the documentary states: “This powerful short film documentary, Between Two Ears, is the result of a serendipitous convergence of passion, talent, and purpose. Angela Alexander’s deeply personal inspiration to shed light on auditory processing disorder aligned perfectly with the rising stars of New Zealand cinema, Denise Edmonds and Joel Corbett, and their commitment to impactful storytelling.
“Joel, with his “genius visual storytelling” and acclaimed filmmaking background, brings a unique cinematic vision to the project. Denise, an Indigenous storyteller and passionate filmmaker, adds a crucial layer of cultural understanding and narrative depth. Together, with the support of their filmmaking team the Great Lakes Film Society, they are poised to create a documentary that not only educates but also challenges the limits of audiology.
Corbett, a New Zealand writer and director from Corbie Films, announced in October that Between Two Ears was nominated for an award as ‘Best Short Film” at the World Film Festival in Cannes – Remember the Future.
Tickets are available for the 22 November 2024 online premiere of Between Two Ears.
More reading
Read Dr Angela Alexander’s story in Hearing Practitioner Australia – Helping people escape auditory processing disorder
