Beats of Cochlea Marks 10 Years Celebrating Music and Hearing Technology

Join us in meeting the exceptional and inspirational hearing implant recipients who performed at this event, proving that hearing loss is no barrier to creating sensational music.

Salome Daghundaridze, Singer

Salome is a 13-year-old from Georgia. She loves music so much that she plays five instruments: the salamuri, the panduri, the guitar, the piano and the jembe.

When Salone was 4 months old, her mother found out about her hearing loss. At the age of 1, she got her cochlear implant. This completely changed her life and music became an essential part of it.

Aigerim Tutova, Singer

30-year-old Aigerim captivates audiences with her stunning vocals, despite her hearing loss. Diagnosed in her teens, Aigerim received a cochlear implant at 17 and pursued her dream of singing. She has since performed at numerous festivals, including Beats of Cochlea and Magic Symphony, and now sings professionally at weddings and concerts.

Aigerim is also a passionate advocate for others on their hearing journey, working as a speech therapist and mentor for others with hearing loss. At this year’s event, she was Prof. Skarżyński’s special guest. Prof. Henryk Skarżyński is a world-renowned otolarnygologist who performed the first operation of cochlear implantation in Poland and Central Europe in 1992.

This is what Aigerim has to say about her cochlear implant:

Anel Mukazhanova, Jetigen Player

Anel is a 16-year-old cochlear implant user and jetigen player from Astana, the capital of Kazakhstan. Anel lost her hearing at the age of 3 and got a cochlear implant a year later. She took her rehabilitation very seriously, and, thanks to her commitment to speech therapy, shows great success in her hearing and speech development.

To further improve her hearing, Anel started attending music school. That’s how music became her passion. At Beats of Cochlea, Anel performed a Kazakh piece on a jetigen, a Kazakh plucked zither.

Anel really enjoyed this trip, especially meeting and interacting with other cochlear implant users from different countries. She tested her language skills and, upon returning home, decided to seriously focus on improving her English.

In 2021, Anel participated online and won, but attending the festival in Warsaw in person was a completely different experience. Anel was very impressed by the festival itself, its level, and the judging. She has participated in many competitions, but this format was a first for her.

Matvey Romanovskiy, Saxophonist

Matvey is a 13-year-old saxophone player who lost his hearing when he was only six months old. Fortunately, he did not lose his optimism. Thanks to his cochlear implants, he fell in love with music, especially the saxophone.

Since 2017, Matvey has been attending a music school where he focuses on the saxophone and singing Kazakh, English, and Russian songs. At Beats of Cochlea, he performed “Bumblebee at Weekends” by Irina Shiltzeva.

Here’s what Matvey has to say about the event:

Celebrating Musical Talent

Beats of Cochlea continues to prove that hearing loss is no barrier to musical expression. This festival not only provides a platform for showcasing talent but also fosters a supportive and inclusive community where hearing implant users can connect, share, and grow.

Check out the photo gallery below to witness the joy, passion, and talent that filled the air at this year’s Beats of Cochlea!

Photo courtesy of the Institute of Physiology and Pathology of Hearing