The deaf schoolboy who defied the odds

Little Charlie Denton (C) with parents.

Matt and Emma Denton, both professional musicians, discovered within hours of their son's birth that he could not hear properly.
At one, Charlie was prescribed hearing aids. By the age of two and a half he was pronounced profoundly deaf – so deaf, said his doctors, that if an aeroplane took off next to him, he would not hear it.
His parents – one half of the Carducci String Quartet – were shocked at the speed of his deterioration. “He was getting by on lip-reading,” says his mother, “so we had no idea how bad things had got.”
Charlie's only hope, his parents were told, was to have a bilateral cochlear implant, often known as the “bionic ear”. But the operation carried serious risks: not least, facial paralysis and meningitis.
After terrible soul-searching, they decided to go ahead. “Waiting there, knowing they were drilling through Charlie's skull to receive the implants was horrific,” says Emma. “We were trying to read a score to distract ourselves.”
Charlie came through astonishingly and started to pick up new words for the first time. “It was fascinating to see him respond to sounds in a new way,” says Emma.
“The kettle was beeping at him. The cars in the street were so loud he had to hide. I cried when I realised I could talk to him in the car.”
Then, surpassing their wildest expectations, he took up the violin, “like Daddy”, and started piano lessons.
While searching his symptoms on the internet, including a severe reaction to sunlight, Emma came across Usher Syndrome, a rare and incurable genetic disorder that can lead to blindness as well. Just as they were about to go on stage to give a concert, the Dentons received a phone call confirming that Charlie indeed has Usher Type1B, the most severe form of the disease. He could be blind before he reaches adulthood.
Having come through so much, one would expect the Dentons to be sucked into a quicksand of despair. Instead, they radiate reassurance.
“When people find out,” says Emma, “there's always the reaction: how tragic, these musicians have a deaf child. But for me, it has never seemed a tragedy. Charlie is seven now, such a happy, lovely, fun boy. He is a real fighter and an inspiration to us all.
“He loves music. He has taken to his new ears brilliantly and has caught up at school. He thinks having implants is special. He and his sister, Daisy, four, have a special way of communicating. They have developed their own little sign patterns. They are each other's constant.
“Knowing about Usher Syndrome means that at least we are prepared for the possibility that Charlie will lose his sight – some parents are not so fortunate – and when the time is right we can prepare him. We don't want to alarm him at the moment because the condition does not develop in a predictable pattern.”
The Dentons' ability to remain positive does not diminish past or future anxieties, but the sight of their son practising for his Grade One music exam with his small violin tucked under his chin is a spur not just to them but to everyone around him.
Charlie is being taught the violin by Emma's mother, Caroline Lumsden, at the Gloucester Academy of Music, not too far from their home in the village of Cam. Matt's mother, Daphne, teaches him the piano.
Incredibly, he knows when a musical phrase he has played is out of tune. “I have no idea what he hears,” says Emma, “but when he plays something 'scratchy' he notices immediately.”
Charlie is an accomplished footballer, loves swimming and has a self-reliant streak, stemming from the time when he found it quicker to do things for himself, rather than try to make his parents understand what he wanted.
Most reassuringly, he is happy. says Emma. “In the early days he was so up and down. Now he is such a lovely level-headed boy.”