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The handicap of deafness is not in the ear; it is in the mind.

I like to say that the greatest handicap of deafness does not lie in the ear, it lies in the mind. I hope that through my example, such as my role on 'The West Wing,' I can help change attitudes on deafness and prove we can really do everything... except hear.

Metaphorical tone deafness is when people are unable to discern what is of value in something. I think I'm tone deaf to poetry, for instance. Despite having studied it into a second year of university, most of it just leaves me cold.

I actually think the deafness makes you see clearer. If you can't hear, you somehow see.

There is no relation to sound for deaf people. It is a totally different mental process.

Often in the past, when we have had a deaf person in the spotlight, we have been portrayed badly. It was up to me to change that.

We have made mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raised their voices, we didn't hear. But our deafness was only a temporary condition, and not an irreversible condition.

It requires wisdom to understand wisdom: the music is nothing if the audience is deaf.

There are two worlds: the deaf world and the hearing world. There are some people in the deaf community that feel that hearing people look down on us.

In the deaf community, in order to play a role of someone with a hearing loss... you have to have hearing loss.