A woman who lost her voice due to illness regains it for the first time in 25 years using AI to record an 8-second home video full of static
A British woman who lost the ability to speak after being diagnosed with
Elevating communication in Grid with the ElevenLabs Impact Program | Smartbox
https://thinksmartbox.com/news/elevating-communication-in-grid-with-elevenlabs/
AI helps UK woman rediscover lost voice after 25 years
https://techxplore.com/news/2025-08-ai-uk-woman-rediscover-lost.html
MND affects nerve cells (neurons) involved in movement, and in some cases, the muscles of the tongue, mouth, and throat weaken, leading to complete loss of speech. Sarah Ezekiel, an artist living in the UK, was diagnosed with MND when she was 34, while pregnant with her son Eric, and eventually lost the ability to speak.
Years after his diagnosis, Ezekiel was able to communicate using computer and artificial voice technology, but the artificial voice was a far cry from his natural voice.
Smartbox , a developer of augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) technology, teamed up with ElevenLabs , a voice-related AI startup, to help restore Ezekiel's voice.
You can see how Ezekiel regained his voice in the video below.
Meet Sarah, an artist, performer, and AAC user - YouTube
Ezekiel speaks in his own voice, 'I love having my voice back. When I first heard it, I almost cried. It was a very moving experience.'
Their son Eric was born in 2000, by which time Ezekiel had been diagnosed with MND.
After Eric was born, Ezekiel's MND progressed rapidly, he lost his voice and the use of his hands, and his marriage fell apart.
But with the help of a computer assistive device, Ezekiel was able to get his life back on track.
Ezekiel began creating artworks in 2012 using eye movements and computer software.
Proceeds from the sale of Ezekiel's work go towards MND awareness and charity work.
Ezekiel says one of the hardest things about being diagnosed with MND was losing his voice, which he says felt like he had lost his identity.
If there were ample recordings from before the loss of his voice, it would be possible to reconstruct his former voice using that data. However, all Ezekiel had was a short, eight-second home video with a lot of background noise, making it difficult to reconstruct his voice.
Smartbox worked with AI startup ElevenLabs to restore Ezekiel's voice. They first used one AI tool to isolate Ezekiel's voice from the home video, and then used a second tool to generate the final audio.
Ezekiel was finally able to find his own voice again after 25 years, and it was very close to his original voice, including the London accent and lisp he had always hated.
Ezekiel's regaining of his voice was also an exciting event for Eric, who had forgotten his mother's voice.
'I'm happy to have my identity back. I'm grateful for Smartbox and AI. It's really great to have my own voice that doesn't sound robotic,' Ezekiel said in his recovered voice.
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