Ebert: Losing voice improved my writing

CHICAGO, Feb. 18 (UPI) -- Chicago Sun-Times film critic Roger Ebert says he thinks his writing has only gotten better since he lost his ability to speak several years ago.

Ebert, 67, has long been battling thyroid and salivary gland cancer, and has undergone extensive surgery on his mouth, jaw and neck to treat the diseases.

"I'd always heard how blind people developed much better hearing, and deaf people became more observant. It's true," Ebert wrote in an e-mail interview posted on ABCNews.com Thursday. "When you lose something, your body and mind adapt to compensate. In my case, whatever energy I put into speaking has now been channeled into writing, and my writing has benefited."