Cochlear Argument Analysis

Cochlear implants are becoming more and more popular now. Even babies as young as 12 months are receiving a cochlear implant. For hearing parents it’s more convenient to have their child get a cochlear implant rather then to learn sign language. Hearing parents usually just look for the simple way out because they don’t want to have a child who is “different.�

Language is communicated in various ways. Yet, there are still children who are denied the privilege of having one. Only ten percent of deaf children are born to deaf parents. This means around ninety percent are born to hearing parents. Most hearing parents have never been exposed to American Sign Language (ASL), so they do not teach it to their deaf child. One of the main reasons this happens is hearing parents tend to deny their child's deafness (Gray, n.d.). Instead, they choose to have their baby get a cochlear implant (CI). Parental decisions regarding cochlear implantation may be influenced by what they understand it means to be deaf. Basically, they see being deaf as a disability and are more apt to consider

In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at

To implant or not implant? Many parents’ who are hearing that have deaf children contemplate this question. Because they want to fix the “problem” of deafness. For they want the best for their son or daughters and the “best” is to hear. For those of the deaf culture, they believe a parent who implants their child is abusing the child. Deafness is not a “problem”, but a way of life. Who is right? Unfortunately, there is no right or wrong answer, there is no manual, or signs that say “this way will lead to a better future”; it’s a personal judgement call.

Studies have shown that if a child receives a cochlear implant before the child is 18 months old followed by intensive therapy the child is likely to develop language skills that are comparable to their peers and many children are able to attend mainstream schooling. This sounds great to parents, but what happens when the cochlear implant doesn’t work or if the child doesn’t receive the necessary therapy for understanding sound using the cochlear implant. Because the children were not exposed to American sign language (ASL) this can delay the children education and learning compared to their peers. When children are born to hearing parents they want the child to be like them and be able to hear. To the hearing, deafness is a disability and if there is a way that they can make their child hear, most parents will do everything in their power to make sure they can give that to their child. Then again, many parents forget is that living with a cochlear implant is a lifelong process and involves years to decades of therapy for their child. And if a child receives the implant later than 18 months old it becomes harder for the child to understand speech from a cochlear implant and more intensive therapy for the child. Children start learning language from their parents listening to them talk to others and talk to the baby. If the child is deaf, they are missing this important development of speech, which makes it harder for the child to learn to speak and understanding language. Also, most hearing parents don’t know ASL or sign fluently to be able to teach their children the language and help them to start learning and be able to communicate with society. Today there are still parents that will not learn ASL even though their child is deaf or maybe they received a cochlear implant and it didn’t work. This

Cochlear Implants are an object that is very controversial in the deaf community. “A Cochlear Implants is a device that provdes direct electrical stimulation to the auditory (hearing) nerve in the inner ear.” (“Cochlear Implants”) Cochlear Implants bypass the damaged hair cells, and directly stimulate the auditory nerve. Depending on when the Cochlear Implant is implanted it allows people to hear sounds, and sometimes even their own voice. While it does not cure hearing loss or deafness, it does allow people to hear. On more technical terms a Cochlear Implant includes parts like a microphone, speech processor, and a transmitter which each play a different part in the Cochlear Implant. The microphone picks up sounds, sends them to the speech processer, and then the speech processor analyzes and digitized the sound signal, thus sending them to a transmitter worn on the head. The debate of whether or not Cochlear Implants are right in the deaf community is one that has been going on for years. People believe having Cochlear Implants are a good thing, because they allow deaf people to communicate with hearing people, it allows people who are not helped by conventional hearing aids to be helped, and it creates new possibilities for deaf people. However there are also people that argue that having a Cochlear Implant is a bad thing, because it proposes the idea that deaf people need to be fixed, it can give deaf people false hope, and it proposes the idea that deaf people have a

A Cochlear Implant is an electronic device that partially restores hearing in people who have severe hearing loss due to damage of the inner ear and who receive limited benefit from hearing aids (http://www.cochlear.com/wps/wcm/connect/au/home/understand/hearing-and-hl/hl-treatments/cochlear-implant). In some cases there are patients whose hearing did not adjust correctly, having a risk of developing a virus, complications after the surgery, the benefits of sign language without a cochlear implant and lastly children or adults with cochlear implants may not even develop a good speech. There are many positive and negative articles I have read on cochlear implants. As a parent you are not only putting your child at risk, you are also withdrawing them from the deaf community, the one they were naturally born into. I do not support cochlear implants, children should not be implanted until they are grown to the point where they can make their own choice

The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to PBS home video “Through Deaf Eyes,” there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing (Hott, Garey & et al., 2007) . Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are over ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents. Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class.” The

Those that oppose cochlear implants argue mostly from a minority standpoint. The deaf community feels that as the minority, the hearing majority is threatening their way of life. “The deaf community is a culture. They’re much like the culture of the Hispanic community, for example, where parents who are Hispanics, or shall we say deaf, would naturally want to retain their family ties by their common language, their primary language, which is

The video called Through Deaf Eyes made me think a lot about what they had to overcome to get to where they are today. As I watched the movie several things made me stop and think about how hard some of them had it growing up. In the beginning of the movie, I learned that 90% of deaf people have hearing parents. Then only 10% of those parents who have deaf children even learn sign language. Then to top it off only 1% of those parents are fathers. I feel that most people who have deaf children, feel like there is something wrong with their child. When in reality the only thing is their hearing. It just aggravates me when parents won’t take time to learn something, so that way they can communicate with their children. To me all kids should be able to communicate with their parents in the way that is easy for them. To tie into this a little more I’m going to jump to the end of the movie, where they were interviewing two families. The first family made their kids get cochlear implants, hearing aids. Had them take speaking lessons, and didn’t allow their kids to sign. The other family let their son learn sign language. They also learned sign language, so they could communicate with their child. I feel like, the first family felt like their children were less than them. They had their kids stand behind them during the interview. They talked directly towards the camera the whole time didn’t look towards their kid. The second family sat next to their child, like they were all

Claire is now transitioning into preschool, and her parents are worried about what Claire's first school experience will be like but luckily for Claire her new teacher, Ms. Williams, is a veteran preschool teacher and in the past, Ms. Williams has taught students with disabilities who use alternative communication systems but from what I read in the article Ms. Williams doesn't have any experience in working with children cochlear implant nevertheless she is very eager to learn and work with Claire. Ms. Williams seems a bit nervous to work with Claire and has several questions about cochlear implants. Ms. Williams has heard that the cochlear implant devices are very expensive and she is worried about simply keeping track of Claire's device, she also worries about the troubleshooting of the device if something goes wrong, is there a difference between teaching a child with a cochlear implant and teaching other children with disabilities. Although Ms. Williams is anxious to learn more about cochlear implants and how to best support Claire's developing listening and communication skills. Ms. Williams assumes Claire will need a variety of visual supports and she wonders about the different types of visual supports and accommodations that Claire might

CI’s were manufactured in order to create ease of function in day to day lives of deaf people but has conjured up ethical and social issues amongst specific cultures. Across different cultures there are opposing and parallel beliefs regarding cochlear implants and the benefits and harms regarding the process of implanting one. Many deaf communities within western cultures such as America and Australia view CI’s as unnecessary and offensive towards deaf culture. According to a majority of cultures, receiving CI’s is seen as inappropriate and takes away a person’s identity. Heather Artinian, in the annual TED conference who is a deaf person who wears cochlear implants explained that receiving cochlear implants places the individual between two identities, neither deaf nor hearing. This is because once receiving her cochlear implants, the deaf community within her western culture no longer perceives her as a deaf person because, following receiving the implants, she was able to hear sounds and communicate in ways which deaf people who hadn’t received the implants could not. She too described that she was also not part of the hearing culture as she was not considered as a hearing individual due to being born deaf and despite receiving the CI’s, is still regarded as deaf opposed to as a

They might not want to feel like they are missing a part of life or might want to have the same opportunities as others. While they are born with being deaf and that is something that currently they can’t change, this solution allows them to participate in other situations with no communication difficulties. Some people might see this as adding to the quality of life for their child, while others might want them to cherish the gift they are given. While neither option is right or wrong, each option does affect the way they are able to communicate with those around them. Based on the background of the families, having a CI or not might seem like the definite choice but for others they see things completely

I believe that the needs of the child come first whenever parents make any decision that will impact their child in a life long way. A parent has the duty to provide every advantage possible to their child; which is why I believe it is wrong for parents to purposely ensure that their child is deaf. Even if we forget that deafness is seen as a disability, the ability to hear is considered an advantage by all. There's so much beauty that comes with the ability to hear and it is wrong to deprive a child of that beauty. Personally, I feel that no justifiable reason exists to rob a child of the opportunity to experience the sound of raindrops on a hard surface, the sound of leaves rustling in the wind, or the chance to hear Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata.

​​​​Imagine a life without hearing, waking up everyday in silence. Would you embrace your deafness, have a hearing aid, or have a cochlear implant? Surely, all of these options are personal preferences; however, one is better than the others: the cochlear implant operation, in a way, is a cure for deafness. Having an opportunity to fully hear in both of your ears can open many gateways into your life; the troubles of finding a school, a job, and doing basic things such as listening to music or driving a car would be made easier.