Stuart 1 Madeline Stuart English 1010 Allison Fernley 4 November, 2013 Parents and Cochlear Implants Cochlear implants

are devices that are surgically implanted into a patients head, in the cochlea, are attached to another device on the outside of the head with a magnet, pick up sounds, and then transmit those sounds directly to the brain. The number of cochlear implant recipients in 2010 was over 219,000 worldwide. There seems to be such little knowledge of cochlear implants or even of the deaf community. It doesnt receive much attention, but when it does, that attention is usually focused on showing how cochlear implants have done nothing but good for those who receive them. It means, after all that they arent deaf anymore. But what does that really have to do with having a better quality of life? Should parents choose to give their child a cochlear implant that may or may not improve their ability to be a part of society? Hyde, Merv, and Power, Des. "Journal of Deaf Studies and Deaf Education." Some Ethical Dimensions of Cochlear Implantation for Deaf Children and Their Families. N.p., 12 Oct. 2005. Web. 26 Oct. 2013 In the Journal of Deaf Studies and Education, Merv Hyde and Des Power write about the possibility of a deaf life, which few hearing parents know about. They explain that there are two views towards deafness: as a condition to be cured and the social/cultural view. They discuss parents who dont have the device fitted for their child might that not receive public assistance for childs deafness by means of education or interpretation because of their refusal to alleviate a

Stuart 2 disability. Some members of the deaf community consider implanting the devices child abuse, and that the deaf community takes some responsibility for a deaf child. They basically argue that parents are often not informed enough to make this decision for their son or daughter. For some children, the implant could potentially be helpful, but parents should be given more information about all the possibilities and potential risks before giving consent to perform a life-changing operation. When I read this, my first impression was that the authors took many different points of view into account when making points. They thought of many different factors, like the legal and medical aspects as well as ethical issues. When picking a viewpoint on this topic, they understand how important this is, especially for the parents who actually have this difficult decision to make, and being rushed in the process. They had an idea of the real possibilities a person can have without a cochlear implant. I was surprised by many points discussed in this journal. I had no idea that the societal view towards deafness had gone so far as to refuse aid to those who choose not to use a CI. I am more moved by that knowledge than by the fact that cochlear implants have actually helped many patients before. I think this proves that it isnt the implants themselves that need to be developed, but peoples awareness of the real problem: deaf people are not seen as equals until they become hearing. This must change. Nussbaum, Debra. "Your Child Has a Cochlear Implant: Why Include Sign Language?" The Endeavor. The ASL Cochlear Implant Community, 20 Apr. 2010. Web. 26 Oct. 2013 Debra Nessbaum tells readers that she has worked with deaf students, with and without cochlear implants, and she knows that everyone is different and what works for someone may be difficult for someone else. She thinks that, despite parents being told not to sign to their children after

Stuart 3 they receive the implant, children should learn the language they are the most comfortable with, even if it is sign language. This will improve their ability to learn, to be socially involved with others, and to have an identity in the deaf community. A cochlear implant can increase their potential of developing speech, but it doesnt need to be their only form of communication. Nessbaum raises some good points. She doesnt condemn cochlear implants, but doesnt claim that getting one is the best decision for everybody. She has experience working with cochlear implant patients, so she knows what making the choice to receive the device entails. Her view seems fair and credible because of her experience. The article was very informative, which is important for parents when making this decision. Nussbaums article gives me hope that some patients are thriving with their newfound hearing, and that they will continue to improve as they develop their language and are comfortable with their sense of identity. This seems to be one of the things CI users have difficulty finding. I can see that if one has a network of people around them with whom they can communicate and relate, becoming a hearing person would be easier. Hoppe, Kathleen. "Cochlear Implants: One Family's Decision for Their Deaf Child." Why Not Cochlear Implant? Kathleens World, Apr. 1997. Web. 28 Oct. 2013 In her blog, Kathleen Hoppe tells her story about discovering her sons deafness at eighteen months. She explains the reasons she decided not to give him a cochlear implant. She explains that, for one thing, getting a CI can cause complications, such as inner ear infections, and may stop working altogether. The devices have a warranty of 5-10 years and need to be repaired/ replaced regularly. When the implant isnt working the patient cant hear, which makes the implant useless. Many uncontrollable aspects of everyday life can interfere with it as well, like cell phones and even static. Training is also needed in order to use spoken language and to learn

Stuart 4 with the device. This requires a lot of time and patience. Hoppe describes her decision to learn ASL instead of teaching her son English, and how they can communicate without language barriers. At the end of her blog, she cites readers who have responded with their own questions, saying she doesnt criticize parents who make the decision to get the implant because they know what is best for their situation. Hoppe was very well informed when she made her choice. She knew what the consequences of her decision would be, and she accepted them. These consequences actually helped her shape how her family communicates and how she handled having a deaf son. Her points were very detailed and would be good for other parents in similar situations to read. This blog post, even though its old, can still be relevant today because parents still have the same choice to make, even though technology for CIs has improved quite a bit since 1997, when it was relatively new. I was intrigued by Hoppes decision to allow her son to remain a member in the deaf community and to use sign language rather than communicate orally. It is really wonderful to see her working so hard to learn how to communicate with him and to include him in the family. It seems like she thought of his deafness as a part of him, rather than a problem that needed to be fixed. However, her blog makes me think that there are some people who could benefit from an implant, even though they are in a situation similar to that of Hoppes. Katz, Abram. "The Bionic Ear; Cochlear Implants: Miracle or an Attack on "Deaf Culture"?" New Haven Register: 0. Mar 18 2007. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. In Cochlear Implants: Miracle or an Attack on "Deaf Culture," Abram Katz writes about a woman, Lisa Oliveri, who was profoundly deaf since birth. She tells of learning to communicate with lip reading and hearing aids. She discovers that a CI changes the way she communicates

Stuart 5 and interacts with others and the world in general. Her parents refused to put her in a deaf school to learn sign language. She got her education and, after she became farsighted, chose to get a cochlear implant. When it made her feel lopsided and uncomfortable, she got two cochlear implants and was surprised by the quality of the sound. She enjoyed hearing various sounds and listening to people speak. Katz has a lot of statistics to accompany his story of an actual CI patient. He also explains how it is that people hear, what cochlear implants do, and how the operation is performed. He adds the cost of getting an implant, and the cost of giving a deaf child a specialized education. He included a lot about Oliveri, like how she communicates with her children and how taking notes in school was difficult when she had to lip read. He argues the importance of receiving a CI at a young age, so as to better learn and use spoken language. Katz really seemed to learn a lot about the people in the deaf community and what they thought about cochlear implants. This article addresses many concerns about cochlear implants that various others fail to, like the discomfort that may come from the device, or the need for two implants in some patients, or even how loud some things are that hearing people dont realize. Hearing another opinion about cochlear implants from someone who knows what its like to have one is always interesting. I realize now that its stories like this that make deaf people want to get implants just so they can hear what things sound like. I dont, however, think that the implants are for everyone. Some people, children and adults, are happy with sign language or other visual methods of communication, and dont feel the need to become hearing to fit into society. Gregory, Kim Lamb "Should You Consider Cochlear Implants?" McClatchy - Tribune Business NewsMay 27 2012. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013 .

Stuart 6 In the article Should You Consider Cochlear Implants, Kim Lamb Gregory writes about a cochlear implant patient named Nancy Gray, who was struggling with genetic-related hearing loss until she received a cochlear implant. She had been working as a nurse, but couldn't do her job properly because she couldn't hear what the doctors were saying. She decided to have the surgery to receive a CI after she met an audiologist who told her it could be beneficial. She realized that her hearing loss affected not just her, but her family, who couldn't communicate with her very well until she had the operation. Along with a real patients experience with a CI, Gregory includes quotes from an expert, who claims that a CI is a much better method of hearing than hearing aids. Though her article is short, Gregory manages to include the price of an implant; a huge factor for those wanting to receive one, and that Medicare can cover the implant in one ear. She makes a compelling case for the benefits of cochlear implants by keeping the topic fresh in readers minds, even after the implants have been around for decades. Gregory, while trying to capture the viewpoint of one CI patient, needs more background as to why cochlear implants are so controversial. Many readers (especially hearing people) dont understand that many members of the deaf community dislike of implants because they feel that their culture isnt recognized enough and deafness is seen as a disability. Though the story is interesting, Gregory should have included more information about the deaf communitys general disapproval of cochlear implants. That being said, if someone wanted to know more about cochlear implants, this could still be a helpful source because it is a bit more simple than other available texts.

Stuart 7 Williams, Sally. "Surgery Puts an End to Silence; are Cochlear Implants a Godsend, Or a Threat to Deaf People's Way of Life?" The Vancouver SunSep 15 2012. ProQuest. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. In Are Cochlear Implants a Godsend, or a Threat to Deaf People's Way of Life? Sally Williams writes about Laura Mcauley, a woman who received a cochlear implant. Williams also shares Austin Chapman's story, though he only used hearing aids and not an implant. Mcauley, whose hearing declined significantly since she was four years old, was excited to get her implant. She was able to hear her mother and boyfriend speak. She had written off a career in teaching before she had the operation, but afterwards began teaching at a primary school. Chapman discovered music, and felt that he could appreciate it when he could hear it, but thought other sounds, like traffic, were "ugly" and he didn't envy hearing people because they couldn't tune out bad noises. Sarah Kendall, another profoundly deaf person, felt that there was no need to get an implant. She has family and friends who are deaf, and she feels that her life is full and she doesn't want to go through what many CI patients experience as not fitting in to the Deaf or hearing community. Williams made a very wise choice to add a story of someone who felt their deafness didnt affect their life too deeply, and whose parents chose not to have their child receive and implant. It changes the mood of the article from suggesting that a CI is the only choice for a deaf person to showing many options for dealing with deafness and how different people handle the situation of having a profoundly deaf child. She has many different sources, all of whom share how their experiences shaped the way they fit into society. Looking back on the article, I was impressed by how convinced I was that a persons whole life can change if the receive a CI. I hadnt thought much about how finding a certain career that you like can be more difficult if you cant communicate orally. It seems like it is not

Stuart 8 the ability that cochlear implants give patients that are important, but how society views the importance of speaking and being able to hear. If someone is born into a family where they are the only deaf member, they will be more likely to see their deafness as a disability, rather than a cultural identity, than someone who grew up with other deaf people around them.

Crouch, Robert A. "Letting The Deaf Be Deaf." Hastings Center Report 27.4 (1997): 14. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Nov. 2013. In Letting the Deaf Be Deaf, Robert Crouch states that most parents of deaf children worry about their child being disabled or different and will do anything to have their child be able to belong in society. He focuses on prelingual children, who never learned sign language or any other form of communication before receiving a CI. These children will need years of speech therapy after their procedure, just to have less than half of what they say intelligible. He believes that society should stop seeing deafness as a disability, but rather as a part of ones cultural identity. He thinks that attempting to integrate deaf students into hearing classrooms and social groups is stunting their ability to achieve proficiency in any language. In this strongly worded article, Crouch not only explains the issues in society regarding the controversial topic of cochlear implants, but also the misguided societal views about deafness in general. He doesnt just explain the troubles that hearing people create when attempting to cure deafness, but suggests methods by which to change the way society views the deaf community, if it is recognized at all. He writes almost urgently, imploring readers to rethink how members of the deaf community are treated, and how they should be. This article was incredibly thought-provoking. Many things I had no clue were part of this issue came up in Crouchs writing. He was detailed in his arguments and used statistics to

Stuart 9 validate his claims. I was impressed not just by the amount of evidence affirming his viewpoint, but by the passion with which he did so. He took a popular opinion and proved it wrong. Crouchs writing has swayed my opinion more than any other piece of writing about cochlear implants Ive read. There are so many more factors to the cochlear implant debate than I could have even imagined. Before I knew anything about this debate, I would have agreed with parents who, instead of teaching their deaf child sign language, have an operation to give them hearing. Now that I have discovered the downsides to what some think of as a miracle, I doubt that I would even consider giving my child an implant, because I have learned that this is not the only option. There is nothing stopping a deaf child from becoming anything they want to be except the fear that society wont accept them or treat them as equal to a hearing person. It is so unfair that a child should have to deal with this because their parents were told there was no other possibility. Many adults, who have learned spoken language and lost their hearing, can benefit from a CI, but children who are born deaf and have never heard speech will find it difficult to learn a language they hear through a computer. My view is that parents should first study all their options and let their child learn a language they know before receiving an implant, if they choose to get one.