A Cure

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deafskeptic said:
I have to agree about the medical community being both a blessing and a curse. I ought to know; my parents have worked in the medical field in the past. My dad is a retired M.D. (cardiologist) and my mother is a former nurse.
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+1

I have no immediate family members who are in the medical community, but as a patient and on the receiving end of a lot of medical care and having seen a lot, I can attest to having witnessed a lot of things. I've also been through a lot of stuff first-hand.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
+1

I have no immediate family members who are in the medical community, but as a patient and on the receiving end of a lot of medical care and having seen a lot, I can attest to having witnessed a lot of things. I've also been through a lot of stuff first-hand.
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I can imagine.
 
Oceanbreeze said:
I'm one such person! I couldn't sing if my life depended on it! :laugh2:
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Ha, ha. My mother says she's tone deaf and she always sing off key. She says that my big sister Cheryl's first sentence was "Mama, please don't sing." Cheryl has worked as a music teacher in the past and she used to be a music major.
 
deafskeptic said:
Ha, ha. My mother says she's tone deaf and she always sing off key. She says that my big sister Cheryl's first sentence was "Mama, please don't sing." Cheryl has worked as a music teacher in the past and she used to be a music major.
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My first sentence was reported to be "Get that thing away from me!" referring to an IV needle! :laugh2:
 
To bring this back around to the original question regarding cures for deafness, I'm sure there will something out there some day that will be benefit the deaf should they want it, but on the whole, I don't think you're going to "cure" deafness given it's many "causes".
 
If there is no "immediate cure for deafness" on the horizon then the question becomes: how does one "deal with it"-now?

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
If there is no "immediate cure for deafness" on the horizon then the question becomes: how does one "deal with it"-now?

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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Just like we're dealing with deafness right now.
 
drphil said:
If there is no "immediate cure for deafness" on the horizon then the question becomes: how does one "deal with it"-now?

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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deafskeptic said:
Just like we're dealing with deafness right now.
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BecLak said:
+1 :deaf:
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+2

Simple. You don't cure it. You simply continue on with amplification if desired or learning ASL, or, whatever other means one deems necessary for themselves to co-exist within our larger society.

Look, the fact of the matter is, it's going to be nearly impossible to cure deafness due to it's many causes. At best, you might cure the genetic causes of deafness, but there are still going to be people who are deaf that are around. Why? Because, there are too many reasons why people become deaf. A lot of people become deaf after birth due to illness such as meningitis or some other illness. Some go deaf due to ototoxic drugs. Some go deaf later in life for a myriad of reasons.

I also could have been one of them. I got extremely lucky on a number of occasions. I was given ototoxic drugs to eradicate life threatening infections during several occasions throughout my life time. I also survived meningitis as a baby, but with my hearing intact. I continue to take medication that could take my hearing at any point. If that ever happens, I'll deal with it. It's just what you do when faced with situations. One thing I won't do is hope for a cure. Sometimes, it's best to accept what is and leave it be.
 
My guess is that the medical community puts fear into parents that if their deaf baby doesn't grow up and learn oral skills, they will be left out of mainstream society.
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RIGHT ON!!! And yet they neglect to mention that oral abilty does not automaticly translate into access to "mainstream" society (whatever that means)
I don't feel comfortable advocating for things that I see as restrictive. In my mind, the braces WERE restrictive after I got older. As a preschooler, it was awesome to be able to walk and do the things I did (however I was 30ib-50ibs). It was short lived. I had a window of about 5 yrs before things started hitting the skids and problems arose due to pre-pubetal weight gain. But, I had a choice via my parents. They saw me struggling, and THEY listened to me. They were the ones that said to me I didn't have to wear the braces anymore if I didn't want to and I didn't after the age of 11yo. I had a choice. Most Dhh kids that I knew growing up DIDN'T have a choice to learn ASL as kids. There's your difference. I had a choice.
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Exactly!!! When raising a kid with a disabilty, you need to give them CHOICES and OPTIONS! Raising a kid with a disabilty needs to be CHILD centered, not based on what an "expert" thinks. Besides, very often the "experts" and doctors do not know what it's actually LIKE to use braces or hearing aids or residual vision vs Braille/other "blind interventions.
 
deafdyke said:
RIGHT ON!!! And yet they neglect to mention that oral abilty does not automaticly translate into access to "mainstream" society (whatever that means)
Exactly!!! When raising a kid with a disabilty, you need to give them CHOICES and OPTIONS! Raising a kid with a disabilty needs to be CHILD centered, not based on what an "expert" thinks. Besides, very often the "experts" and doctors do not know what it's actually LIKE to use braces or hearing aids or residual vision vs Braille/other "blind interventions.
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I agree. I can see what they were trying to do with me, but, I look back on it with regret because a lot of my social development early on was sacrificed in order for me to catch up in my physical development. When I had PT at school, it was usually during recess, so I rarely saw the other kids outside of class. You can imagine how much I loved this! :roll:

After I stopped walking, my PT took a back seat, and, was phased out all together by the time I was in Jr High. Then, I started catching up to my peers socially. But, it was rough!

I don't blame my parents for any of the hardships, though. They did the best they could. They allowed the Dr's to give me whatever I needed to learn to walk with braces and crutches, and that was actually fun while it lasted. But, by the time i stopped walking, I truly was OVER IT.

I feel I was lucky because I had parents who would step in when they felt I had had enough; whether that was a decision to have another surgery or the decision to quit walking. As soon as I was old enough to offer input, I was given the opportunity to veto a surgery even though my parents were still legally signing the consent forms and such. There were a few surgeries that were never done because I didn't want them. I'm just all around grateful that my parents listened to me when it was appropriate to do so.
 
To answer the question posed re: how is deafness "handled" now: one way, if suitable, use a Hearing Aids, next use a Cochlear Implant or Use ASL only. Worst answer- do: Nothing.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
 
drphil said:
To answer the question posed re: how is deafness "handled" now: one way, if suitable, use a Hearing Aids, next use a Cochlear Implant or Use ASL only. Worst answer- do: Nothing.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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that is not all of the options. "ASL Only" hmm? I don't onyl use asl.
 
drphil said:
To answer the question posed re: how is deafness "handled" now: one way, if suitable, use a Hearing Aids, next use a Cochlear Implant or Use ASL only. Worst answer- do: Nothing.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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*facepalms*

If your idea of handling deafness by curing them, then would your idea of handling racism is to paint everyone orange? To castrate the males and sew up the females, then rely on artificial life technology to fix sexism and genderism? Is your idea of handling ageism is to give everyone plastic surgery, or giving hardcore drugs to youngsters to accelerate their looks?

Why is everything black and white to you? There's much more to life than hearing aids, ASL and cochlear implants.
 
drphil said:
To answer the question posed re: how is deafness "handled" now: one way, if suitable, use a Hearing Aids, next use a Cochlear Implant or Use ASL only. Worst answer- do: Nothing.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07
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People with CIs can use ASL..I know so many who do.
 
shel90 said:
People with CIs can use ASL..I know so many who do.
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My town here has a strong deaf community and I have met quite a few CI and none-CI folk. The CI users tend to use PSE but CAN use ASL. Interesting.
 
Whether a person with a Cochlear Implant OR a Hearing Aid can/does use ASL etc is irrelevant to the potential ways of dealing with being deaf.
The thought was the number of ways to deal with being deaf.
I suppose one can ignore deafness if ones doesn't want to consider their life as :"black and white". One's choice!
I have made NO comment on dealing with deafness as such. As to "curing racism by orange painting"- obscure reason to explain "thinking" or more accurately-"lack thereof".


Implanted Advanced Bionics Harmony activated Aug/07
 
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