Hear Again
New Member
- Joined
- Jan 21, 2005
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You certainly seem to be.
I think the problem most people are having with this; including me here, is that you seem to want to interject your own experiences/opinions into the lives of others. You seem to feel that if it happened to YOU, it WILL happen to others, and DD, that is simply not true!
Look, on the issue of CI. I'm hearing. Most people on here know this by now, so I certainly am NOT qualifed to tell a parent what they should or should NOT due in regards to implanting their child. The point I'm making here, is YOU'RE not qualifed either. The difference is, you come off sounding like YOU ARE trying to scare people off the CI. And, why? Because of some supposed "hype"? What hype, DD?
You don't seem to be very well informed about the process of determining candidacy. You go by what you've read, but DD, that's NOT the same thing as going through the prrocess firsthand. I've never been a candidate, either, and I'm also going by what I've read. I've read the people HERE, though. From what they've said, the "hype" you speak of just doesn't exist. Sure, the technology is there. But, from what I know, the parent of a deaf child is ENCOURAGED to try HAs first to see what benefit, if any, they get from them. Then, if the child gets NO benefit, the CI is discussed further. That doesn't sound like hype, DD. That sounds like being informed of options, and dealing with the CI in a responsible manner. No parent, I repeat, NO parent is going to put their child through a surgery unless it's absolutely necessary. I don't care WHO they are!
I also don't buy your statement that they are implanting people who are functionally HoH. That makes no sense to me. Why would they do that if the person benefits from HAs? This sounds like you've talked to a few people who have gross misconceptions about the CI themselves, and you're basing your opinions on what you've heard.
In fact, everything is you've stated is based on conjecture or your own crappy experience in school. DD, hate to tell you... That's life, kiddo. I didn't haven't a good school experience, either. In fact,my experiences in school sucked. But, I don't allow my own experiences color my advice to other parents. It's NOT up to me or you to tell these parents what they should do. It's up them to decide what is best for their child. It's their child. If a parent wants to implant their child, good for them! I really love how Lily'sDad is raising his little girl. But, even if a parent chooses to go the oral route completely that does NOT mean the child is going to suffer for it. They may not.
This is my point to what you try to say. You make everything sound so absolute. "The dhh is going to have such a hard time unless they are tought to sign." What if the child doesn't have a hard time, DD? WHAT IF?
Excellent post, Oceanbreeze! As an adult who went through the CI evaluation process twice, I can tell you that surgeons and audis do not automatically implant those who are functionally HoH (as you stated). In fact, in my case, even though I was considered to be an excellent candidate for a CI as having bilateral severe-profound hearing loss, I required additional testing (an ABR) to rule out auditory neuropathy (given my premature birth history) as well as to find out why I experienced a continual drop in hearing during the 3 months prior to my first CI evaluation. Additionally, as I went through each stage of the CI process, my surgeon and audi repeatedly reminded me about the risks and possible limitations of a CI (such as if it doesn't help me achieve high levels of speech discrimination) never pressuring me once to have the surgery. My hearing tests consisted of 2.5-3 hours of pure tone testing, single word testing, sentences in quiet, sentences in noise -- all of which were done with and without hearing aids. If truth be told, my first CI evaluation (as well as the bilateral evaluation) was the first time I received a fully comprehensive hearing test in my life. I thought I read somewhere that hospitals lose money on every CI surgery they perform, so it's not something they are willing to do if they don't have to.