Do Hearies Have The Right...

AquaBlue

AquaBlue

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...to express their own personal views on CI? Isn't that a Deaf issue (exclusively)?

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Of course they have a right to express their view on cochlear implants afterall, everyone is entitled to their opinion.
 
Yeah but isn't that issue reserved only for the Deaf community? What I mean is that hearing people's opinions are really worthless when it comes to making (by the deaf person) the choice of having an implant or not. Having a CI is a very personal thing and hearies opinions aren't worthy at all- or to a lesser extent.

That's my initial thinking. This thread will instruct me in adjusting that thinking or not. Thanks for your input.
 
I think that hearing people (especially parents of implanted children) have as much a right to voice their opinions about CI's as anybody. Its not strictly for the deaf community either, as many people who are deaf, or have CI's have never been directly involved with the deaf community either by choice, or by geography.

and I'd like to add - its also good to have a dialog going with both hearing and deaf - as it helps breach the barriers and prevent misunderstandings - and there are still a lot of people who become deaf later in life...having had the opportunity to participate in discussions about CI's with other people might make it less scary for them when they realize that there ARE options available to them, be it hearing aids, CI's, or even just sign language.
 
AquaBlue said:
Yeah but isn't that issue reserved only for the Deaf community? What I mean is that hearing people's opinions are really worthless when it comes to making (by the deaf person) the choice of having an implant or not. Having a CI is a very personal thing and hearies opinions aren't worthy at all- or to a lesser extent.

That's my initial thinking. This thread will instruct me in adjusting that thinking or not. Thanks for your input.
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I believe in both personal and parents choice, they have every right to express their views on this issue, hearing parents who choose cochlear implants for their deaf children wants to have every available opportunity. It the same way as if a child is blind, and there's an operation available to give her/him an occular implant that allowing vision to help the child to see well. As you can see, its a "gift" to help a child. I would have done the same thing if I had a blind or deaf child.
 
When it comes to deaf children with hearing parents who are thinking CI, then I agree that the parent’s opinions are important. But what about an independent adult who is deaf or HOH? Would a hearies advice be critical then?
 
That was the answer I was looking for...I did not phrase it right in my initial post. So a hearies opinion is of no worth in that case?
 
Hearing can express their views such as "if I was to become deaf tomorrow .... "

Each of us, hearing or deaf will have views on any number of topics ... CI, religion, education politics ... expressing and opinion isn't where the issue lays ... it's when hearing people feel they have the right to tell me how to live my life, how how I "should" feel that it crosses the line (just like religion , education, politics). Extremists claiming not CIing everyone who is deaf is abusive, or making it mandatory that all deaf infants receive a CI are beyond way out of line !!

People can express their opinions ... that doesn't mean I have to listen to them ;)
 
Is it true that those deaf folks that have had the implant hear only slighly better than before- if they heard faint sounds prior to the operation? If the answer is yes, then they would still have to rely on lip reading and sign to function. Do I have that straight?
 
I would suggest to read under "Hearing Aids & Cochlear Implants" because alot of information there you may find answer to your questions.

AquaBlue said:
Is it true that those deaf folks that have had the implant hear only slighly better than before- if they heard faint sounds prior to the operation? If the answer is yes, then they would still have to rely on lip reading and sign to function. Do I have that straight?
Click to expand...
 
AquaBlue said:
Yeah but isn't that issue reserved only for the Deaf community? What I mean is that hearing people's opinions are really worthless when it comes to making (by the deaf person) the choice of having an implant or not. Having a CI is a very personal thing and hearies opinions aren't worthy at all- or to a lesser extent.

That's my initial thinking. This thread will instruct me in adjusting that thinking or not. Thanks for your input.
Click to expand...

see the bolded and underlined. my answer is no it is not reserved for them. It is for all human beings. Because it is not the only Deaf that are getting CI. There are those people outside Deaf community that are getting implants when they become deaf at any age from any factors. So don't limit this issue to Deaf community only. They have no major say in it.
 
It's absolutely an everybody issue, not just a Deaf issue. We are all absolutely entitled to our opinions in regards to debated issue, even if it doesn't directly relate to our lives... While a hearing person's perspective may not be (this is not always the case!!) as 'informed' as a deaf or hoh person, that doesn't make it any less.. valid or worthy of consideration?
 
AquaBlue said:
Is it true that those deaf folks that have had the implant hear only slighly better than before- if they heard faint sounds prior to the operation? If the answer is yes, then they would still have to rely on lip reading and sign to function. Do I have that straight?
Click to expand...

In my case the answer is a big "Heavens, NO!" - I could hear slightly with HA's prior to getting my CI - I had a 120db loss. With my CI, I can hear on par with hearing people, sound/decibel wise. My understanding of the sound gets better and better the longer I wear my CI. I could never have a normal conversation on a phone, or listen to music on an MP3 player, or watch TV w/o CC, or listen to the radio prior to getting implanted. Now I do all of that on a daily basis. I even have a cell phone. From what I've read here (read the CI moments thread at the top of this forum for some amazing posts) my experiences are not unique.
 
Will the CI technology bring an end to the Deaf culture as we know it?
 
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