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Poppy Edwards

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Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me.
I'm an assistant producer at an award-winning independent production company in London called Diverse Production and we are looking for anybody who would be able to give us an insight into the new technological debate on cochlear implants.
We have made many award-winning documentaries, such as Last Chance Kids for Channel4 on children's literacy in schools and Operatunity, where two women with extraordinary talent were chosen from auditions to sing a Verdi opera with the English National Opera. We specialise in high end, intelligent and informative documentaries.
This new technological development (CI) is something i know very little about, and one that is steeped in conflicting views. If anyone can enlighten me that would be great, and if possible it would be interesting to hear from a parent or young adult who is going through the decision-making process for this operation. Please feel free to let me know your thoughts, i understand it can be a very sensitive subject and a decision that cannot be taken lightly.
At the moment we have no programme or channel, i am just looking into the subject. It would be lovely to know your thoughts.
Many thanks and best wishes

Poppy

poppy.edwards@diverse.tv
Home :: Diverse
0207 855 7534
 
Poppy Edwards said:
Hi, I was wondering if someone could help me.
I'm an assistant producer at an award-winning independent production company in London called Diverse Production and we are looking for anybody who would be able to give us an insight into the new technological debate on cochlear implants.
This new technological development (CI) is something i know very little about, and one that is steeped in conflicting views. If anyone can enlighten me that would be great, and if possible it would be interesting to hear from a parent or young adult who is going through the decision-making process for this operation.
Click to expand...

I'm currently going through the CI process and passed, now I am waiting for an operation date and I'll be choosing an implant next month for the op.

I dunno what you mean by the new CI tech debate, CI has been around for 20 years+, I remember first learning about it in my last few years of School and followed the progress of CI down the years and it's only now that I felt it's good enough for me to get one.

Mind you the developments of CI has come along so much from the inital CI when it first came out - it was quite large and bulky compared to today's CI versions. And now there's 3/4 companies specialising in CI's, it wasn't there when it first came out - it was one company that did - WWW.Cochlear.com. Now there's Advanced Bionics, Med-el and one other obscure one which I think others will soon provide.

I remember the debates/opinions on CI's through the years, the opposition towards CI's when it first came out was quite strong due to their fears that it would diminish deaf culture etc... Now it's sort of petered out that now more children are having it done once first diagnosed and the qualifying criteria on suitability for CI has changed through the years. And that more adults are having it done now. Successful outcome tends to be higher in children due to their ability to comprehend/assimilate auditory information is higher than at adult stage. Deafened people are opting for CI over Hearing Aids as it delivers a more auditory information opposed to high end Hearing Aids. I remember one such case where a wife poisoned her husband through his food causing severe coma and came out blind and deaf. I remember seeing photos of him having bilateral implants fitted which was a surprise to me.

If you want to get in touch - PM me.
FYI - I'm based in the UK and work in London.
 
I'm a bilateral CI user. I've had my first CI since 2004 and my second since 2006. I'm very pleased with how well they help me hear and if I had to do it all over again, I would in a heartbeat.

However, having said that, I do understand that CIs aren't appropriate for everyone.

I've been researching CIs as well as the CI debate over the past 4 years, so I'm very familiar with both sides of the issue.

If you'd like to discuss this further, please feel free to send me a PM.
 
Hi I am UK Based, I was born deaf and I have a Cochlear implant. Any question u can email me or read my blog below "silent sail" Look forward to hearing from you.
 
I'm 23 and working on getting a cochlear implant for myself. I've already been deemed a candidate after the audiological evaluation, and have an appointment on May 5 to see the doctor about the CT scan results to see which ear would be the better one to implant (I would like to have the left ear done as it is my dead ear). Just need to figure out the funding problem, as I have no insurance and can't afford insurance, and I'm having trouble finding another job that might help me to afford the insurance. But I'm still working at it, and hopefully the doctor might also have some ideas as well when I see him.

When I was in middle school, it was my interpreter that first mentioned the implants to me. At the time I said no to them, that I was fine the way I was (proud) and that sort of thing. But when I got to high school, I started lookin into the implants more, and really did a lot of research. I even got to volunteer at the Cochlear Kids Camp in Colorado at the end of my junior year, which was a neat experience. Met so many people with implants, and I got to really look at the different implants close up (they had tables set up with infos and displays). It was pretty much there that I've been so attracted to Advanced Bionic's products, and have been since then (I know Cochlear is a great company with a great product, and I'm sure Med-El is great as well, but AB just won out for me). Since high school, I've continued to research the implants, the upgrades/advancements, communicating with implant users online, asking questions and all that jazz. And now that I'm really on track to get an implant, I've really full out have been involved with the Hearing Journey website, posting on the forums and asking questions and participating in the chats on Thursday nights, etc. From time to time, a new question will pop up in my head so I'll ask it and hope for a response.

I think the implant is a great thing. Yes, it's not for everyone, and there's a lot of work involved with the implant (auditory training, etc.). It's a very personal choice for each individual that choose to get an implant (or 2).
 
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