How to Decide on Cochlear Implant Surgery for Children

[gokce]

hi friends.

I am writing from turkey.

here does not support double-implant state.

not enough money for the second implant.

what if it would be very good for us


Note: I know ı lıttle english ...

 

[rockdrummer]

Well, on the other hand that number is dying. More and more Deaf folks are realizing that CI is not incompatible with Deaf culture.
Were you aware that when hearing aids were first introduced, Deafies were against them?

I am sure that is true. One thing that I have realized is that most of what we worry about never comes to pass. HA's did not wipe out Deaf culture just as CI's will not wipe out Deaf culture.

 

[jillio]

I am sure that is true. One thing that I have realized is that most of what we worry about never comes to pass. HA's did not wipe out Deaf culture just as CI's will not wipe out Deaf culture.

True, true. And most of what we hope for and expect never comes to pass, either. HAs were not the miracle they were touted to be, and neither is the CI.

 

[rick48]

True, true. And most of what we hope for and expect never comes to pass, either. HAs were not the miracle they were touted to be, and neither is the CI.

I guess it depends on one's perspective.

For a a young profoundly deaf girl who could not benefit from either HAs or FM trainers but with a cochlear implant was able to not only hear sounds but to develop excellent speech with relative ease, maybe not a "miracle" but pretty damm good and definitely worth her parents' decision and the abuse they took from the Deaf community.

Also, the reality is that there are now thousands of other children just like her, again not "miracles' but living and loving proof as to the tremendous impact that a cochlear implant can have upon one's life.

On the whole the cochlear implant community seems to have a more optimistic view towards life.

 

[A]

yep. I guess beautiful speech is like music to people's ear. I have speech, but I don't sound beautiful to them. No wonder they laugh and mock me. It's the beautiful speech they only care about.

 

[jillio]

I guess it depends on one's perspective.

For a a young profoundly deaf girl who could not benefit from either HAs or FM trainers but with a cochlear implant was able to not only hear sounds but to develop excellent speech with relative ease, maybe not a "miracle" but pretty damm good and definitely worth her parents' decision and the abuse they took from the Deaf community.

Also, the reality is that there are now thousands of other children just like her, again not "miracles' but living and loving proof as to the tremendous impact that a cochlear implant can have upon one's life.

On the whole the cochlear implant community seems to have a more optimistic view towards life.

This is not about the individual, but about the wider perspective and population. Such a narrow perspective you have.

On the bolded:

 

[jillio]

yep. I guess beautiful speech is like music to people's ear. I have speech, but I don't sound beautiful to them. No wonder they laugh and mock me. It's the beautiful speech they only care about.

Yes, and it is sad indeed.

 

[GrendelQ]

No wonder they laugh and mock me. It's the beautiful speech they only care about.

A, it's not the sound of the speech that matters, it's what you communicate. It's a horrible thing for anyone to mock you for how you sound, never acceptable.

 

[GrendelQ]

The CI as Miracle? No, but such an amazing tool. Far more benefit than I ever expected or hoped, far more than "as advertised".

 

[rick48]

The article from the OP contains good advice and things to consider for parents beginning the cochlear implant decision for their child.

 

[rick48]

This is not about the individual, but about the wider perspective and population. Such a narrow perspective you have.

On the bolded:

"Also, the reality is that there are now thousands of other children just like her"


Next time try reading the entire post before making your usual nasty comment. You just cannot stand nor accept the fact that children have enjoyed the benefits of the cochlear implant. What a shame.

 

[jillio]

The CI as Miracle? No, but such an amazing tool. Far more benefit than I ever expected or hoped, far more than "as advertised".

Yes, it can be an amazing tool for some. It has also had less than predicted results for just as many. I can remember back in the late '80's and early 90's when all of the hoopla for the CI began. It was, indeed, presented as a "miracle", but at that time, for the postlingually deafened. Advertising approaches have changed since that time, to be sure. But still, there is enough of the "hoopla" remaining that it contributes to some very unrealistic expectations. Same could be said for digital aids, or analogue aids in their time, or the FM system.

I think what most of us here are interested in, in the way the CI is presented, is more unbiased and accurate explanations from the professionals, such as information detailing the differences between "hearing sound" and "discriminating sound" and the real world implications of those differences.

 

[A]

A, it's not the sound of the speech that matters, it's what you communicate. It's a horrible thing for anyone to mock you for how you sound, never acceptable.

That's the way it is. And your child would have experienced the same thing if she lived in my generation. Or didn't take the CI route.

 

[jillio]

"Also, the reality is that there are now thousands of other children just like her"


Next time try reading the entire post before making your usual nasty comment. You just cannot stand nor accept the fact that children have enjoyed the benefits of the cochlear implant. What a shame.

I did read the whole post as it was posted.

Some children have, some children haven't. I have always conceded that. Where we part ways is in the fact that you refuse to concede that very few achieve miraculous results, and that you cannot extrapolate a singular experience (particularly a second hand singular experience) into a universal for all.

 

[faire_jour]

I did read the whole post as it was posted.

Some children have, some children haven't. I have always conceded that. Where we part ways is in the fact that you refuse to concede that very few achieve miraculous results, and that you cannot extrapolate a singular experience (particularly a second hand singular experience) into a universal for all.

What is a "miraculous" result?

I think that the key is hearing better than they did with hearing aids. I would say almost all get that benefit.

 

[rick48]

you refuse to concede that very few achieve miraculous results, and that you cannot extrapolate a singular experience (particularly a second hand singular experience) into a universal for all.

Please define what you mean by "miraculous results".

Believe me, after being around many cochlear kids over the past twenty years, as much as you attempt to limit it, my experience, which is way more than yours, goes far beyond the singular.

And BTW having raised a cochlear kid from 2 to adulthood my observations and experiences are firsthand, unlike yours as you are neither deaf nor the parent of a cochlear child, just someone with a keyboard and way too much time on her hands.

 

[jillio]

What is a "miraculous" result?

I think that the key is hearing better than they did with hearing aids. I would say almost all get that benefit.

Hearing better as in being able to discriminate sound, or hearing better as in being able to perceive sound? Unfortunately, too many equate the two, and that is what I am referring to. If you will note, the vast majority of the advertising is from a medicalized, hearing perspective...the message being that some sound is preferable to no sound. That doesn't always play out in the real world application.

I am thinking back to a documentary, I believe it was on 60 minutes, in the early 90's. The documentary concerned one of the first recipients that was prelingually deafened and in their early 40's. It followed the recipient from evaluation to actual activation and beyond. Prior to the surgery, the message was that this was a modern miracle of science. That this individual was going to have their life enriched in untold ways by adding the perception of sound. The actual result, one year post activation, was quite different.

 

[jillio]

Please define what you mean by "miraculous results".

Believe me, after being around many cochlear kids over the past twenty years, as much as you attempt to limit it, my experience, which is way more than yours, goes far beyond the singular.

And BTW having raised a cochlear kid from 2 to adulthood my observations and experiences are firsthand, unlike yours as you are neither deaf nor the parent of a cochlear child, just someone with a keyboard and way too much time on her hands.

According to the implant industry, the medical field, and many of those concerned with the rehab end, simply adding sound that was not present prior is "miraculous". We see news articles posted on here consistently that suggest such. However, what might appear to be "miraculous" from the outside looking in is quite different when the perspective is from the inside looking out.

Your experience of raising that child are first hand. The experience of growing up deaf is not. And, quite frankly, you have virtually no idea how many CI users I deal with on a daily basis. To attempt to compare those numbers is really rather childish.

 

[faire_jour]

Hearing better as in being able to discriminate sound, or hearing better as in being able to perceive sound? Unfortunately, too many equate the two, and that is what I am referring to. If you will note, the vast majority of the advertising is from a medicalized, hearing perspective...the message being that some sound is preferable to no sound. That doesn't always play out in the real world application.

I am thinking back to a documentary, I believe it was on 60 minutes, in the early 90's. The documentary concerned one of the first recipients that was prelingually deafened and in their early 40's. It followed the recipient from evaluation to actual activation and beyond. Prior to the surgery, the message was that this was a modern miracle of science. That this individual was going to have their life enriched in untold ways by adding the perception of sound. The actual result, one year post activation, was quite different.

I think CI's allow for both perception and discrimination of sound.

60 minutes did a piece on one of the very first children who received a CI. Her name was Caitlin Parton. She was 2 1/2 when she got it. They followed up with her when she was 14. Is this a different story?

 

[jillio]

I think CI's allow for both perception and discrimination of sound.

60 minutes did a piece on one of the very first children who received a CI. Her name was Caitlin Parton. She was 2 1/2 when she got it. They followed up with her when she was 14. Is this a different story?

CIs can allow for both perception and discrimination, to be true. However, they do not always do so. And I think parents need to know the difference, and what the real life implications are.

Yes, a very different story.