I reread and I do see that I probably wasn't as clear as I should have been.
I still use CC to. I can watch and hear some things better then others but I still have the CC turned on on my TV and it's helpful. Without it I only pick up so much so it helps fill in the blank.
What I was trying to get at is some people who consiously choose not to hear when there is a way for them to (CI or HA) should base that decision on all of these aspects. They should think about the fact that if this technology will help them hear. Then they won't have some obstacles if they take advantage of that technology. The moment someone is told "With this technology you will be able to hear" and they reply "I don't want to hear". Then they are also saying that they are comfortable with the their life without hearing and have nothing to complain about regarding it. They know it'll be much harder to have conversations with people who don't know ASL (Which most of society doesn't). They know they'll have a hard time seeing a movie in a theater. They know it'll be sometimes challenging to order food in a restaurant or get help at a store. They know phone calls will be a bigger task then just holding it up to their ear and talk to someone. They know they are going to meet people who treat them strangly (Not the deaf's fault, it's the uneducated hearing person's fault).
When the person is told that this technology will give them the ability to do these things, and they consciously decide not to look into that to it's fullest, educate themselves on the matter to confirm that it will indeed give them the ability to hear. Then they turn down that option. Then they are accepting all the kinds of things I mentioned above as something they know about and are willing to deal with.
They shouldn't just think "I don't like the CI" or "I don't like the HA". Their decision should go much deeper then that.
Like I said. It's up to the individual and I'm only referring to those who "Do Have a choice". Not those who don't.
Perhaps I feel this way because I spent all those years deaf and thinking I had no options. So I dealt with so many of the things I mentioned above because I didn't know I had a choice. The first time I looked into getting a CI they told me it wouldn't help me much. It was years later that I found out how advanced they've become and found out it would now benefit me. So I got it and I'm so glad I did. So I wish I would have done it sooner and can't imagine anyone experiencing what I'm experiencing right now not wanting it.
Ron Jaxon
