want to hear your opinions about cochlear implant

[gypsy]

This is imo, the problem with waiting for your child to be 18 is.. they lost 18 years of hearing. First few years will actually help the child hear better than when your 18. Its like a puppy, they train easier when younger, same with hearing.
I'm struggling with my left, but my right was easy because i had it since 2.

I totally agree with you. The development of speech and hearing skills is paramount in the toddler years. A child with a CI who doesn't hear as well as his/her peers at aged 4 is still going to have significantly better speech and listening skills than being implanted and learning to speak at the age of 18.

Having said that, I am pro-CI as I have a CI myself.

 

[Mountain Man]

The development of speech and hearing skills is paramount in the toddler years.

No, the development of language is of utmost importance, and it doesn't matter if that's spoken or visual as the child will receive identical benefit. More to the point, cochlear implants are not necessary for a child's development.

 

[shel90]

No, the development of language is of utmost importance, and it doesn't matter if that's spoken or visual as the child will receive identical benefit. More to the point, cochlear implants are not necessary for a child's development.

Correct. Unfortunately, many people are ignorant about language development
Most associate speech with language and see that being able to hear and speak is the only way to do it.

 

[gypsy]

The point I was trying to convey is applicable to the people who wish to go down the CI/speech route.

Obviously I am aware of other languages out there, verbal and visual.

 

[shel90]

The point I was trying to convey is applicable to the people who wish to go down the CI/speech route.

Obviously I am aware of other languages out there, verbal and visual.

I was born profoundly deaf with a dB loss of 110 to 120 in both ears and I was able to speak just fine.

These days people are associating CIs as the only route to take for one to achieve good speaking skills.

BTW, I never learned ASL until I was 25 years old.

 

[deafskeptic]

I was born profoundly deaf with a dB loss of 110 to 120 in both ears and I was able to speak just fine.

These days people are associating CIs as the only route to take for one to achieve good speaking skills.

BTW, I never learned ASL until I was 25 years old.

Although I have a CI now, I already had excellent speech skills even before I got implanted at age 40.

 

[gypsy]

Although I have a CI now, I already had excellent speech skills even before I got implanted at age 40.

Just curious, did your hearing and speech skills improve significantly after the implantation?

I don't have many deaf friends (the ones I have were all implanted under 10 years old) so don't usually get the chance to ask someone this.

 

[deafdyke]

was born profoundly deaf with a dB loss of 110 to 120 in both ears and I was able to speak just fine.

Yes, HELLO!!!! Kids with profound and severe losses learned to talk with hearing aids even back in the 60's!?!?!

 

[Hohtopics]

Just curious, did your hearing and speech skills improve significantly after the implantation?

I don't have many deaf friends (the ones I have were all implanted under 10 years old) so don't usually get the chance to ask someone this.

I was told by some that mine has improved since I got the CI almost three years ago.

And although I could be mistaken, I also suspect that some of the deaf that have claimed in here that they supposedly have almost "hearing-like" speech even without getting the CI or prior to getting one, may as constructively put, be overestimating their speech skills a bit.

Cause I was perhaps a little guilty of that myself, that I used to think it was perhaps a little better than it actually was. It wasn't till I got the CI along with getting some corrections at therapy that I realized the extent I wasn't making the "S" and "H" sounds as well as I thought I were making them. Whereas my "S" sometime sounded like a "D" and I wasn't also always blowing enough air for the "H", sometime skipping making them altogether. Although I believe I've also been making the frequency sounds better and more consistently since I got the implant.

I'm not saying that those deaf people don't have good speech or anything. Which some of them probably do. But there's a difference having good speech and being understandable and actually having "hearing-like" speech whose skills are actually good enough to be a narrator or announcer on TV or something to that sort. IMHO.

 

[posts from hell]

I was told by some that mine has improved since I got the CI almost three years ago.

And although I could be mistaken, I also suspect that some of the deaf that have claimed in here that they supposedly have almost "hearing-like" speech even without getting the CI or prior to getting one, may as constructively put, be overestimating their speech skills a bit.

Cause I was perhaps a little guilty of that myself, that I used to think it was perhaps a little better than it actually was. It wasn't till I got the CI along with getting some corrections at therapy that I realized the extent I wasn't making the "S" and "H" sounds as well as I thought I were making them. Whereas my "S" sometime sounded like a "D" and I wasn't also always blowing enough air for the "H", sometime skipping making them altogether. Although I believe I've also been making the frequency sounds better and more consistently since I got the implant.

I'm not saying that those deaf people don't have good speech or anything. Which some of them probably do. But there's a difference having good speech and being understandable and actually having "hearing-like" speech whose skills are actually good enough to be a narrator or announcer on TV or something to that sort. IMHO.

Thanks for making one of my points - People are quick to judge others by voice. You don't speak well, you aren't educated - that's society's perspective.

How many deaf people are like that? I'd wager a lot more than these who are "hearing-like."

 

[shel90]

I was told by some that mine has improved since I got the CI almost three years ago.

And although I could be mistaken, I also suspect that some of the deaf that have claimed in here that they supposedly have almost "hearing-like" speech even without getting the CI or prior to getting one, may as constructively put, be overestimating their speech skills a bit.

Cause I was perhaps a little guilty of that myself, that I used to think it was perhaps a little better than it actually was. It wasn't till I got the CI along with getting some corrections at therapy that I realized the extent I wasn't making the "S" and "H" sounds as well as I thought I were making them. Whereas my "S" sometime sounded like a "D" and I wasn't also always blowing enough air for the "H", sometime skipping making them altogether. Although I believe I've also been making the frequency sounds better and more consistently since I got the implant.

I'm not saying that those deaf people don't have good speech or anything. Which some of them probably do. But there's a difference having good speech and being understandable and actually having "hearing-like" speech whose skills are actually good enough to be a narrator or announcer on TV or something to that sort. IMHO.

If a majority of hearing people even strangers understand me and other deaf people who have speech skills, why dwell on having the PERFECT speech skills? That's my point.

People seem to be so focused on whether one has perfect speech skills or not rather than the ability to communicate with everyone. I have known many deaf people with little or no speech skills communicate fine with hearing non-signers. It takes creativiness and willingness on both sides. Is that the most important thing to look at, anyway?

 

[Speedy Hawk]

I don't have CI and I don't wear my hearing aids most of time in my life growing up and I still can speak fine. Most hearing people wouldn't be able to tell I am Deaf by just listening to me but they can only tell if I am Deaf when they speak to me cos I don't understand a word!

I rarely speak in public cos so many hearing people gets wrong idea good speak equals to good hearing levels so I just use paper and pen avoid problems.

What the use of speech if I can't understand others, at least with BSL I get two way conversation instead of one way conversation happens if I speak.

Btw my dB is 100 to 120dB (Only at 100dB at one frequency)

 

[deafskeptic]

Just curious, did your hearing and speech skills improve significantly after the implantation?

I don't have many deaf friends (the ones I have were all implanted under 10 years old) so don't usually get the chance to ask someone this.

It improved some speech wise and hearing wise. I can make out a lot of words on the radio and even a word here and there when I listen to songs - something I could not do pre-CI.

But though I have good speech skills, I rarely speak anything that isn't monosyllabic and though I have an excellent vocabulary, I have no idea how to pronounce many of the words I know.

I still have trouble in groups and with noisy environments.

CIs can help but it's not the same as normal hearing. Nor are they always helpful for some deaf. I know one post lingual deaf woman who used to post here who has said she could hear better with her HAs than with her CI.

 

[deafskeptic]

I don't have CI and I don't wear my hearing aids most of time in my life growing up and I still can speak fine. Most hearing people wouldn't be able to tell I am Deaf by just listening to me but they can only tell if I am Deaf when they speak to me cos I don't understand a word!

I rarely speak in public cos so many hearing people gets wrong idea good speak equals to good hearing levels so I just use paper and pen avoid problems.

What the use of speech if I can't understand others, at least with BSL I get two way conversation instead of one way conversation happens if I speak.

Btw my dB is 100 to 120dB (Only at 100dB at one frequency)

I'm with ya on this one. Once one of my bosses even accused me of faking my own deafness because of this.

 

[gypsy]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Sorry if I've come across as 'ignorant'. I grew up in a very small city that had virtually no deaf culture and I was implanted from a young age. Thus I've been stuck in the CI bubble and came onto AD to get a better insight on the deaf culture in the US.

 

[posts from hell]

Thanks for the feedback everybody. Sorry if I've come across as 'ignorant'. I grew up in a very small city that had virtually no deaf culture and I was implanted from a young age. Thus I've been stuck in the CI bubble and came onto AD to get a better insight on the deaf culture in the US.

Curious - why are you wanting to know about the deaf culture?

 

[BecLak]

We do have someone who learned to speak unaided with a severe loss. Severe and profound losses do not mean no usable hearing. Heck it does seem to be kind of rare even in the Deaf community to see voice off unaided/unCId folks.
Were the people you met older? Maybe they just hadn't had good access to a speech therapist experianced with dealing with dhh kids.
Personally I think that for kids who receive little to no benifit from hearing aids, the CI can be a GODSEND! All it is, is basicly a more sophiscated/powerful hearing aid. Did you know back in the day the Deaf community was AGAINST HA?

I am one of those people deafdyke is referring to. I speak English well enough that the general public or people who don't know me cannot tell I am severely-deaf. I learned to speak without hearing aids and I do not have a CI either.

I agree with CIs only if a hearing person suddenly loses their hearing and cannot fathom life without hearing. I do not agree with child implantation, IMO, child implantation lessens the quality of life for a child rather than enhance it. Yet, it is a personal choice, and I know that many parents implant their children because they believe that by doing so it is in the best interests of the child. I do not agree with the medical profession pushing their biased views onto ignorant parents.

 

[deafdyke]

also suspect that some of the deaf that have claimed in here that they supposedly have almost "hearing-like" speech even without getting the CI or prior to getting one, may as constructively put, be overestimating their speech skills a bit.

:roll:
We're NOT saying we have hearing like speech. We are saying that we were able to develop speech without CI. Meaning we may still have "deaf accents" but still have spoken language abilty that hearing people can understand.

 

[AlleyCat]

:roll:
We're NOT saying we have hearing like speech. We are saying that we were able to develop speech without CI. Meaning we may still have "deaf accents" but still have spoken language abilty that hearing people can understand.

Yes. And I think there are those who do have hearing-like speech even without a CI. They're told this by various hearing people who don't have a clue that they are deaf because they don't sound like they are deaf. I would never be so presumptuous like another poster who stated that we just think we sound hearing.

 

[BecLak]

I was told by some that mine has improved since I got the CI almost three years ago.

And although I could be mistaken, I also suspect that some of the deaf that have claimed in here that they supposedly have almost "hearing-like" speech even without getting the CI or prior to getting one, may as constructively put, be overestimating their speech skills a bit.

Cause I was perhaps a little guilty of that myself, that I used to think it was perhaps a little better than it actually was. It wasn't till I got the CI along with getting some corrections at therapy that I realized the extent I wasn't making the "S" and "H" sounds as well as I thought I were making them. Whereas my "S" sometime sounded like a "D" and I wasn't also always blowing enough air for the "H", sometime skipping making them altogether. Although I believe I've also been making the frequency sounds better and more consistently since I got the implant.

I'm not saying that those deaf people don't have good speech or anything. Which some of them probably do. But there's a difference having good speech and being understandable and actually having "hearing-like" speech whose skills are actually good enough to be a narrator or announcer on TV or something to that sort. IMHO.

That fact that many of us have had hearing people comment 'you would never know because you speak so well' and the fact that only an qualified audi can distinquish that I am deaf....is enough to prove we are not over-exaggerating when we claim that we speak well. The only tell-tale sign for me is that I may stumble occasionally or get 'tongue-tied' over the pronunication of a word if reading 'aloud'. I narrated a long address in front of local TV cameras once. So it can be done without any assistive hearing apparatus. Not something I would personally choose to do again, but my point is it can be done with enough determination.