Are Cochlear Implants a Threat to the Deaf Community?

1695 Words4 Pages

The sound of your parents voice, hearing your favorite song playing on the radio, even knowing the sound of your own voice, these are just a few sounds that sadly many of us take for granted, and unfortunately many will never get to experience. Hearing loss affects about 10% of the Global population, with 124.2 million people affected from a moderate level to a severe disability. (WHO 2008)
Deafness can be the result of many different causes such as otitis media (middle ear infections), hereditary disorders, genetic mutations at birth, prenatal exposure to certain diseases such as meningitis, and trauma to the eardrum or auditory nerves. (Better Health Channel, 2013)
While not a cure to deafness, the invention of cochlear implants (CIs) now allows people who are severely hard of hearing or profoundly deaf to experience sound in a completely new way. This surgically implanted electronic device can provide a prosthetic substitute for hearing in deaf individuals. While everyone can agree this device has changed the way the world views deafness, opinions differ on whether this change is for the better or for the worse. The argument over cochlear implants raises the question should deafness be considered a fixable defect or

embraced as part of the deaf community? To some it would seem that cochlear implants are a threat to the deaf community by taking away their culture, however, many others, including myself, see cochlear implants as a medical advancement that can benefit many deaf individuals by giving them opportunities that may not have elsewise.
How Cochlear Implants Work
To understand the controversy on cochlear implants, you must first understand how the hearing process works. The ear consists of three parts: the...

... middle of paper ...

...13. Web. 14 November 2013.

Photo credit: "KidsHealth." Cochlear Implants. Nemours, n.d. Web. 16 Nov. 2013.

Henshaw, Ashley. "The Pros And Cons Of Cochlear Implants." Symptomfind.com. Symptomfind, 12 June 2012. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

"Meet Ricky." Raising Deaf Kids. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Nov. 2013. .

“Cochlear Implant Controversy." Cochlear Implant Controversy. Deaf Website, n.d. Web. 03 Nov. 2013.

Coleman, Rachel. "Rachel Coleman." Rachel Coleman RSS. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Nov. 2013. .

Taormina-Weiss, Wendy. ”Cochlear Implants – Facts, Benefits, and Risks” http://www.disabledworld.com/disability/types/hearing/communication/cochlear.php
28 March.2012. Web. 5 Dec 2013

Show More
Related

  • Cochlear Implants Essay

    1851 Words  | 4 Pages

    Cochlear implants are amazing feats of biomedical engineering, and have helped many people regain the ability to hear. While there are some ethical dilemmas that go along with them, there is no denying just how amazing these implants really are. By understanding how the ear works, what causes it to stop working, and using science and engineering to fix that problem, there is now a way to give someone a sense they might have never been able to experience. It can be costly, but it could drastically change someone’s life. Some people may say for worse, but there will always be someone else to say it was for better. Overall, cochlear implants are an incredible invention and will continue to grow and only get better with technology.

    Read More

  • Eradicating the Deaf-World

    1472 Words  | 3 Pages

    Lane, Harlan (1992). “Cochlear Implants are Wrong for Young Deaf Children.” Viewpoints on Deafness. Ed. Mervin D. Garretson. National Association of the Deaf, Silver Spring, MD. 89-92.

    Read More

  • Pros And Cons Of Cochlear Implants

    968 Words  | 2 Pages

    Many individuals have different views surrounding cochlear implants. Most of the Deaf community tends to be against them whereas most of the hearing community tends to be in favor of them. It is important to understand not only want a cochlear implant is, but how the different communities view the implants so that we can gain a better understanding of Deaf culture.

    Read More

  • Cochlear Implants Argument Essay

    1311 Words  | 3 Pages

    Cochlear Implants are frequently thought of as an end all solution to hearing loss, a cure for deafness. However there are a couple things wrong with this line of thinking: First CI’s are not a perfect replacement for fully functioning ears. Second, they will only work for a few deaf people.

    Read More

  • Audism Informative Speech

    1568 Words  | 4 Pages

    Maybe you were labeled a jock, or a mean girl, a goth or a geek. Each of these labels lead to bring treated differently somehow, however for many of us this was just a faze, something we grew out of after high school. However, Deafness is not something that you grow out of, anymore then you can grow out of your skin.

    Read More

  • College Admissions Essay: I’m Not Deaf, and I’m Not Dumb!

    659 Words  | 2 Pages

    A hearing loss can present many obstacles in one's life. I have faced many issues throughout my life, many of which affected me deeply. When I first realized that I was hearing-impaired, I didn't know what it meant. As I grew older, I came to understand why I was different from everyone. It was hard to like myself or feel good about myself because I was often teased. However, I started to change my attitude and see that wearing hearing aids was no different than people wearing glasses to see.

    Read More

  • Benefits Of British Sign Language

    1194 Words  | 3 Pages

    This will also give hearing people an understanding of how Deafness plays a role in everyday life of a D/deaf person, not only the D/DEAF person but also individuals surrounding

    Read More

  • Is Deafness a Disability or a Way of Living?

    1579 Words  | 4 Pages

    Tucker, Bonnie. “Deaf Culture, Cochlear Implants, and Elective Disability.” Hastings Center Report. 28.4 (1998): 1-12. Academic Search Complete. EBSCO. Web. 9 Dec. 2013.

    Read More

  • Ben Jarashow Journey Into The Deaf World Analysis

    505 Words  | 2 Pages

    What I found most interesting about Jarashow’s presentation were the two opposing views: Deaf culture versus medical professionals. Within the Deaf culture, they want to preserve their language and identity. The Deaf community wants to flourish and grow and do not view being deaf as a disability or being wrong. Jarashow stated that the medical field labels Deaf people as having a handicap or being disabled because they cannot hear. Those who are Deaf feel as though medical professionals are trying to eliminate them and relate it to eugenics. It is perceived that those in that field are trying to fix those who are Deaf and eliminate them by making them conform to a hearing world. Those within the Deaf community seem to be unhappy with devices such

    Read More

  • DEAF TECHNOLOGY

    1866 Words  | 4 Pages

    Deaf and hearing impaired individuals are know longer an out cast group. They now have there own deaf community. Deaf individuals do not consider themselves having an impairment, handicap, or any type of disability. They believe that through the use of sign language, other communication skills, and technology that there deafness is the way they are supposed to be. Many people who have perfect hearing can not understand deaf people and why they embrace there deafness instead of trying to receive hearing and get rid of there handicap. However not all deaf people have th...

    Read More

  • The Deaf Community and Deaf Culture

    1208 Words  | 3 Pages

    In the United States today, approximately 4500 children are born deaf each year, and numerous other individuals suffer injuries or illnesses that can cause partial or total loss of hearing, making them the largest “disability” segment in the country. Although, those in the medical field focus solely on the medical aspects of hearing loss and deafness, members of the deaf community find this unwarranted focus limiting and restrictive; because of its failure to adequately delineate the sociological aspects and implications of the deaf and their culture. Present day members of deaf culture reject classifications such as “deaf mute” or “deaf and dumb”, as marginalizing them because of their allusions to a presumed disability. (Edwards, 2012, p. 26-30)

    Read More

  • Deaf Culture

    1566 Words  | 4 Pages

    In mainstream American society, we tend to approach deafness as a defect. Helen Keller is alleged to have said, "Blindness cuts people off from things; deafness cuts people off from people." (rnib.org) This seems a very accurate description of what Keller's world must have been. We as hearing people tend to pity deaf people, or, if they succeed in the hearing world, admire them for overcoming a severe handicap. We tend to look at signing as an inferior substitute for "real" communication. We assume that all deaf people will try to lip-read and we applaud deaf people who use their voices to show us how far they have come from the grips of their disability. Given this climate, many hearing people are surprised, as I was at first, to learn of the existence of Deaf culture. To me deafness is not a defect but a source of connection. Imagine yourself deaf, growing up with a beautiful language, visual literature, humor, and theater. Imagine taking pride in your identity without any desire to become a member of the majority culture. For many deaf people, their community is a comforting relief from the isolation and condescension of the hearing world. However the Deaf community is far more than a support group for people who share a physical characteristic. Members of the Deaf community may have hearing levels that range from profoundly deaf to slightly hard-of-hearing. But no members of the Deaf community are "hearing impaired." Inside this community, deaf people become Deaf, proudly capitalizing their culture. Hearing people suddenly find that they are handicapped: "Deaf-impaired."

    Read More

  • Discrimination Against the Deaf Culture

    2335 Words  | 5 Pages

    The deaf community does not see their hearing impairment as a disability but as a culture which includes a history of discrimination, racial prejudice, and segregation. According to an online transcript,“Through Deaf Eyes” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007) there are thirty-five million Americans that are hard of hearing. Out of the thirty-five million an estimated 300,000 people are completely deaf. There are ninety percent of deaf people who have hearing parents (Halpern, C., 1996). Also, most deaf parents have hearing children. With this being the exemplification, deaf people communicate on a more intimate and significant level with hearing people all their lives. “Deaf people can be found in every ethnic group, every region, and every economic class” (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007). The deaf culture and hard of hearing have plenty of arguments and divisions with living in a hearing world without sound however, that absence will be a starting point of an identity within their culture as well as the hearing culture (Weta and Florentine films/Hott productions Inc., 2007).

    Read More

  • My Personal Story on the Challenge of Being Deaf

    645 Words  | 2 Pages

    Then, when I was three years old, I had surgery to get a cochlear implant at the University of Minnesota. A cochlear implant is a small device which bypasses the damaged parts of the ear and directly stimulates the auditory nerve. Signals generated by the implant are sent by the auditory nerve to the brain, which recognizes t...

    Read More

  • Hearing vs. Listening

    945 Words  | 2 Pages

    Hearing is known to be an automatic function of the body. According to the dictionary, hearing is, “the faculty or sense by which sound is perceived; the act of perceiving sound,” (“hearing…”). Hearing is a physical and involuntary act; therefore, unless one is born with a specific form of deafness, everyone has the natural ability to hear sounds. Sounds constantly surround us in our everyday environments, and because we are so accustomed to hearing certain sounds we sometimes don’t acknowledge them at all (or “listen” to them). The dictionary definition of listening is, “to give attention with the ear; attend closely for the purpose of hearing,” (“listening…”). This differs from hearing in that this is a voluntary action, and we have control over what we choose to listen to. As stated by William Seiler and Melissa Beall, “You don’t have to work at hearing; it just happens… Listening, on the other hand, is active and requires energy and desire,” (145).

    Read More

More about Are Cochlear Implants a Threat to the Deaf Community?

Open Document