Cochlear Implant Summary

Perspectives of individuals with/without hearing impairments: Heather is the young girl who the documentary is surrounded around. She is deaf but wants the cochlear implant. She wants to belong in the hearing and deaf world. She wants to be able to communicate with non-deaf friends and talk on the phone, as well as support her family when it comes to communication. Heather’s father is deaf and without a hearing aid or cochlear implant. He does not have access to the hearing world as he only communicates through sign. He does not agree with the implant as he believes it is a scary and invasive surgery that creates robots. He believes that verbal speech is void of emotion whereas sign is natural and full of meaning and emotion. However, he admits

They wanted to provide every opportunity in the world for their son. They had witnessed the first hand struggles that their immediate family members went through and did not want their son to go through the same things. Heather’s aunt’s parents are both deaf. They are afraid of the cochlear implant because they believe that the implant would eradicate the deaf community as a whole. I think it is obvious to see how the people who are hearing are for the cochlear implant whereas the deaf community is more against, or hesitant, in regards to the implant. I will never begin to understand what it would be like to be in a minority group, like the deaf community. I come from a place of privilege where I do not need to fear about my identity being attacked. I can not begin to understand the fear of losing one’s culture and identity. However, I do believe that disabilities and conditions, like deafness, do inhibit one’s ability to succeed in the world – not because the person is unable to succeed but because of how negative stigmas affects one’s ability

Kelsay and Tyler (1996) conducted a survey that asked parents to identify what they believed were the disadvantages and advantages. Several advantages identified include: awareness of environmental sounds, improved perception of speech, and improved production of speech. Some disadvantages listed were: equipment maintenance, slower rate of progression of auditory and speech skills, and the child resisting wearing the implant. After implantation, parents were asked to complete follow-up surveys to identify advantages and disadvantages of the implant. The study found, through progressive surveys done at 1-year post implant, 2-years post and 3-years post, that there was an increase in advantages and a decrease in reported concerns about disadvantages as time progressed (Kelsay & Tyler, 1996). Considering that this study was done in 1996, I think it is safe to say the the medical procedures have progressed and have been become more widely known and accessible and therefore, have had growing positive reports post-implant. I think it is important to critically reflect on this study. Obviously, to every parent who wishes that their child would receive a cochlear implant, there are parents that do not want their children to receive this surgery. This study only surveyed parents who