i asked this elsewhere..

Get a clue! You have no understanding of body functions.

The ability to speak and the ability to hear are totally separate functions.
People, in this case a parent, should do everything possible to preserve EACH and EVERY body function. Not to do so is to abuse the body.
 
rolling7 said:
Get a clue! You have no understanding of body functions.

The ability to speak and the ability to hear are totally separate functions.
People, in this case a parent, should do everything possible to preserve EACH and EVERY body function. Not to do so is to abuse the body.
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ssssssssshhhhhhh...... now roll along... roll along....
 
frankiesmom said:
but it was jumbled in with a million other questions!
ok..if my son does not respond well with the hearing aids..would it be wrong to skip the implants, place him in a deaf preschool, attempt to have everyone in the family learn sign language, and just adapt in any way we can, to help him along? i am really feeling like this is the best option..ive been bouncing over both sides of the fence and i just keep coming back to this option.
any opinions on this would be awesome!
:wave: :wave: :wave:
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IMO, it absolutely is NOT wrong to skip the implant if you really don't think it's imperative. And ASL is always a good thing to learn.:)
 
after talking to the audiologist again today, i personally think the hearing aids will work..i am pretty sure..she says that he is right there in being eligible for the implant but i think hes going to respond well..if not, then we will see. he actually has glasses already, to help him not cross his eyes..he wont keep them on though! you would think i would gouging his eyes out, the way he gets mad..but he was fine with getting the impressions made today. she gave me a fancy dvd/brochure thing for the implant and i was impressed! you can plug into a ps3, it has bluetooth whatever..all kind of stuff..i almost wanted one! but we shall see. the important thing is that it looks like he is going to this deaf preschool, where they also have adult classes in sign language and whatever else. the audiologist asked if we wanted him to learn that or strictly learn to lip read and talk and i think we will try both..that is what they do at the school and we are all ready to learn what we need to learn. they also have parties and events for other kids with hearing issues so he can meet other kids, as he gets older.
 
frankiesmom said:
but it was jumbled in with a million other questions!
ok..if my son does not respond well with the hearing aids..would it be wrong to skip the implants, place him in a deaf preschool, attempt to have everyone in the family learn sign language, and just adapt in any way we can, to help him along? i am really feeling like this is the best option..ive been bouncing over both sides of the fence and i just keep coming back to this option.
any opinions on this would be awesome!
:wave: :wave: :wave:
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No. That decision would not be wrong at all. If that is what you feel is right for your child, then that is your decision to make.
 
rolling7 said:
Get a clue! You have no understanding of body functions.

The ability to speak and the ability to hear are totally separate functions.
People, in this case a parent, should do everything possible to preserve EACH and EVERY body function. Not to do so is to abuse the body.
Click to expand...

I am not convinced of that.

I am always wary of someone saying what people "should" do.

If you can conceive of a situation where either hearing or seeing would be more of an irritation than an asset then what you are saying is not "always" true.

This looks like the same attitude some doctors use toward life to keep people on life support -- until their estate has run dry and all their relatives are broke.
 
rolling7 said:
Get a clue! You have no understanding of body functions.

The ability to speak and the ability to hear are totally separate functions.
People, in this case a parent, should do everything possible to preserve EACH and EVERY body function. Not to do so is to abuse the body.
Click to expand...

This is soooooo wrong. Your definition of abuse is extremely distorted.
 
frankiesmom said:
after talking to the audiologist again today, i personally think the hearing aids will work..i am pretty sure..she says that he is right there in being eligible for the implant but i think hes going to respond well..if not, then we will see. he actually has glasses already, to help him not cross his eyes..he wont keep them on though! you would think i would gouging his eyes out, the way he gets mad..but he was fine with getting the impressions made today. she gave me a fancy dvd/brochure thing for the implant and i was impressed! you can plug into a ps3, it has bluetooth whatever..all kind of stuff..i almost wanted one! but we shall see. the important thing is that it looks like he is going to this deaf preschool, where they also have adult classes in sign language and whatever else. the audiologist asked if we wanted him to learn that or strictly learn to lip read and talk and i think we will try both..that is what they do at the school and we are all ready to learn what we need to learn. they also have parties and events for other kids with hearing issues so he can meet other kids, as he gets older.
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Those brochures are designed to impress. Just don't let the advertising lead you away from the important underlying issues. Personally, I think you are right in taking it slow and seeing what kind of job the aids do. But, as I said, this is your decision: not mine, and not the audi's or the ENT surgeon's. You seem to be doing everything to make certain that you are informed from all sides. I have every faith that you will make the best decision you possibly can.
 
frankiesmom said:
after talking to the audiologist again today, i personally think the hearing aids will work..i am pretty sure..she says that he is right there in being eligible for the implant but i think hes going to respond well..if not, then we will see. he actually has glasses already, to help him not cross his eyes..he wont keep them on though! you would think i would gouging his eyes out, the way he gets mad..but he was fine with getting the impressions made today. she gave me a fancy dvd/brochure thing for the implant and i was impressed! you can plug into a ps3, it has bluetooth whatever..all kind of stuff..i almost wanted one! but we shall see. the important thing is that it looks like he is going to this deaf preschool, where they also have adult classes in sign language and whatever else. the audiologist asked if we wanted him to learn that or strictly learn to lip read and talk and i think we will try both..that is what they do at the school and we are all ready to learn what we need to learn. they also have parties and events for other kids with hearing issues so he can meet other kids, as he gets older.
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Certain hearing aids can connect to a ps3 and Bluetooth and all that, too. Those capabilities are not unique to implants. Look at both the Phonak and the Oticon sites and you will see the various technologies available.

Other manufacturers too, of course, I'm just suggesting the two I've found most interesting. (My aids are from Phonak.) Widex is another one, or Siemens.
 
she says that he is right there in being eligible for the implant but i think hes going to respond well..if not, then we will see.
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Ugh the audi seems to be a little too libral. Especially since it's a fact that virtually everyone responds differently to hearing technology. Does he seem to respond even without hearing aids? That's a good sign. Of course even if he gets low speech perception with HAs, you could opt to go bimodal. The hearing aids of today are awesome....and even profound kids can get benifit from HAs a lot of times.
the important thing is that it looks like he is going to this deaf preschool, where they also have adult classes in sign language and whatever else. the audiologist asked if we wanted him to learn that or strictly learn to lip read and talk and i think we will try both..that is what they do at the school and we are all ready to learn what we need to learn. they also have parties and events for other kids with hearing issues so he can meet other kids, as he gets older.
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That really is important....and I am SO glad that you're trying both......and it sounds like you're near a really good Deaf School or a city with really good Deaf services!
 
jillio said:
Those brochures are designed to impress. Just don't let the advertising lead you away from the important underlying issues. Personally, I think you are right in taking it slow and seeing what kind of job the aids do. But, as I said, this is your decision: not mine, and not the audi's or the ENT surgeon's. You seem to be doing everything to make certain that you are informed from all sides. I have every faith that you will make the best decision you possibly can.
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I agree with that. CI just another product they want you to feel like that it looks so impressive and want one even some people don't need one. I don't see much adverting for hearing aids compare to CI and hearing aids do have all those addon features CI got such as Bluetooth.
 
I agree with that. CI just another product they want you to feel like that it looks so impressive and want one even some people don't need one. I don't see much adverting for hearing aids compare to CI and hearing aids do have all those addon features CI got such as Bluetooth.
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And Speedy, you're in the UK where they have socialized health care and hearing aids are covered.
While there are a lot of cases where the kid or person qualifies right off the bat...and there is NOTHING wrong with that. Heck there's nothign wrong with implanting if the person has low speech perception with aids, it does seem like they're selling CI as the world's MOST AMAZING thing....ie " if you have very crappy speech perception in noise,(and having difficulty in noise, is just a part of being hoh) YES, CI will make your life WONDERFUL. "
 
A hearing aid ranges from $800 to $2000, a cochlear implant about $30,000. Which would bring forth a bigger profit margin? Of course they are going to push the implant without giving hearing aids a chance first. What really bugs me is their advertising deliberately leaving out any mention of sign language...as if they want parents to believe it's not necessary, their child is suddenly hearing with CIs.

If the cochlear implant industry were at least honest and acknowledging that even with implants, kids are still deaf and it would be to their benefit to feel comfortable and fluent in both hearing and deaf worlds, then I wouldn't be so leery of CIs in babies.
 
DeafCaroline said:
A hearing aid ranges from $800 to $2000, a cochlear implant about $30,000. Which would bring forth a bigger profit margin? Of course they are going to push the implant without giving hearing aids a chance first. What really bugs me is their advertising deliberately leaving out any mention of sign language...as if they want parents to believe it's not necessary, their child is suddenly hearing with CIs.

If the cochlear implant industry were at least honest and acknowledging that even with implants, kids are still deaf and it would be to their benefit to feel comfortable and fluent in both hearing and deaf worlds, then I wouldn't be so leery of CIs in babies.
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yeah, it just seems like oralism all over again... I know that if my parents would have had the chance (and $) to implant me when I was a baby, they would have... I really think that its those people who don't teach their children any sign but just have them implanted that bothers me... it makes me sad for the children who go through this... I already felt like there was so much wrong with me... I can only imagine what the oral only kids with CI's feel like when they realize... even with a CI... i'm still deaf... and having missed out on the Deaf culture... I think it should be up to the child... or at least have a bilingual bi-cultural approach.
 
I can only imagine what the oral only kids with CI's feel like when they realize... even with a CI... i'm still deaf... and having missed out on the Deaf culture... I think it should be up to the child... or at least have a bilingual bi-cultural approach
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And that scares me to death. Oral only seems to be transforming into auditory verbal. Assuming that just b/c a kid is functionally hoh, ALL that's needed is to mainstream them, and they'll be set for life. Say what you will about oral education,(ie doesn't include ASL) at least it provided dhh kids with a connection and a sense of belonging that cannot be replicated in the mainstream. Today's implantees are simply going to experiance the downsides of a auditory verbal style/solotaire education, just like those of us who grew up hh in earlier decades did.
 
i am just worried that if say, the hearing aids dont work, or the batteries die, or they get lost..or any number of things..that leaves him without ANY means of communication, which is why we are going to try and get everyone to start learning sign language..the more people i have spoken with and the more things i have read have convinced me that at least for our little boy, having him learn to talk only just wouldn't be a good thing. yes, it would be nice to hear him say words but i want him to be able to get his point across without struggling. luckily, this school teaches sign language first and then speaking later..or something along those lines. the best part is that they have 2 teachers that are deaf and they have deaf people come in and talk to the kids, etc..i guess to expose them to others like them, so they dont feel isolated?
i think that my little one could have a very full life, even if he never learns to speak, as long as he has at least some way to communicate.
 
frankiesmom said:
i am just worried that if say, the hearing aids dont work, or the batteries die, or they get lost..or any number of things..that leaves him without ANY means of communication, which is why we are going to try and get everyone to start learning sign language..the more people i have spoken with and the more things i have read have convinced me that at least for our little boy, having him learn to talk only just wouldn't be a good thing. yes, it would be nice to hear him say words but i want him to be able to get his point across without struggling. luckily, this school teaches sign language first and then speaking later..or something along those lines. the best part is that they have 2 teachers that are deaf and they have deaf people come in and talk to the kids, etc..i guess to expose them to others like them, so they dont feel isolated?
i think that my little one could have a very full life, even if he never learns to speak, as long as he has at least some way to communicate.
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You have a wonderful perspective about all of this, and I wish I could find more hearing parents like you. Just keep the perspective of giving your son a full tool box, and letting him guide you in what he needs. Deafness is not something that requires medical intervention. There are ways to adapt naturally to deafness, and those ways provide your child with many more skills that simply implanting and sticking the child in an oral environment will do. Yes, your child will eventually have to interact with a hearing world, which is a claim all the oralists will make. This is true; however, he needs to learn how to interact with the hearing world as a deaf indivicual, not as a facsimile of a hearing person. Give him what he needs to learn to be deaf; then he will be able to interact with the hearing world on his terms and with success. Children, and I am sure your Frankie is one of them, adapt to their deafness generally before we even realize that they need to have their hearing checked. With the proper support, he will continue that adaptation, and you will be the one trying to play catch up to him, rather than the other way around.:giggle:

Encourage your family to learn ASL with you, and make it a fun experience for them. All of my family, including grandparents, brother's family, and great neices and nephews now use ASL to varing degrees, but all are able to communicate with my son in his preferred language. It has truly been a wonderful learning experience for all of my family, and I am sure it will be for yours, as well.
 
DeafCaroline said:
A hearing aid ranges from $800 to $2000, a cochlear implant about $30,000. Which would bring forth a bigger profit margin? Of course they are going to push the implant without giving hearing aids a chance first. What really bugs me is their advertising deliberately leaving out any mention of sign language...as if they want parents to believe it's not necessary, their child is suddenly hearing with CIs.

If the cochlear implant industry were at least honest and acknowledging that even with implants, kids are still deaf and it would be to their benefit to feel comfortable and fluent in both hearing and deaf worlds, then I wouldn't be so leery of CIs in babies.
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around here, $100k - 125k a pop.
 
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