Myths and lies about CIs . . .

Interesting bit of info from WRAD NEWS . . .


MYTHS AND LIES ABOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS

WRAD is SHOCKED that there are lies and myths and a lot of wrong
information being spread about cochlear implants and people who choose
to receive cochlear implants to improve their independence, their lives
and their careers.

Even much worse, a lot of these LIES are being spread by ASL
Interpreters, apparently for two reasons: (1) They are so fascinated
with "sign language" that they do not want any prelingually deaf person
(born deaf or early deafened) to have the ability to hear or to speak;
and (2) they want the MONEY that comes to them from keeping deaf people
dependent... ON THEM!

OK, it is time to STOP these rumors and lies and myths! It is time to
focus on the REAL NEEDS of deaf people, for more independence and more
access to the whole world. Here are the LIES we have been hearing about,
and here is the TRUTH!

LIE #1: THERE IS A "HOLE" IN THE SIDE OF THE HEAD OF A COCHLEAR IMPLANT
RECIPIENT
This is absolute NONSENSE! THERE IS NO "HOLE"! The headpiece attaches
magnetically. There is a small metallic section of the implant under the
scalp skin. There is a magnet in the headpiece. Ask ANYONE you know who
has a cochlear implant to temporarily remove their headpiece and see for
yourself!

LIE #2: SOME HEARING PEOPLE "FORCE" DEAF PEOPLE TO GET COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
This is a LIE. No one can "force" anyone to get a cochlear implant (ci).
When a deaf individual wishes to receive INFORMATION about the ci
technology, they must go through a full ci EVALUATION to get INFORMATION
ONLY. These evaluations are done through a certified ci center, and
simply involve a more thorough audiological test; a test of the hearing
nerves (most deaf people have fully functional hearing nerves --
"deafness" is caused by damage to the cells in the cochlea); a CT scan
of the cochlea bones (about 5 minutes for each ear); a discussion and
education session with a ci audiologist; and a full medical evaluation
by an ci-trained ENT physician. These evaluations are for INFORMATION
ONLY, and do not involve "surgery" or any "pressure" by anyone.

[NOTE: If you wish to have a ci evaluation, go to
http://www.bionicear.com/clinics/clinics.html , contact the location
near where you live and ask for a ci evaluation. If you are under an HMO
medical insurance plan, tell your Primary Care Physician (PPO) to refer
you to an ENT specialist within your HMO network for a ci evaluation]

LIE #3: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS ARE "DANGEROUS"
Absolutely WRONG! No one has ever died from ci surgery. In fact, ci
surgery is MICROSURGERY, so small that the surgeon needs to use
magnifying glasses. The entire "surgery" through the skull bone is no
bigger than this typed "O". There are very few side effects after
surgery and all of them are TEMPORARY. Proper care of the stitches after
surgery prevents skin infections. The "meningitis risk" you have been
hearing about is primarily in young children between birth to 6 years
old, and is preventable by a simple immunization (everyone should be
immunized against meningitis anyway).

LIE #4: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS MAKE PEOPLE INTO "ROBOTS" OR "ALIENS"
Absolutely, definitely NOT TRUE! The cochlear implant is simply an inner
ear radio transmitter. It just sits on top of the damaged cells on the
surface of the cochlea bone and sends radio signals of ALL sounds to the
hearing nerves. There is NOTHING "connected to" any nerves of the body
or to the brain.

LIE #5: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS "DESTROY DEAF CULTURE"
No they DON'T! "Deaf Culture" is primarily about the gestural languages
(such as ASL in the USA and Canada), unrelated to spoken phonetic
languages, that are used by BOTH deaf AND hearing people all over the
world. These gestural languages can be learned AT ANY TIME in any
person's life. In fact, many late-deafened people and many ASL
interpreters have proved that gestural languages can be learned at any
age. If an ASL interpreter can have the best of BOTH worlds (gestural
and phonetic), then why can't a deaf person have the same benefits? WE
CAN!

LIE #6: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS COST "A LOT OF MONEY"
Not true! All major health insurance plans pay IN FULL for the ci
surgery and TWO sound processors (body-worn and BTE) and all
attachments, and most of them also cover, or reimburse for, all of the
replacement batteries, cords, etc.

LIE #7: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS "DON'T WORK" FOR PRELINGUALLY DEAF ADULTS

WRONG AGAIN! We all have TWO different "auditory systems" in our brains!

The BASIC level of the human auditory system is for identification of
ENVIRONMENTAL sounds. This is called the "WHERE" auditory system, and
this part of the auditory system has ALWAYS BEEN activated and fully
functional, for ALL sounds, for prelingually deaf adults, from the time
the ci is first activated.

The other part of the human auditory system is at a higher level for
understanding of other people when they are speaking. This is called the
"WHAT" (speech identification) part of the auditory system. IN THE PAST,
this benefit was not available to prelingually deaf people because of
limitations of technology. BUT THIS IS NOT TRUE ANYMORE! The most recent
advances in ci technology, in just the past few years, NOW permit
prelingually deaf people to be able to learn listening skills for
understanding human speech.

Because of the most recent improvements in ci technology, it is now
possible, FOR THE FIRST TIME IN HUMAN HISTORY, for a prelingually deaf
person to activate BOTH their "WHERE" auditory system AND their "WHAT"
auditory system. If a deaf child is implanted during the period of
development of the "WHAT" auditory system (between birth and age 3,
preferably), and IF that child is properly educated in listening skills,
the deaf child functions as a MILDLY HARD OF HEARING person, with
outstanding and clear speech and without the need for continual
"communication assistants" (which is why ASL interpreters and others who
MAKE MONEY from keeping deaf people dependent are trying to PREVENT deaf
people and especially deaf children from becoming independent).

If you want to see the NEW GENERATION of deaf children, go to
http://www.oraldeafed.org , click on "Oral Deaf Education Schools" and
go visit these children at a school nearest to where you live!

Also, on the same webpage, click on "Free Materials" and order the 60
minute videotape called "Speaking for Myself" and WATCH IT (it's
captioned), and order any other materials you want -- THEY ARE ALL FREE!

LIE #8: COCHLEAR IMPLANTS ARE THE SAME AS "HEARING AIDS"
Absolutely WRONG! A hearing aid blasts sound into the outer, middle and
inner ears. For a deaf person, the cells in the inner ear that transmit
sounds are DEAD. If doesn't matter how much sound you blast into the ear
since those sounds won't ever be heard by the auditory nerves. All a
deaf person gets from a hearing aid is VIBRATIONS, not actual sounds,
and a lot of headaches.

A cochlear implant provides direct transmissions to the auditory nerves.
There are NO vibrations at all, and the sounds are very clear and
distinct, ALL SOUNDS, much more than anyone can hear with a hearing aid.
A person with a cochlear implant hears sounds the same way as a hearing
person. Ask ANY hearing person how they "hear sounds" -- they don't feel
ANYTHING AT ALL when they hear! In fact, hearing people don't even know
their ears are there -- they hear in their brain, NOT "in their ear"! So
do ci users, and there are no "earmolds" to bother them either.

LIE #9: COCHLEAR IMPLANT USERS "DISAPPEAR" FROM THEIR OWN DEAF COMMUNITY
No they don't! Most ci users, especially prelingually deaf adults, were
implanted too late in life for their "WHAT" auditory system to be fully
functional, even though their "WHERE" auditory system IS fully
functional, which greatly improves and assists lipreading ability. MOST
ci users DO want to participate in the deaf community, but they are
BEING INSULTED, DEFAMED, EXCLUDED, ISOLATED AND ATTACKED by stupid
people who do not understand the truth about cochlear implants. THIS IS
WRONG! It is WRONG to attack and hurt innocent people in the deaf
community who want to be more independent!

ASL interpreters, who regularly participate within Deaf Culture and the
deaf community have FULL hearing and speech ability, PLUS the FULL
ability to communicate in gestural language, too. WHAT IS SO "WRONG" IF
DEAF PEOPLE WANT TO DO THE SAME?

If HEARING or even hard of hearing people within the deaf community are
"threatened" by this, then they should NOT BE IN the deaf community or
in OUR Deaf Culture organizations and groups! We who are PHYSICALLY DEAF
have the same rights as everyone else to have as much access as possible
to BOTH the world of sound AND the world of silence!

[end of part 1]

[part 2]

LIE #10: PEOPLE WHO ARE STILL "VOLUNTARILY DEAF" HAVE THE "RIGHT" TO
TALK ABOUT COCHLEAR IMPLANTS
Very, Very, VERY WRONG! NO prelingually deaf person (born deaf or early
deafened) who still chooses to remain deaf has NO RIGHT WHATSOEVER to
talk about cochlear implants! They have NO experience at all in hearing
the FULL RANGE of sounds!

Would you ask a born BLIND individual to choose colors for decorating
your house? No you wouldn't! That person has NO ACTUAL EXPERIENCE with
the full range of colors. And a prelingually deaf person has NO ACTUAL
EXPERIENCE hearing the full range of ALL sounds, either!

It is NOT POSSIBLE for a BORN BLIND OR EARLY BLINDED person to
understand colors, even if you try to explain colors to that person --
colors are OUTSIDE of that person's life experience.

It is also NOT POSSIBLE for a BORN SOUND-BLIND OR EARLY SOUND-BLINDED
person (a born deaf or early deafened prelingually deaf person) to
understand what it is like to hear ALL sounds -- having full auditory
function is OUTSIDE of that person's life experience.
DO NOT LISTEN TO ANYONE WHO DOES NOT KNOW WHAT THEY ARE REALLY TALKING
ABOUT!

If you want to know THE TRUTH, ask someone who DOES know what they are
talking about, from actual professional training (which is NOT given in
"ASL Interpreter Training Programs"), and/or from ACTUAL LIFE
EXPERIENCE!

FINAL NOTE:

One more thing... PLEASE stop "looking at the outside" of people who use
cochlear implants! When they are communicating with people who choose to
be deaf, they will always use the communication mode understandable to
people who CAN'T HEAR ALL SOUNDS (so do ASL Interpreters, CODAs and
others). This doesn't mean their ci "doesn't work"!

Finally, PLEASE stop saying that the ci "doesn't work" because a ci user
might not be able to "instantly talk on the telephone" or have "clear
speech"! THIS IS NOT WHY PEOPLE GET A COCHLEAR IMPLANT! Prelingually
deaf adults, especially, really don't care if they can "use a telephone"
or even "speak clearly," since they haven't been able to do these things
all of their lives anyway, and there was no ci technology available
during their own ages of birth to 3 years old when they could have
developed these specific skills. SO WHAT? They still receive EXTENSIVE
benefits from their cochlear implants, and they STILL can hear and enjoy
ALL sounds, and for the first time in their lives, they can develop
listening skills.

The ci BREAKS THE INVISIBLE GLASS BARRIER between the world of silence
and the world of sound... ALL sounds. When the ci is activated, the
learning of sounds BEGINS from the point in time when the person became
deaf.

For many prelingually deaf adults with cochlear implants, this is the
first time in their WHOLE LIFE that they have heard some types of
sounds, and it TAKES TIME for their brains to learn to identify and
understand what they are hearing. This is an exciting time for them.

We should all HONOR AND RESPECT people who are taking these new
adventures into the "unknown world of sounds" and WRAD asks you ALL to
STOP criticizing, attacking, defaming and excluding them! They are the
pioneers who are leading the way to a NEW AND MUCH BETTER FUTURE for the
entire deaf community of today and tomorrow.

Bush and other, check this out...

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CI-Prelinguals/message/2565

This email was forwarded to that user on that group. It detail a response to Myth article (find that on bottom) and a response by WRAD (which is quoted on top) to Kathy.

AHEM...

Can you explain to me if this is MYTH of FACT:

CI users cannot go scuba diving or sky diving due to pressure in their head shrinks or expands.

DING DING DING!

The "response" (on the bottom) started out with:

"I am a recently certified level 1 interpreter"

that's all the info I needed to know. see, if too many deaf people choose the CI option, "certified level 1 interpreter" will find herself out of a job. deaf people ought to be uninterested in the interpreters' viewpoints because they are supposed to be "invisable" to us.



I DO encourage all deaf individuals (and hearing parents) to consider both sides of the CI issue. Neither I or Harlan Lane has the last word on all things CI.

Scuba, MYTH.

But don't take anybodys word for it on the net, even mine.

Go ask a CI specialist for a peace of mind!

DeafSCUBA98 said:

AHEM...

Can you explain to me if this is MYTH of FACT:

CI users cannot go scuba diving or sky diving due to pressure in their head shrinks or expands.

Click to expand...

I would say this is myth.

you can go scuba diving as long it is a recreational scuba diving (not going deeper than 99 feets) Recreational Scuba diving is different from Deep Scuba Diving which go deeper than 99 feet. CI users are advised to avoid Deep Scuba diving due to extreme pressure.

as for skydiving, no one said that CI can't do that.

I am proud NOT to have CI. I don't need it.

Ahhh that's interesting. I disagree with some of those myths but ah well everyone's entitled to an opinion. I have nothing against it but I'm perfectly happy with my hearing aids. It's up to the person.

Re: Myths and lies abt CIs

Hello I was just reading your post about the Myths and Lies abt the CIs, I totally agree with every single word that was written for the Myths and Lies abt the CIs. It's actually great that this person has written this to get the message across. There is nothing wrong with the implants, basically it's just a chance there if you want to be parts of both the hearing and deaf worlds. Been in both gives you the chance to learn things out of both worlds, you learns lots. Iam so grateful that I have the CI and it has been such a success. I have had it for about 13-14 years now and I am only 16 now. It has given me so much out of life. I believe that deaf ppl wiv no implants just have no idea what the implant is actually about becoz they havent taken the chance to try it so keep lips zip unless u kno the experience. I wld be happy to answer any quezzies!

cheers

i agree!

i agree wiv bush_2004

sweet_goddess said:

i agree wiv bush_2004

Click to expand...

thanks, goddess!




Everybody can have their own opinions about CIs -- Love it or hate it, but don't spread false and misleading information about the CI cuz the person you harm might be yourself!

A person with a cochlear implant hears sounds the same way as a hearing
person. Ask ANY hearing person how they "hear sounds" -- they don't feel
ANYTHING AT ALL when they hear! In fact, hearing people don't even know
their ears are there -- they hear in their brain, NOT "in their ear"! So
do ci users, and there are no "earmolds" to bother them either.

Click to expand...

No, Ciers don't hear the same as hearies. Hearies don't hear by electronic bleeps and bloops! Also, many CIers don't hear everything. Sucess with CI isn't the same for every person. Some people with CI can hear everything, some have mild loss with the CI, some have moderate, and some just have an increased awareness of enviromental sounds with the CI. (Even over at Hearing Exchange,aka Oralism Central they admit that the CI doesn't nessarly work the same for everyone!)

deafdyke said:

No, Ciers don't hear the same as hearies. Hearies don't hear by electronic bleeps and bloops! Also, many CIers don't hear everything. Sucess with CI isn't the same for every person. Some people with CI can hear everything, some have mild loss with the CI, some have moderate, and some just have an increased awareness of enviromental sounds with the CI. (Even over at Hearing Exchange,aka Oralism Central they admit that the CI doesn't nessarly work the same for everyone!)

Click to expand...

However, some CIers have SUPERHEARING!

moral: do your research and make a decision based on your needs.

deafdyke said:

No, Ciers don't hear the same as hearies. Hearies don't hear by electronic bleeps and bloops! Also, many CIers don't hear everything. Sucess with CI isn't the same for every person. Some people with CI can hear everything, some have mild loss with the CI, some have moderate, and some just have an increased awareness of enviromental sounds with the CI. (Even over at Hearing Exchange,aka Oralism Central they admit that the CI doesn't nessarly work the same for everyone!)

Click to expand...

Pez,

for three days straights, I don't hear any bleeps or bloops after I got activated! It is extremely amazing! althought first hour, I heard bloops, but that was the computer sending the signal to determine how loud it is to me to set the comfort level. And when they turned on to let voices go thru to me. I heard the sounds not beeping or quacks. Keep in mind, I am not using CIS or ACE whatever. I am using Clarion's HiResolution sound processing strategy. HiResoultion is a software that proecesses full range of sounds instead of a series of bleeps and bloops like CIS does. ( http://www.bionicear.com/products/hires_trials.html )

Again, you don't know much about cochlear implant so stay out of it. See what you are causing...(myths!)

Boult, even over at Hearing Exchange, they say that CIers don't hear the same way that hearing people do! I distinctly remember a post by Paula saying that her and her daughter hear by bleeps and boops.
(more like hearing by computer rather then by traditional a/c aids)
I am NOT trying to spread misinformation....I'm simply reporting what current CI users have told me! You forget....I am NOT anti-CI. I think the CI is a great thing...I just think that a healthy dose of skepticism is greatly warrented here. I KNOW that a lot of deaf people can hear very well with CI. What I am saying is that unless they were progressively/late deafened, they won't hear like a hearing person. I am aware of the new and improved software, but if the current software sounds just like what a hearing person hears, then how come the've got those CI MEMs(the ones that make a CI sound more like what a hearing person hears) in the drawing room? Besides....how would YOU know what sound sounds like to a hearing person? You (and many other prelingally deaf folk) have never heard sound the way a hearing person has!

Jake, where on earth did you hear that some CI users have superhearing? What the heck does that mean? I know a few hearing aided folk who can pick up radio stations on their hearing aids...does that mean that hearing aids give some people superhearing? After all people with normal hearing can't hear radio stations without turning on a radio!

About "forcing someone to use CI" -- explain parents taking their child to have CI implanted. Forcing by Parent's choice, not child's.

dd, some CI users, in the right setting, conditions and amplification levels can hear things many hearing people don't pick up.

Obviously, one doesn't get a CI to "out hear" a hearing person, but I'm willing to bet the day will come when some (many?) CI users routinely "hear" birds, frogs, back-up warning alarms, et al long before their hearing friends.

Really? That's actually very fascinating! Can you give me any links to back up those claims?

deafdyke said:

Really? That's actually very fascinating! Can you give me any links to back up those claims?

Click to expand...

You'll have to come to my house for a demonstration!

Had I not seen it myself I wouldn't have brought SUPERHEARING up. BTW, no CI manufactor will EVER claim that CIs can give someone "superhearing." I think I saw in "Discovery" magazine or something like that (I read so many) a short article on SUPERHEARING, although it wasn't based entirely on the current CI technology.