Frisky Feline

Deafness

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Deaffy

HA's cost up to $5,000 without insurance covering them.

CI cost me $45,000 but with insurance coverage my out of pocket was $1,400 for the first year of mapping and rehabilitation.

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Experience is the best education one can ever have.

RIGHT EAR
Implanted 7-16-10
Activated 8-10-10
Nucleus 5

LEFT EAR
Unaided deaf.

sr171soars

True (I had to pay about $2000 out of about $60k).

But being almost six years down the road, the economics start catching up to you. Say I get a new CI which I wouldn't mind doing, it would cost me about $5k including trading one in. And we haven't discussed all the other costs along the way...batteries, microphone covers, and etc. This is one of the reasons I'm considering upgrading, the cost of maintenance goes down (less batteries and two piece coil transmitter/magnet (as it is the wire that breaks down over time)).

Still for all that, it is a no brainer as I can't put a cost on hearing especially all the benefits it has provided me.

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But trailing clouds of glory till He comes...

Foolishness is not a virtue

yizuman

CI=Direct threat to the deaf culture.

Imagine if CI became law and mandatory for all children born deaf, can we say bye bye to ASL and deaf culture as a whole?

Yiz

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Frisky Feline

No it is not going to happen that CI won't become law.

drphil

No law stating the deaf should be implanted is possible. Reason not all deaf can in actuality be implanted for various health reasons. I have mentioned before the experience of the 18 year period at Sunnybrook/Toronto since being designated by Ontario government to deal with Cochlear Implants. 850 persons implanted and over 60% of persons referred to them rejected for various reasons.This information given at recent patient's meeting by Sunnybrook.They deal with adults only, not babies which are handled by Sick kids Hospital/Toronto.
Thus hard to pass a law to deal with this reality.
The actual cost to OHIP for me was $55,000.00 Cdn 3 years ago. There is no additional charge till the 3 year period has elapsed. Getting the entire external package was $3206.00 which covers for additional 3 years. This is a separate package from Assistive devices program if approved. which picks up $5444.What the costs will be 3 years from now? One can do nothing - pay for repairs as it happens OR insure the external processor only. Your choice. This information is only what happened to me recently.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

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Get Real:Implanted Sunnybrook/Toronto -Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

posts from hell

That is going on in Denmark.... ALL babies that fail hearing test = CI

Tousi

No such law will or should be passed because a CI doesn't provide benefit to enough of the population. I'd be curious of the results in Denmark...if there are any. How long has this been going on there?

jillio

And perhaps our Canadian members can tell us more, but I distinctly remember a law passing in Canada that allots more government sponsored services to children whose parents implant than to those that refuse.

Banjo

Good question, perhaps somebody may be able to answer that question for you. I haven't looked into that one yet.

GrendelQ

I'm not contradicting you, but would you please show reference to this regulation? When you last posted a mention of this a couple of months ago I asked family members who are Danish about it -- while they say that implanting deaf toddlers is now more common than not, they couldn't find evidence that any such law or requirement currently exists in their country and think you might be mistaken.

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posts from hell

I dont have it on hand, I'll get it.

GrendelQ

no urgency, just wondering about it.

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drphil

Health is a provincial matter not federal. Don't recall here in Ontario any action to force a parent to allow an implant on their children over their objections. Basic reason as least for the province-costs! I believe the province would have to get a court order to do anything like that and show that the Charter of Rights can be over ridden. The usual matter is blood transfusion for children near death without it.
I also don't recall any other province passing laws on Cochlear Implants.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

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Get Real:Implanted Sunnybrook/Toronto -Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

jillio

Go back and read my post. I didn't mention a thing about force. No, what I am speaking of is more like bribery and taking advantage of parental fears. Still completely unethical and an underhanded way of "strongly encouraging" hearing parents to decide for the surgery. Emotional manipulation also comes to mind.

shel90

If so, then we will end up with so many CI users with screwed up language and thinking skills becuase it does not work for every child.

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"Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."

--- Anonymous

drphil

Jillio: why would the Ontario government-OHIP(Ontario Health Insurance plan) be bribing parents considering the huge costs of operation/implant etc in excess of $50.000- they have to fund? Doesn't make any sense except in your distorted imagination! Even more to the point if any Ontario parent bought the "cultural deafness" theory why would they be discussing with anyone what they are doing as a parent? I have raised this point before-with no response from you-why? Remember "they"OHIP? would have to go to a court and get such an order-so far NO such case has been reported. I not sure what state you reside where your
hypothesis is an actual fact?
Shel you are correct a Cochlear Implant doesn't work on everybody-unfortunately. That is why there will NEVER be law so mandating.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

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Get Real:Implanted Sunnybrook/Toronto -Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

posts from hell

You're right. I even compared a CI to a pace maker. People are so willing to drop some coin for a CI. It's crazy how the system is set up - Look around, why is a set of hearing aids more expensive than CI's for one on insurance? Hell, even maintenance of the CI is much more expensive than hearing aids.

Its just absurd.

jillio

Functioning under the mistaken assumption that while initial cost may be greater, the social and educational costs over the persons lifetime will be less and therefore, it is more cost efficient to the government in the long run.

drphil

Really: factoring the high cost of "deaf education" with the decrease persons requiring this specialized service? In the night high school was in recently_Danforth- there is a class for the deaf/hearing impaired. It has 5 now and will be closing in 2 years. That is reality! This is discussed in Michael Chorost's book Rebuilt.
A Cochlear Implant is a bit different than a pacemaker and far more complicated-to my understanding. No sure the insurance on a pair Hearing aids VS Cochlear Implants. No comment. A complete replacement of the external package is just over $8650.00 CDN (Aug 2010)which covers one for 3 years. Reasonable?
Amusing for you to be "concerned" about implants considering you don't want one. Have you checked out the costs of prosthetic legs yet?

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

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Get Real:Implanted Sunnybrook/Toronto -Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

posts from hell

Ci = $50,000-100,000. Replacement $8000... Hearing aids $4000. They both are replaced usually at the same pace..
A lot of CI users still need the same accommodations that the hearing aid users have. So, it's just wasting money, really.

shel90

Deaf ed has provided thousands of jobs for deaf people so what is the problem?

Would you rather see deaf people working and earning money or collecting SSI because of discrimination against them in the general workforce?

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"Wine improves with age. The older I get, the better I like it."

--- Anonymous

Anij

I'm in Manitoba - and that's certainly not the case here.

Children (and their families) are given equal access to resources regardless if they are aided or not (HA & CI).

I think that it's more a matter of some families are more aware of the services available to them - and because of the steps involved in CI evaluation, implantation and rehab/listening that these parents may in some cases be told about various services etc that aren't "advertised" to the general public/all Audies

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Hoh/Deaf ~ +120db deaf right , mild/mod flux left & APD
English & ASL ...PAH!!


Ignorance is NOT Bliss

jillio

Yeah, really.

jillio

Thanks for clarification, Anji. Perhaps it was a proposal I was reading about. Been a couple of years.

deafdyke

First of all,
in the night high school? what does that mean? Second of all, just b/c it's closing it doesn't mean that it's not still needed. If Canada is anything like the States educational placement is VERY political. Meaning the mainstream school REALLY wants the extra money that a disabled kid brings. But they don't nessarily want to provide appropreae services. They just want to provide minimal accomondations. They don't generally like to alert parents to dhh programs/schools, so in turn that means that many parents aren't aware of the option.
I actually even know of a hoh kid (just hoh) who is in a LIFE SKILLS (one of the programs for intellectucally disabled/autistic kids in high school) for high school.

drphil

deafdyke: I took night classes(swing dance 7.00 TO 9.00PM)- RECENTLY at Danforth which is a highschool here in Toronto. I was a couple of classrooms away from the deaf/hearing class. I talked to the teacher who was interested in my Cochlear Implant while talking about the class and advised will be closing in 2 years as there is NO more students enrolled. That is reality here in Toronto. I didn't check IF the "intellectually disabled/autistic" kids are in LIFE SKILLS. That name as such-I never heard of. Not being intellectually disabled not interested in what the course entails.

Implanted Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

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Get Real:Implanted Sunnybrook/Toronto -Advanced Bionics-Harmony activated Aug/07

jillio

**jillio shaking head sadly**

KristinaB

Mrs Bucket

I wouldn't have posted because I took a sabbatical away from AD due to my health as it has been declining rapidly due to Sjogren's.

I had to rectify your post here about DCTI (Danforth) that was just glaringly wrong.

The teachers do not sign ASL, they refuse to. The Deaf students either dropped out or transferred to ECD in Milton, ON. This has been happening for too many years. This happened first at NSS in Toronto. (Northside Secondary) The teachers flatout refused to sign so the students were left to their devices. Failing & being kept back a grade so most of the students transferred to ECD in Milton and they were either transferred to the hearing program in ECD or moved up a grade or two.

Now for Danforth, I am cautioning you to do your research and the history behind Danforth. It was a good school for the Deaf. I know MANY former students and several teachers from Danforth. They were my peers at George Brown College and a former teacher was a professor of mine at GBC as well.

They all shared similar experiences, they were prohibited to sign and encouraged to be CI'ed.

The oralism approach was the only way at Danforth and in T.O you will see quite a bit of oral-Deaf people. Just ask if they were from Danforth or NSS, you can tell by the age as well. The younger the person they are from Danforth, the older the person, they were from NSS.

Please stop posting pure unadulterated b*llsh*t and fixtating on your CI. It seems everywhere you go, it's always your stories on how "they" were fascinated about your CI. Tell me, before you had your CI, did you even have an identity?

Back to my self-imposed sabbatical!!