stephaniep21

I am hearing, but have a high interest in ASL and deaf culture due to the fact that I have a cousin who is deaf, and because I have a love for learning languages in general. I have found that many hearing people have misinformation about the CI. When I tell them that it doesn't actually restore hearing, they look at me like I have 10 heads. When I tell them that it is not the same as the way we hear, again I get the look. Many people refer to CI as a "miracle". While it is great for someone who makes the choice to get implanted, it doesn't make you hearing--you are still deaf. Many hearing people don't understand this and it frustrates me. Also, I had someone tell me that if deaf people choose not to get CI they are choosing not to engage with the world and isolating themselves...because, of course the only way to engage with the world is through speech and hearing *eye roll*

Deafness

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Lily7

It is nice to finally see a hearing person that "gets it" about the CI's. I have had many of these same experiences and it is really frustrating (only I am deaf with CI's.) Good job.

And for the record if I see someone refer to my CI's as a "miracle" one more time, they better hope they have a good dentist. lol

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deafdyke

Amen! It makes someone functionally HOH. That is NOT hearing by a LONNNNNNNNNNNNNNG shot! And I say that as someone with a conductive loss.

stephaniep21

There have been all these videos circulating on facebook lately of infants being implanted and everyone being like OMG THEY CAN HEAR NOW!!!! Yes, their brain can process sound electronically, but your child is still deaf. People jump to CI when they have a deaf child because they think that the child cannot possibly lead a happy, fulfilling life without them. I'm not against CI, I just think that people should be able to make their own decisions regarding them. My friend who's deaf got her first CI when she was 8; she was old enough to know what was going on and had a say in the decision. My cousin who is deaf is 25 and thinking about getting the esteem implant when and if she can afford it. Again, it's her decision and no one else's.

coolgirlspyer90

This past Friday, I brought in the nucleus monitor headphones for my fellow drumline members to hear what i hear. and they were amazed, they were like: "holy SH**T, that's how you hear? i can barely hear even with the CI!" and most of them said it sounded like a recorder--electronically of course. So then after that they changed their behavior towards me and actually made sure i could understand them.. the best part about it is, my percussion director, he started using sign language to communicate with me! i'm so excited about that, his sister is even an sign language interpreter!! my heart is beating fast! i taught him a few signs, and i even gave him his first sign name.

Unfortunately my front ensemble technican doesn't make the effort to come half way with me to actually try to make sure i understood what he's saying. I try to encourage him to use sign language but he uses his hands to make it look like a letter like G, he would make one hand a C and the other with the leg of the G. Kind of bums me out a little bit. Because i have a lot of people working hard to learn ASL for me to help me out except my pit techinican. oh well, i'm getting off topic.

shel90

Also, I had someone tell me that if deaf people choose not to get CI they are choosing not to engage with the world and isolating themselves

I hate people with this view. I refuse to even associate with them.

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Audiofuzzy

yeah, well, mostly those are people who were never exposed to the deaf and Deaf, so naturally they would assume so.

Education is the key to everything, people should be educated, then things would improve.


Remember AIDS scare? Until society hasn't got widespread education on the subject,
people were hysterical about HIV, AIDS and homosexuals.

Once they got educated, they calmed down.

And so is with everything.


I don't see one single TV show about deaf and Deafness.
The last time I saw was about Sound and Fury, part one.

what a pity.

Fuzzy

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Banjo

There has been quite a few. For instance, the TV show, "Switched at Birth".

DeafCaroline

And there's Sue Thomas F.B.I. Not that I'm promoting it by any means.

CrazyPaul

I would call CI as a hearing aid since when it's off, the person can't hear, therefore he/she is still deaf. As for deaf people including me who don't want CI, we are still normal people. What's more, in the real world, there are many hearing people who are isolated from others so what's the difference? OP, the people you talked to are obviously dumb.

messymama

Hearing people have no clue!! I was exactly the same!!!
They assume that, if you bother to do surgery and all, it's because it will solve your "problem" (because of course, for any of us hearing people, to loose hearing suddenly would indeed be a problem - so we can't immediately understand that this is not true for everybody).

People need to be educated. I get pissed off too everytime people ask me about my son and why I don't get him a CI (which of course happens quite often), and when I say I'm not going to, they give that funny look at me and say "But... but... So.. you don't WANT him to hear??? Why???" Like it was ME making him deaf

Makes me want to say "If you want to know why you'll have to ask upstairs, it was not my idea after all!"

Instead, I usually reply "I want him to be happy and self confident, and no surgery can give you this, nor hearing does". Then I usually try to explain briefly aaaaall of my reasons and my pov, and they usually end up saying "Oh, you know what, you're right"

Be patient, please. Think about hearing not wanting to repeat for deafies and how bad that is... Repeat, repeat, repeat. Hearing people CAN learn, well, at least most of them. They're only uninformed, if not misinformed.

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CrazyPaul

Mass media like TV broadcasts is powerful but none of it talks about CI yet so that's why hearing people are still clueless. When and if a nationally TV show discusses CI , it would tell viewers to remember that CI doesn't automatically make a deaf person to become hearing and it is just a hearing aid.

Lissa

I got my implant, 11 years ago. I didn't get it cos I wanted to be "normal" It's just a tool to hear. Plus my CI is only on at work so most of the time I am totally deaf even with my HA.

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Frisky Feline

ditto. it shows me how much knowleges they are like they have no contact with deafies before. How did they know about isolating themseleve? did they try ? no.

Audiofuzzy

Switched at Birth, Sue Thomas... - those are only movies, not quite realistic at that.
What REALLY are they educating about ?


What is needed, is proper semi- documentary about what it's like to be deaf/HoH
and how much all assistive devices including CI really help, and how.

Only then the attitude will change.

Fuzzy

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A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
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Banjo

It's a TV show, not a movie.

They are educating the audience about the deaf and Deaf Culture. Obviously you don't watch it.

Banjo

"Through Deaf Eyes" is a documentary.

deafskeptic

The same could be said for HAs.

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deafdyke

If hearing people could "hear" the way we hear, they wouldn't be yammering on and on about how amazing it is that we can hear. It's a type of hearing, but it's as comparable to normal hearing as kissing a good friend on the cheek is to actually making love with your soulmate is.

deafdyke

Steph, you should tell your cousin to learn ASL and get involved in the deaf community, and get a hearing aid. The esteem is just a PR story.

purplewowies

I got into a fight with some people on a viral video of a baby's CI being activated. The people cussed me out and told me I have disabilities of comprehension, then said I should get an education before replying to them. All because I said that I think the implantee should be involved in the decision.

And now all the numbskulls in those comments are arguing about religion.

stephaniep21

My cousin is fluent in ASL and wears HAs...she just has limited benefits from them. I don't know much about the esteem implant other than a couple stories I've seen on it, and I'm sure it's much more complex that that.

shel90

Already done..

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Audiofuzzy

Shows, movies- whatever, the point is is not a documentary, not even a reality show. At least Sue Thomas isn't for sure.

I couldn't find Switch @ Birth in our Telus package we have, but I watched Sue Thomas many times.

Just how representative Sue Thomas of deaf and Deaf is?

Not to knock the abilities of the deaf people off,
but exactly how many deaf or Deaf do you know who have a job like that?
live a life like that?


It's like saying Marlee Matlin is representative of what being deaf is. She is not- she is an exception.

Just as Angelina Jolie of the hearing people isn't.

What do you mean, Shel?
Like I've said, I haven't seen anything on 'regular' TV about deaf or deafness that would be educational since "Sound and Fury".

And I tend to channel jumping A LOT, trust me.
Plus I PPV record also A LOT
so I would hardly miss anything about anything related to 'deaf'.
Even if I don't have/subscribe to a a number of channels - still I see the titles of the shows that are going to be broadcasted on them and I don't see anything related, either.

So, if there IS something out there but only the deaf know about it because they care so they look for it,
chances are average public misses is just like I do, then, sadly.

What I want is something like Nature where the subject of deafness and HoH-ness and many aspects of what's like to live with it since birth is like. It would include what's like to hear thru HAs and Ci, too, of course.


Fuzzy

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A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
Mohandas Gandhi
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Audiofuzzy

Through Deaf eyes

That's just great - no CC
Dandy good it does me.

But judging by what I see in the pictures - yes, that's more what I mean.
If only there was something like that more often - like, at least once a month on TV.

Fuzzy

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A 'No' uttered from the deepest conviction is better than a 'Yes' merely uttered to please, or worse, to avoid trouble.
Mohandas Gandhi
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Banjo

I have it on DVD and it's captioned.

Banjo

Telus? You must live in Canada, I live in Ontario. You're in luck though because "Switched at Birth" is actually premiering tonight on YTV at 9 o'clock. It will air on W next week as well. Nobody's calling these shows a form of documentary, they are scripted shows. However, they do show certain things that would reflect the culture itself.

The main character, Sue Thomas is based on a real person, Sue Thomas. She did work as an undercover investigator for the FBI. Her job was to read people's lips. Anyway, the TV show, Sue Thomas F.B. Eye is a pretty cheesy show, but it does expose people to Deaf Culture at times. I'm not a fan of the show myself, but I did meet the actress, Deanna Bray. She seems to be a nice and friendly woman.

shel90

Here in the DC area, you would find many Deaf people working at good paying jobs.

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rick48

I find it ironic that you, a hearing person, initiated this thread by generalizing that hearing people do not understand cochlear implants when, in the post above, it is clear that you have no understanding of the parental decision regarding why parents of deaf children choose cochlear implants for their children.

Being a parent of a ci child and having been involved with hundreds of other parents of deaf children many who chose the ci for their children and some who did not, I can categorically tell you based on those experiences that you do not know what you are talking about.

You have taken a decision and a process that many parents take considerable time and effort in making and oversimplified and sensationalized it all to suit your narrow and misguided view. Thankfully, for thousands of parents and their children, the choice whether to provide an implant to their child rests with the individuals who know their child the best: the parents.

Cheetah

Any more ironic that someone that professes to know what is best for a child but having never experienced deafness or the challenges that go into growing up with a CI?

EDIT: this was in response to Rick48.

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