CI controversy

Does recieving the CI make a person less part of the deaf community?

  • Total voters
    31
  • Poll closed .
you're still deaf with the cochlear implant. it shouldn't change your presence in the deaf community if you do get a CI. i have one and i'm still active in the deaf community.. even though i don't wear it anymore - i only use it when i want to listen to music and/or when i'm home alone without the dogs.

faire_jour said:
So any hearing aid or CI user isn't really Deaf?

I marked "strongly disagree". I think it is about language, culture, beliefs, and perspective, not about what you wear on your ear.
Click to expand...

agreed. a lot of senior citizens have some degree of hearing loss due to old age, but are they automatically in the deaf community? i don't think so. it's totally a cultural thing.
 
faire_jour said:
So any hearing aid or CI user isn't really Deaf?

I marked "strongly disagree". I think it is about language, culture, beliefs, and perspective, not about what you wear on your ear.
Click to expand...

I put this earlier, but I decided to take it off. It's like sex. Once you had it, You can't turn back. It already mold you and shaped you. And that's what I feel about hearing with hearing aids and CI.. Wearing hearing aids and CI make you a different person than people who never had any exposure to sounds.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
I put this earlier, but I decided to take it off. It's like sex. Once you had it, You can't turn back. It already mold you and shaped you. And that's what I feel about hearing with hearing aids and CI.. Wearing hearing aids and CI make you a different person than people who never had any exposure to sounds.
Click to expand...

yeah for example, having CI at the earliest age such as baby.
 
Lighthouse77 said:
I put this earlier, but I decided to take it off. It's like sex. Once you had it, You can't turn back. It already mold you and shaped you. And that's what I feel about hearing with hearing aids and CI.. Wearing hearing aids and CI make you a different person than people who never had any exposure to sounds.
Click to expand...

Frisky Feline said:
yeah for example, having CI at the earliest age such as baby.
Click to expand...
I believe there is far more that defines who we are as people than just hearing.
 
I have no idea what babies with CI get point of view with deaf community when they get older. It's all about attitude, that its up to them to feel if they belongs to the deaf community or not. :dunno:
 
Frisky Feline said:
I have no idea what babies with CI get point of view with deaf community when they get older. It's all about attitude, that its up to them to feel if they belongs to the deaf community or not. :dunno:
Click to expand...
I would imagine that would all depend on how they are brought up.
 
So any hearing aid or CI user isn't really Deaf?

I marked "strongly disagree". I think it is about language, culture, beliefs, and perspective,
Click to expand...
Exactly! Only a very small percentage of Deaf people are "HA/CI free and only Sign"
Plus I mean just b/c a person has oral and aural abiltiy, it doesn't mean they're more hearing then Deaf.
 
kristina1109 said:
As a student I am interested in the Deaf/HOH community. I am taking ASL classes and have recently been presented with information on CI. The real question I have is the controversy as real as people make it out to be. I have not met anyone who has said they are against the CI, but I read things online all the time. Any views or experiences would be appreciated.
I was taught in class that people who recieve the CI are no longer considered part of the deaf community and are considered an outcast. I disagree with this view I was taught in class, but I wanted an opinion of someone in the community. I believe it is ok for people to recieve the CI, and should be treated equally as someone who does not have one.
Click to expand...

ok, all should be equal !
 
Lighthouse77 said:
I put this earlier, but I decided to take it off. It's like sex. Once you had it, You can't turn back. It already mold you and shaped you. And that's what I feel about hearing with hearing aids and CI.. Wearing hearing aids and CI make you a different person than people who never had any exposure to sounds.
Click to expand...

There is some truth to this but it is too general a statement.

For somebody like myself, your statement is spot on! I had a HA and now have a CI. I never heard as the hearing do but I much prefer to hear sounds and use spoken language. There is no way in "heck" would I ever want to go back. I have totally adapted to the hearing world and it works for me.

Now on the other hand, I have known many who have used a HA and some who now have a CI. Not all of them could make that transition like I did. It is more of a cultural thing and what they prefer in terms of their comfort level. They like to hear things but can't always make it work to their advantage and thus are "stuck" as "tweeners". It is an ugly place to be when neither side really understands that. Been there and done that. This doesn't make them any less deaf than those who are truly so. Even somebody like myself is no less deaf but I simply can take advantage of the "other" world.
 
CI is complicated issue to discuss about in Deaf community. The most important, every deaf or hard of hearing person reserve the right to decide what he/she feels is best for him/her. Also, keep it in your mind, CI is not the answer to everything. What is hurting our deaf members in this country, they did not learn ASL until late age; therefore, their language is delayed and million of people (who are never been exposed to deaf in their lives) actually believe that CI will help with their language development. Sadly, it is not true. Deaf or hard of hearing people still can have CI as long they keep their ASL as their first language. Once they have a language foundation, they eventually will learn 2nd language easily. Now my question, what is wrong being bilingual? :) That is my two cents for you to think about. Cheers
 
I have had a CI for almost 4 years and I am still very much a part of the Deaf community. I am not an outcast. The Deaf community here in San Antonio has been wonderful to me ever since I moved here and got my CI. I believe that those with a CI can be part of the Deaf community.
 
Back
Top