Our deaf culture is threatened by cochlear implants?

[gotin]

ATHOL, Idaho (AP) -- When preschooler Kimberly Hunt was diagnosed as profoundly deaf two years ago, her mother made a choice that seemed like the only one: cochlear implants.

The first of two $45,000 electronic sound-transmitting devices was sewn into Kimberly's skull last summer. Within weeks, the child who once didn't respond to slamming doors began to hear.

"She got turned on July 1," Karen Hunt, the mother of Kimberly and three other children, told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. "On July 4, we went to every Fourth of July parade we could find."

Kimberly relished hearing the bangs that went along with the firework displays, her mother said.

Hunt is one of a growing number of parents of deaf children who are turning to the improvements promised by cochlear implants.

"If your child needs glasses, you get glasses. If your child needs a leg, you get a prosthetic," she said. "It's the same thing."

But the popularity of the devices has come over the protests of some in the deaf community, who say the implants -- sometimes called a "bionic ear" -- could eradicate a culture complete with its own language, customs and rewards. More...

 

[Kalista]

ATHOL, Idaho (AP) -- When preschooler Kimberly Hunt was diagnosed as profoundly deaf two years ago, her mother made a choice that seemed like the only one: cochlear implants.

Kimberly relished hearing the bangs that went along with the firework displays, her mother said.

Hunt is one of a growing number of parents of deaf children who are turning to the improvements promised by cochlear implants.

"If your child needs glasses, you get glasses. If your child needs a leg, you get a prosthetic," she said. "It's the same thing."

Deaf has not missing two ears. We do have the beautiful two ears. We did not ask for bonic human.

Oh if I got missing my middle finger. Got it new long nice finger. ;fu: I will give my finger at the professional hearing people. They need to take ASL class and learn about Deaf Culture.

I cant believe, Kim s mother terrible perspective about the glasses and leg. Deaf has nothing to do with it.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Originally Posted by gotin

"If your child needs glasses, you get glasses. If your child needs a leg, you get a prosthetic," she said. "It's the same thing."

No, I do not consider same thing...

Simple is:

Without surgery...

If your child needs glasses, you get glasses...

If your child needs legs, you get a prosthetic...

If your child need to hear, you get a hearing aid.

And go on...


With Surgery...

If your child needs to see, you get eye surgery

If your child needs to hear, you get CI

And go on...


This is a difference.

 

[Eve]

Oh and here I was looking at it from this perspective: If your child has a bad heart or liver, they get a transplant (surgery involved)

 

[Liebling:-)))]

Oh and here I was looking at it from this perspective: If your child has a bad heart or liver, they get a transplant (surgery involved)

Well, CI is not belong kind of emergency surgery to save risk life.

 

[Kalista]

Well, CI is not belong kind of emergency surgery to save risk life.

Yes that is what I am saying this for thousand times. Hearing people ignored our true perspective. It is sad, they destroy thousand Deaf children because the parents want their children to be like them as hearing.

 

[Boult]

well culturally Deaf community is really tiny than those mainstream dhh community.. like about 500,000 to close 30 millions.

 

[Sweetmind]

Sighs!

It s not emergency for those deaf kids have to have CI. Audism people thinks Deaf children will be able to hear everything that is how it went wrong misinformation about us and our deaf ears.

It ruins the Deaf children already.

There is no way to compare between ears and legs/ eyes/ and etc etc.. All of those are not related to the sounds if you mind.

Whats more Deafness cannot be fixed by doctors because CI itself just drop into the ear and hook it up with a wire stem. Also it make things worse that they destroy the Residual Hearing 100 percent whlie they have a chance to hear with HA. **scratching my head**

Thats why I dont agree with CI itself and force those deaf kids to have it because of parents decision while they have a very negative view of deafness and our hands to communicate with.


Thats a big huge difference! Deafness that you cannot fix or repair if you mind.. Thats why I disagree with people to compare that and that .. Thats full of it

Medical Code of Ethics says " Do NOT harm including deafness ". I hope someday you’ll understand what my meanings is all about. Think twice before you will give more damage Deaf children’s true soul and mind works. People creates more damage toward Deaf children’s self esteem and self acceptance. CI is the full concept of trashy evil medical as is. Medical Code of Ethics says “DO NOT HARM” including deafness. They do not tell you everything in a very honest approachment at first place.

Also it s not broken ears and dont bother to try and fix it if you mind.

That’s DISRESPECTFUL attitude from CI company as well as they have prejudice, oppression and discrimination that we are still dealing with it every day even nowadays. What a very discouragement behaviors that people have to act this way? It’s discouraging, selfish, controlling, and trying to grab power over Deaf community or Deaf children ‘s non-choice.

NOW it s no difference between Cochlear Implant and Hearing aid because we do not hear everything with those devices.. So be it! People need to hear the truth.


Thank you!

Sweetmind

 

[Eve]

Okay, how about a different scenario? Let's say your child was born with a malformity which would prevent them from being able to walk. If there were a surgery that could fix the problem, I doubt any of us would deny our child that opportunity.
Oh, and there is a HUGE difference between a CI and an HA. HA's only amplify what our ears hear, whereas a CI clarifies what is heard.

 

[Interpretrator]

Medical Code of Ethics says “DO NOT HARM” including deafness.

Yes, the medical code of ethics (not the Hippocratic Oath, by the way), does ask doctors to "first, do no harm." However deafness isn't included in there anywhere. The problem as you know is that many people think of deafness as something that needs correcting, and that NOT correcting it IS doing harm.

I don't think it really does much good to simply rail against CIs. It's important to know WHY so many parents get their kids implanted, or why so many adults choose to get implanted, and then start working to change the pathologized view of deafness and make people see that there are two sides to the story (the other side being Deaf culture).

If people, once educated, still opt for a CI...that is their choice. But I don't think a choice based purely on ignorance is a real choice.

 

[gnulinuxman]

Yes, the medical code of ethics (not the Hippocratic Oath, by the way), does ask doctors to "first, do no harm." However deafness isn't included in there anywhere. The problem as you know is that many people think of deafness as something that needs correcting, and that NOT correcting it IS doing harm.

I don't think it really does much good to simply rail against CIs. It's important to know WHY so many parents get their kids implanted, or why so many adults choose to get implanted, and then start working to change the pathologized view of deafness and make people see that there are two sides to the story (the other side being Deaf culture).

If people, once educated, still opt for a CI...that is their choice. But I don't think a choice based purely on ignorance is a real choice.

Interesting point here. I do notice that a lot of implantees have parents who don't look at everything, and there is also the problem of people thinking that deafness=harm.

 

[gnulinuxman]

Also it s not broken ears and dont bother to try and fix it if you mind.

That’s DISRESPECTFUL attitude from CI company as well as they have prejudice, oppression and discrimination that we are still dealing with it every day even nowadays. What a very discouragement behaviors that people have to act this way? It’s discouraging, selfish, controlling, and trying to grab power over Deaf community or Deaf children ‘s non-choice.

NOW it s no difference between Cochlear Implant and Hearing aid because we do not hear everything with those devices.. So be it! People need to hear the truth.

This is my complaint against the CI campaigns too. In the Free Software world (free as in freedom, that is) and Open Source worlds, we would call these FUD tactics (fear, uncertainty, doubt)--advertising specifically designed to put fear, uncertainty, and doubt into people who don't get the product.

 

[Deaf Images]

Sucker Born Every Minute....

ATHOL, Idaho (AP) -- When preschooler Kimberly Hunt was diagnosed as profoundly deaf two years ago, her mother made a choice that seemed like the only one: cochlear implants.

The first of two $45,000 electronic sound-transmitting devices was sewn into Kimberly's skull last summer. Within weeks, the child who once didn't respond to slamming doors began to hear.

"She got turned on July 1," Karen Hunt, the mother of Kimberly and three other children, told The Spokesman-Review of Spokane, Wash. "On July 4, we went to every Fourth of July parade we could find."

Kimberly relished hearing the bangs that went along with the firework displays, her mother said.

Hunt is one of a growing number of parents of deaf children who are turning to the improvements promised by cochlear implants.

"If your child needs glasses, you get glasses. If your child needs a leg, you get a prosthetic," she said. "It's the same thing."

But the popularity of the devices has come over the protests of some in the deaf community, who say the implants -- sometimes called a "bionic ear" -- could eradicate a culture complete with its own language, customs and rewards. More...

Like Barnum says, a sucker is born every minute!

tsk! tsk!

 

[gnulinuxman]

Like Barnum says, a sucker is born every minute!

tsk! tsk!

So true....

 

[sr171soars]

Yes, the medical code of ethics (not the Hippocratic Oath, by the way), does ask doctors to "first, do no harm." However deafness isn't included in there anywhere. The problem as you know is that many people think of deafness as something that needs correcting, and that NOT correcting it IS doing harm.

...

If people, once educated, still opt for a CI...that is their choice. But I don't think a choice based purely on ignorance is a real choice.

I was going to say something about the "deafness" part as I did a quick look see and saw nothing of the sort (I wanted to research further). But you beat me to the punch. I did see two things though...the deaf can ask for intrepretators and that CIs are an acceptable means to allieviate deafness.

As for real choices, it was my choice and I did take the time to educate myself about 'em and go with it. I'm not sure why anybody would get one without learning more about it...that would be foolhardy in my opinion.

 

[Interpretrator]

As for real choices, it was my choice and I did take the time to educate myself about 'em and go with it. I'm not sure why anybody would get one without learning more about it...that would be foolhardy in my opinion.

I agree and I respect your choice. I guess I was thinking about panicked parents who have a child born deaf and who are told by all the medical professionals they seek out that a CI is the best option. It's not that these parents are rejecting Deaf culture...they probably don't even know it exists! Most hearing people can't even wrap their minds around the idea of a culture centered on what they see as a disability.

 

[Eve]

If people, once educated, still opt for a CI...that is their choice. But I don't think a choice based purely on ignorance is a real choice.

I couldn’t agree more.

I do notice that a lot of implantees have parents who don't look at everything, and there is also the problem of people thinking that deafness=harm.

And I notice that a lot of CI-opponents take a lot of misinformation and tend to run with it.

Also it s not broken ears and dont bother to try and fix it if you mind.

If it weren’t broken in the first place, you wouldn’t be so worried about them trying to fix it, now would you?

Like Barnum says, a sucker is born every minute!

Again, after seeing many of the completely ignorant posts here, I couldn’t agree more.

I agree and I respect your choice. I guess I was thinking about panicked parents who have a child born deaf and who are told by all the medical professionals they seek out that a CI is the best option. It's not that these parents are rejecting Deaf culture...they probably don't even know it exists! Most hearing people can't even wrap their minds around the idea of a culture centered on what they see as a disability.

Fortunately, not all medical professionals are quick to push for a CI. Two of my children have had hearing issues and surgery was performed on both (not CI), but a CI was never pushed.

 

[sr171soars]

Like Barnum says, a sucker is born every minute!

Depends on who the sucker is...

 

[sr171soars]

I agree and I respect your choice. I guess I was thinking about panicked parents who have a child born deaf and who are told by all the medical professionals they seek out that a CI is the best option. It's not that these parents are rejecting Deaf culture...they probably don't even know it exists! Most hearing people can't even wrap their minds around the idea of a culture centered on what they see as a disability.

I hear you. I have met one set of parents who had their child implanted. They were very caring parents and handled the situation well. In fact, they were helpful to us when we were deciding on my CI.

 

[Liebling:-)))]

I agree and I respect your choice. I guess I was thinking about panicked parents who have a child born deaf and who are told by all the medical professionals they seek out that a CI is the best option. It's not that these parents are rejecting Deaf culture...they probably don't even know it exists! Most hearing people can't even wrap their minds around the idea of a culture centered on what they see as a disability.

Yes I has to agree to this.

I have seen it myself often but some of hearing parents to research pros and cons on both sides is get tips from doctors and visit deaf kindergarten and learn to know deaf people there before they make their decision....