Sound decision: Boys opt for cochlear implants

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Boys opt for cochlear implants | old, boys, tune - Sound decision - Jacksonville Illinois News and Information Jacksonville Journal Courier

It was a regular tune-up but 9-year-old Trystan Mort had his audiologist in tears — he was hearing so well.

Trystan and his brother Taylor are deaf, but the two had cochlear implants in mid-February — a surgery that is somewhat controversial in the deaf community.

A cochlear implant consists of two parts. The first is a magnetic implant screwed onto the inside of the skull that shoots electrodes into the cochlea. The second is a piece that hooks behind the back of the ear.

Personal choice

The boys told their mother, Jennifer Mort, last summer that they wanted cochlear implants to speak more clearly. They make sounds and use hearing aids but are severely limited in speech.

She was adamant at first about not having her boys implanted, especially because the family moved to Jacksonville from the Quad Cities six years ago when they learned that the boys were deaf.

After attending an Illinois School for the Deaf summer camp, Jennifer Mort realized there was no better place for her boys to grow and develop than in Jacksonville.

Bob Dramin, Illinois School for the Deaf American Sign Language instructor, was strongly opposed to cochlear implants at one time but said his only concern was the boys’ reasons for wanting the implant.

“My first answer was do you really want it?” he said.

The boys told Dramin they wanted to be like their hearing brother.

“It’s sad to see and I hate to see that age getting a cochlear implant because there wasn’t much explanation,” Dramin said.

Dramin’s opinion is in line with the position of the National Association of the Deaf on cochlear implants, which supports the wellness model of the deaf and encourages people to understand the majority of deaf people who have successfully adjusted to life, have healthy personalities and reach high levels of functioning without the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants or other devices.

The boys will continue school at Illinois School for the Deaf and interact with their friends who are deaf, Jennifer Mort said.

“Nobody’s really said anything,” Jennifer Mort said. “I don’t think it’s really that deaf people are against it. I think it’s your personal choice.”

The deaf community is also concerned that infants and young children who receive implants may struggle with identity issues as they mature, trying to figure if their cultural roles are in the deaf or hearing community. The hope among the deaf is that these children don’t feel ashamed or broken because of their deafness.

“You’re supposed to be proud of yourself and I’m proud of myself for being deaf,” said Ariella Dramin, 13, a fourth-generation deaf individual who chooses not to use hearing aids or receive a cochlear implant.

The deciding factor

What persuaded Jennifer Mort was the success of 3-year-old Colin Kuhn.

Kuhn spent the first two years of his life in a Russian orphanage and was completely low-functioning when adopted, unable to feed himself and lacking basic communication skills.

Craig and Angie Kuhn decided to implant Colin to ensure he had every opportunity to develop and succeed as a child.

“I want Colin to be able to read,” Angie Kuhn said. “We’re not hurting anything if Colin has well established English language skills when he’s adult.”

The implant has jump-started Colin by stimulating his brain and enabling him to develop his sign and language communication skills at a faster pace.

Craig and Angie Kuhn attribute this success to their constant effort to work both in sign and in speech, as Angie Kuhn is principal of the Illinois School for the Deaf high school and Craig Kuhn, who is deaf, is the American Sign Language coordinator.

The deaf community wants the assurance that parents and children realize that a cochlear implant is not a cure to deafness. The implant transmits the sensation of sound to the brain around a person’s damaged cochlea. When the boys remove it to take a shower or swim or go down a slide, they are still deaf.

A new sound

On the downtown square for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the boys excitedly indicated they could hear the fire trucks approaching, a sound they don’t usually pick up with their hearing aids.

It’s been about seven years since Jennifer Mort first found out Taylor and Trystan were deaf, but seeing their reactions to new sounds has made the implant something good.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration has listed more risk factors to the implant than advantages, including the possibility of losing what residual hearing a person may have, but the Morts decided to implant the sides of their brains where they have the least amount of hearing to avoid that.

The boys increased speech therapy at Illinois School for the Deaf to three times a week and started therapy in Springfield once a week. The boys have to learn the language, which is not immediate, but Jennifer Mort can already understand their words a little better, she said.

“Just me being able to yell their names and not have to stomp on the floor and clap my hands to have them turn around — and then for them to know it was I who called them — is amazing enough,” Jennifer Mort said. “I love them regardless if they’re deaf or not, but it’s been a long road.”
 
Boys opt for cochlear implants | old, boys, tune - Sound decision - Jacksonville Illinois News and Information Jacksonville Journal Courier

It was a regular tune-up but 9-year-old Trystan Mort had his audiologist in tears — he was hearing so well.

Trystan and his brother Taylor are deaf, but the two had cochlear implants in mid-February — a surgery that is somewhat controversial in the deaf community.

A cochlear implant consists of two parts. The first is a magnetic implant screwed onto the inside of the skull that shoots electrodes into the cochlea. The second is a piece that hooks behind the back of the ear.

Personal choice

The boys told their mother, Jennifer Mort, last summer that they wanted cochlear implants to speak more clearly. They make sounds and use hearing aids but are severely limited in speech.

She was adamant at first about not having her boys implanted, especially because the family moved to Jacksonville from the Quad Cities six years ago when they learned that the boys were deaf.

After attending an Illinois School for the Deaf summer camp, Jennifer Mort realized there was no better place for her boys to grow and develop than in Jacksonville.

Bob Dramin, Illinois School for the Deaf American Sign Language instructor, was strongly opposed to cochlear implants at one time but said his only concern was the boys’ reasons for wanting the implant.

“My first answer was do you really want it?” he said.

The boys told Dramin they wanted to be like their hearing brother.


“It’s sad to see and I hate to see that age getting a cochlear implant because there wasn’t much explanation,” Dramin said.

Dramin’s opinion is in line with the position of the National Association of the Deaf on cochlear implants, which supports the wellness model of the deaf and encourages people to understand the majority of deaf people who have successfully adjusted to life, have healthy personalities and reach high levels of functioning without the benefits of hearing aids, cochlear implants or other devices.

The boys will continue school at Illinois School for the Deaf and interact with their friends who are deaf, Jennifer Mort said.

“Nobody’s really said anything,” Jennifer Mort said. “I don’t think it’s really that deaf people are against it. I think it’s your personal choice.”

The deaf community is also concerned that infants and young children who receive implants may struggle with identity issues as they mature, trying to figure if their cultural roles are in the deaf or hearing community. The hope among the deaf is that these children don’t feel ashamed or broken because of their deafness.

“You’re supposed to be proud of yourself and I’m proud of myself for being deaf,” said Ariella Dramin, 13, a fourth-generation deaf individual who chooses not to use hearing aids or receive a cochlear implant.

The deciding factor

What persuaded Jennifer Mort was the success of 3-year-old Colin Kuhn.

Kuhn spent the first two years of his life in a Russian orphanage and was completely low-functioning when adopted, unable to feed himself and lacking basic communication skills.

Craig and Angie Kuhn decided to implant Colin to ensure he had every opportunity to develop and succeed as a child.

“I want Colin to be able to read,” Angie Kuhn said. “We’re not hurting anything if Colin has well established English language skills when he’s adult.”

The implant has jump-started Colin by stimulating his brain and enabling him to develop his sign and language communication skills at a faster pace.

Craig and Angie Kuhn attribute this success to their constant effort to work both in sign and in speech, as Angie Kuhn is principal of the Illinois School for the Deaf high school and Craig Kuhn, who is deaf, is the American Sign Language coordinator.

The deaf community wants the assurance that parents and children realize that a cochlear implant is not a cure to deafness. The implant transmits the sensation of sound to the brain around a person’s damaged cochlea. When the boys remove it to take a shower or swim or go down a slide, they are still deaf.

A new sound

On the downtown square for the St. Patrick’s Day parade, the boys excitedly indicated they could hear the fire trucks approaching, a sound they don’t usually pick up with their hearing aids.

It’s been about seven years since Jennifer Mort first found out Taylor and Trystan were deaf, but seeing their reactions to new sounds has made the implant something good.

The Federal Food and Drug Administration has listed more risk factors to the implant than advantages, including the possibility of losing what residual hearing a person may have, but the Morts decided to implant the sides of their brains where they have the least amount of hearing to avoid that.

The boys increased speech therapy at Illinois School for the Deaf to three times a week and started therapy in Springfield once a week. The boys have to learn the language, which is not immediate, but Jennifer Mort can already understand their words a little better, she said.

“Just me being able to yell their names and not have to stomp on the floor and clap my hands to have them turn around — and then for them to know it was I who called them — is amazing enough,” Jennifer Mort said. “I love them regardless if they’re deaf or not, but it’s been a long road.”


The first bold statement, just have to make sure that they are the ones making the decisions on having the surgery for CI. It is not good for anyone or parents to make the decisions on having the surgery like this. I am very glad that Bob had asked the question to make sure that the boys really want to have CI. If they say "yes", then they are not being lying to cover up for the parents or to have to hear someone say that you must have CI.

The second bold statement, The Deaf Community including myself feel that most children who are told by the parents or someone to force or encourage to be like them make feel ashame of their being deafness or felt that there is something wrong with them just because someone told them that your ears are broken. They make deaf children being isolated more worst if we keep on struggling with listening, no ASL and trying to adapt into the hearing world where all else fail. That is why it is sad to see that these deaf boys want to be like their hearing brother. I don't like that. They should be proud of being deaf. :(
 
Both boys have been exposed to both worlds so that's the most important thing. The CI decision is their own personal one and I hope they are happy with their CIs.
 
The second bold statement, The Deaf Community including myself feel that most children who are told by the parents or someone to force or encourage to be like them make feel ashame of their being deafness or felt that there is something wrong with them just because someone told them that your ears are broken. They make deaf children being isolated more worst if we keep on struggling with listening, no ASL and trying to adapt into the hearing world where all else fail. That is why it is sad to see that these deaf boys want to be like their hearing brother. I don't like that. They should be proud of being deaf. :(

It does seem kind of sad that they want to be like their hearing brother, but that also is a normal thing to feel when growing up. Would you feel differently if they wanted a haircut similar to their brother, to wear clothes of a certain brand because their brother wears those, etc.? In other words, I don't think they want the CIs because they aren't accepting of their deafness.

Also, please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't understand what there is to be proud of in regards to being deaf, just like there is nothing to be proud of about being hearing. It's just a thing you are.
 
It does seem kind of sad that they want to be like their hearing brother, but that also is a normal thing to feel when growing up. Would you feel differently if they wanted a haircut similar to their brother, to wear clothes of a certain brand because their brother wears those, etc.? In other words, I don't think they want the CIs because they aren't accepting of their deafness.

Also, please don't take this the wrong way, but I don't understand what there is to be proud of in regards to being deaf, just like there is nothing to be proud of about being hearing. It's just a thing you are.

That is why I don't want a child to get a CI until he/she is 18 years old after being told of all things that could happen like meningitis, etc. I doubt that those boys knew of those risks when they asked for CIs. Sometimes parents would promise the child something if he/she would undergo the surgery.

I had to read your posts to find out more about you. Now I know that you aren't deaf and don't know anything about ASL yet. Since you are from Washington state, it is more likely that you are white. You haven't experienced what the minority had experienced. The African-Americans would be proud to be black as a way to fight back the discrimination. It is the same for the Deaf people.

Why don't you read "When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf" by Harlan L. Lane? Harlan Lane is not deaf but he got it. I did learn a thing or two from his book. You can find it on Amazon - either new or used. Maybe your library has a copy.
 
Why don't you read "When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf" by Harlan L. Lane?

They also have copies really cheap at Half.com. I just checked.
 
:wave: :hmm: Half.com ....didn't know that one...

I recently learned. It is part of Ebay, and it will just prepare a list of textbooks from lowest price and then you can pick what you want for price and condition.

I find it perfect for my new interest of ENT medicine. Learning a lot cheaply is fun!
 
Why don't you read "When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf" by Harlan L. Lane? Harlan Lane is not deaf but he got it. I did learn a thing or two from his book. You can find it on Amazon - either new or used. Maybe your library has a copy.

I have been away from the forum for way too long and didn't get a chance to see this post. I'll place a hold on this book at the library. :)
 
That is why I don't want a child to get a CI until he/she is 18 years old after being told of all things that could happen like meningitis, etc. I doubt that those boys knew of those risks when they asked for CIs. Sometimes parents would promise the child something if he/she would undergo the surgery.

I had to read your posts to find out more about you. Now I know that you aren't deaf and don't know anything about ASL yet. Since you are from Washington state, it is more likely that you are white. You haven't experienced what the minority had experienced. The African-Americans would be proud to be black as a way to fight back the discrimination. It is the same for the Deaf people.

Why don't you read "When the Mind Hears: A History of the Deaf" by Harlan L. Lane? Harlan Lane is not deaf but he got it. I did learn a thing or two from his book. You can find it on Amazon - either new or used. Maybe your library has a copy.

I think the point is that these kids have somehow been given the message that hearing is better than being deaf.
 
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