In October 2011, I posted the blog below about Cochlear Implants. I’ve recently been involved in some conversations about the risks and benefits, and wanted to re-post this with a few new comments interspersed.
COCHLEAR IMPLANT?
There is controversy in the Deaf community and in the hearing community over the need for, benefits of, and challenges surrounding cochlear implants. I think the actual controversy is unnecessary—what we need instead is education, understanding, and support of personal decisions. From Pediatric Cochlear Implants: The Great Debate, an article in The Brain & Beyond written by Aviva Weinberg at the University of Pennsylvania—
“The rise and refinement of the cochlear implant, a device meant to correct for sensorineural hearing loss in prelingually deaf children, has faced much debate and criticism. The controversy over this corrective technology has revealed a significant social divide between the hearing and the non-hearing parents of these deaf children. While the hearing parents welcome the implant as an exciting new medical remedy for their children’s deafness, the non-hearing parents reject the implant as a tool of discrimination. The source of this divide seems to lie in two very different operative paradigms for deafness: the pathological and the sociocultural. The hearing parents’ pathological view places deafness as an auditory deficit meant to be repaired, while the non-hearing parents view deafness as a sociocultural identity. Understanding these divergent social perspectives sheds light on the heavy controversy surrounding the cochlear implant and its hopes for future use.”
In other words, there are hearing parents who want to “normalize” their deaf child, and deaf (parents) who fear the loss of their language and culture. My strong and personal opinion is that implants do not make a deaf person into a hearing person and regardless of implants or not, every child should learn sign language—hearing and deaf—prior to and during the development of speech. Many parents who have decided to give their children a CI early on have found the addition of sign language to not only be helpful in speech and language development, but a better understanding of the world in general – and an opportunity to connect with the Deaf community. Sign language provides young pre- and non-verbal children with an actual language, a gestural language that does not depend on the complex development of the oral motor mechanism and the vocal chords. Whether hearing or deaf, spoken language might be the ultimate communication of choice, but no one can ask for milk or more music or say their ears hurt as babies, prior to acquisition of speech, unless they can sign! Access to language—exposure to and experience with ASL—provides only benefits. Honestly, there is no downside, and there could be dire need for it down the road. The fact is, not everyone is a candidate for an implant and not everyone with an implant is successful in developing speech, language, and overall hearing acuity.
baby with cochlear implant
A very close friend of my older son has a cochlear implant and has had much success. With speech therapy and auditory training, he is able to have “normal” conversations and participate in typical tween activities. He goes to school and summer camp, he plays baseball, he performs in theater… What’s difficult for him is that when he swims or is involved in other water sports—which he loves—or even when he takes a shower, he cannot hear anything. He has to remove his device, as it cannot get wet. So in place of gifts for his upcoming Bar Mitzvah, my son’s friend asked for donations to the NYU Medical Center where his doctor is researching a waterproof device. You can hear about it through his excellent “pitch”: www.youtube.com/watch?v=DarLo1jcsUU.
As Matt says, he was a perfect candidate for an implant, but not everyone born deaf will be eligible. My cousin has three boys and her youngest was born with a mild to moderate hearing loss. She was not sure she wanted to have him implanted, but did her research and discovered he was not a candidate. He did get ear molds at a young age and was aided early, received intensive early intervention right away, and they incorporated sign language within his speech therapy as well as throughout their day. You’d never know today that he has a hearing loss (if you don’t see his bright hearing aids, which are quite trendy). I encourage parents not to jump onto the bandwagon for or against cochlear implants without knowing if it will even benefit your child. Here is a website that explains who is a candidate and why, and what is the process that follows. http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/Cochlear-Implant/.
As a music therapist and deaf educator, I have worked extensively with hearing and Deaf children incorporating sign language. I’d like to share the following article from a music therapist in Israel: Music Therapy Benefits Children with Cochlear Implants. http://matzav.com/israeli-study-music-therapy-helps-deaf-children-with-cochlear-implants. One thing mentioned in this article is that parents who have their children implanted need to realize that it’s not an immediate “fix”—speech therapy and auditory training, sometimes long term, are required to fully benefit.
One of my Deaf friends was implanted as an adult and found the incoming sound to be so painful to her – even a year after being implanted – that she had to stop wearing the device. Also, since she was deaf since birth, the speech processor wasn’t as helpful to her as it can be for a young, pre-lingual deaf/implanted child. Another adult Deaf friend of mine would like to be implanted but is not getting support from her family and is also concerned about losing what residual hearing she does have. Type of hearing loss, age of implant, and overall education & support are all absolutely essential.
No, my own children are not deaf, so this isn’t a decision I have had to make within my family. However, enough of my clients, students, colleagues, and friends have been at odds with their doctors, family members, and in agony themselves regarding this decision. It’s not the same as getting glasses… hearing aids can provide for the ears what glasses can provide for the eyes. There’s no surgery, no possible side effects or infections… yet perhaps also not as much success in the long run. But it’s a huge and personal decision.
I encourage you to do your own research and learn more about Cochlear Implants, as well as the benefits of sign language in early childhood with AND without an implant.