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Cochlear Prosthesis Pros and Cons

Uploaded by SamSkillz on Dec 21, 2004

Cochlear Prosthesis

Most people in American society prejudge the deaf community’s world without really attempting to understand it. That’s why the so-called “hearing experts” have come up with a device to help deaf children hear and speak. They don’t understand that the deaf culture doesn’t feel a need to speak. Instead they are perfectly content with American Sign Language (ASL) as an adequate and complete way to converse and express themselves. This misunderstanding on the part of the hearing scientific community has resulted in the invention of a device called a cochlear prosthesis. It’s designed to remedy a disability, but I believe it is a major setback to the deaf cultures values.

While the hearing people feel that all the deaf should have the desire to speak, the deaf culture itself condemns those that are deaf who insist upon wanting to speak. The deaf see these people as having no pride in themselves. They are strong in their belief that full communication can happen through spoken language and ASL. This is why the deaf are against the implantation of a cochlear prosthesis into young deaf children. They agree it will only cause them to have a false sense of being, and create in them the notion that it’s not O.K. to be deaf.

Harlan Lane explains that the implant is a drastic surgical procedure in which a wire is inserted into the inner ear and into the cochlea. This wire transmits electrical signals into the ear with the intent of converting the signals into sound. However, it usually destroys any normal sense of hearing a child may have had previously. It also prevents the child from ever feeling natural again because of the large device installed on their outer ear. There are many risks involved with getting a prosthesis, many of which are still unknown. If you were considering getting a prosthesis for you or your child, would you do so if so under such circumstances’

The normal life of a child who is unfortunate enough to receive one of these implants is drastically interrupted. Up to eight hours a day can be spent on learning how to speak and most of the time this isn’t accomplished because of the poor sound quality of the device. They must endure many checkups throughout their lives to maintain proper functioning of the device. This...

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Uploaded by:   SamSkillz

Date:   12/21/2004

Category:   Biology

Length:   5 pages (1,044 words)

Views:   16616

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