From the time when the first cochlear implant was inventor in 1969 by William F. House to the present, they have been very controversial, especially in the deaf community. Some people in the deaf community consider cochlear implants as forfeiting one’s right to deaf culture, while others in the deaf community consider cochlear implants to be merely a personal decision. Likewise, a common misconception by hearing people is that cochlear implants restore hearing; in fact, cochlear implants restore auditory perception.
Cochlear implants are inserted into the body through an invasive surgery, which poses many risks. The nerves, which are connected to the implant, are connected to other sensory nerves that control things such as taste and facial movement. Many patients experience permanent effects such as; loss of taste, facial spasms/twitches, and partial face numbness. Another side effect many patients complain about is constant tinnitus, which is ringing in the ears. In addition, because of surgical error, there have been many negative outcomes of the implant.
The most commonly noted con of getting a cochlear implant is rejection. Many believe that by receiving a cochlear implant you are no longer part of the deaf community and culture because you are changing yourself to essentially ‘fit in’ with the hearing community. While at the same time, even if you have a cochlear implant, you cannot be considered a hearing person either, because of two reasons. First of all, at the end of the day when the implant is turned off, the person is still deaf. Finally, the implant varies in the amount it works for different people, each case is different, however, there is one commonality, none of the patient’s hearing is restored, and their hearing perception is only improved.
There are many deciding factors in the eligibility for cochlear implants such as; age and occurrence of the hearing impairment. Generally, those who are younger and have not finished learning speech and language are prime candidates. Young children whom are born deaf, and get implants at a young age do extremely well when placed in special programs. These children are usually able to replicate near-perfect speech and respond better to treatment than those whom live their whole life deaf until adulthood and decide to get the implant. The cochlear implant helps the young effectively become more part of the hearing world and lead lives with less potential difficulties than those children without the implants.
Cochlear implants can be very helpful in adults though as well. The cochlear implant is extremely helpful to adults communication, especially with lip reading, and communicating with adults who are hearing and do not know sign language. For many patients, their cochlear implants allow them to lead more ‘normalized’ lives, improving social interactions and making the work environment a less stressful place to be in because of the increased amount of communication.
Overall, in my opinion, cochlear implants are a positive thing. Although they do destroy some aspects of deaf culture, none of the people who are deaf ever wanted or asked to be deaf, and many may not want to be deaf. People get cochlear implants to better their one quality of life, not to damage deaf culture. If a cochlear implant can help better someone’s quality of life, who is anyone to say that he/she cannot get an implant? I believe that it is someone’s personal decision whether or not the want to be part of deaf culture or not. No one should be forced to be part of anything. Technological advances are constantly being made, and they are nearly impossible to put a stop to so instead of concentrating on stopping people from bettering their own lives, I believe energy should be put into something more positive and productive.
