Chapter 41 :)

"Do all Deaf people benefit from hearing aids?"

Being a Communication Disorders major the concept of hearing aids and cochlear implants are very interesting for me. A question I have always wondered about is whether hearing aids will really help Deaf people, because it seems to me that no amount of amplification could help. After weighing the pros and cons I think that hearing aids would only be annoying and possibly detrimental to the small amount of hearing someone may have.  The only major pro I can justify for hearing aids is that they can "make them more aware of what's going on." 

I could not believe that even newborns could be fitted with hearing aids, I was even more appalled to read that most of the time the decision about hearing aids is made by educators, parents, and audiologists, and that the children often have little or no say in the matter. HELLOOO... the children are the ones who have to wear these annoying contraptions, learning Sign Language would help the child actually learn a language and develop better skills than insufficient hearing aids. I think the children should be introduced to Sign Language ASAP while still be given the option to use hearing aids in the future when they can decide for themselves. 

"The Cochlear-Implant Controversy"

This is a topic that I really struggle with. It takes major surgery and "drilling hole in the skill," this sounds like a huge risk to be taken for something that isn't guaranteed to work. Last semester I was totally against Cochlear-Implants especially in children, I had an experience over Christmas break that slightly swayed my opinion. I was at University of Louisville Hospital observing the Speech-Language Pathologist, I had the most amazing experience. There was a 7 year old girl who had just been implanted with a cochlear implant and I was able to be there after her surgery to witness her hearing her parents voices for the first time. I know that she will need lots of therapy and rehabilitation but it was so amazing to witness this little girl hear the world for the first time that it is hard for me to be completely against them. 

I do think that parents and educators should wait until the child is old enough to decide for themselves, but this amazing experience has changed my outlook on implants.