Benefits of Cochlear Implants
(Mallinson, 2006)
Medically, cochlear implants were invented to help increase the quality of life that deaf people have. Although hearing is not totally restored, this gives deaf people the opportunity to hear things they otherwise wouldn’t have, such as the sound of a door shutting, a baby crying, or even laughter (Taormina-Weiss, 2010).
There are testimonies of deaf people who have received cochlear implants and are now able to hear music or the television. Some have even seen changes as drastic as being able to talk on the phone to someone, a form of communication that was nearly impossible before (Young 2009). One thing that was common in almost everyone with the implants is the ability to carry on conversations without having to lip-read, or to be able to lip-read with ease. With the help of muffled speech, patients are able to decipher what people are saying to them with much less effort (Taormina-Weiss, 2010).
A woman named Sue Young blogs about her experience getting cochlear implants as an adult. Young was born hearing however due to unknown reasons, became deaf before she was an adult. She tried her hardest to communicate and function in the world with the use of sign language and advanced hearing aids. Finally, she was given the opportunity to receive cochlear implants. Although she was nervous, she looks back at that time now as the moment that changed her life. Young states on her blog “It [cochlear implants] changed my black and white 'deaf' world into 'hearing' with colour” (2009).
There are testimonies of deaf people who have received cochlear implants and are now able to hear music or the television. Some have even seen changes as drastic as being able to talk on the phone to someone, a form of communication that was nearly impossible before (Young 2009). One thing that was common in almost everyone with the implants is the ability to carry on conversations without having to lip-read, or to be able to lip-read with ease. With the help of muffled speech, patients are able to decipher what people are saying to them with much less effort (Taormina-Weiss, 2010).
A woman named Sue Young blogs about her experience getting cochlear implants as an adult. Young was born hearing however due to unknown reasons, became deaf before she was an adult. She tried her hardest to communicate and function in the world with the use of sign language and advanced hearing aids. Finally, she was given the opportunity to receive cochlear implants. Although she was nervous, she looks back at that time now as the moment that changed her life. Young states on her blog “It [cochlear implants] changed my black and white 'deaf' world into 'hearing' with colour” (2009).
Benefits From A Deaf Point of View
Although I can provide numerous books and articles of research discussing the benefits of cochlear implants, its impossible to truly express how the deaf culture feels. This video shows many deaf recipients of cochlear implants "hearing" for the first time in their lives. Its very emotional and you can tell exactly how much this implant has affected their lives and increased their productivity. The views in this video are stronger, in my opinion, than any research material I could find.