Cochlear Implant Debate

Since the approval of cochlear implants in adults during the early 80’s, it has been engulfed with a lot of controversy and a lot of debate issues. The cochlear implants may prove to be very beneficial for the deaf people as well as those with sensorineural hearing impairment, but this is not enough to ward off the controversies that lie ahead of it.

Some question its costly expense of surgery and therapy. Others question the result it provides cochlear implant users and whether or not it was worth the high cost. In addition, cochlear implants pose a serious threat to the deaf culture, according to some people. Some even question about the cochlear implants’ ability to make its recipients function effectively as normal members of the hearing society.

There are indeed so many sides of the cochlear implant debate. The deaf community doesn’t feel they lack something. They believe that their way of life is fully functional without the cochlear implants. The sign language they use is completely the same with oral English used by normal people, according to them. They don’t need any fixing because there’s nothing to be fixed. They’re fine just the way they are. According to them, cochlear implants are not necessary.

By using cochlear implants in very young children, they are discouraged to use the sign language. This may cause the sign language to dwindle and die in the long run if cochlear implants will rule over the society of deaf people.

So how does the deaf community become one big culture? In a family where one of its members is deaf, they find a way to retain their family ties. In order to communicate with one another, they use the sign language. In a normal setting, this would mean family members communicating with one another using the English language. If the sign language dies, how does a family retain their closely tied relationships?

Cochlear implants now focuses on teaching children spoken language instead of the sign language. The older generation who were used to the sign language will still be able to keep the culture but what about the youngsters who are fitted with the cochlear implants even when they are barely a year old?

Others question the inability of children undergoing the cochlear implants procedure to make the choice for themselves. The doctors are performing the surgical procedure on non consenting minors because their parents are the only ones making the decision for them. They question the possibility of the child not wanting the procedure if given the choice between living as a deaf person and keeping the deaf culture alive or living as an almost normal person who can orally speak and hear for themselves.