Invented in 1879, the “bionic ear” is a piece of technology that has been the root of an ongoing debate. This revolutionary invention known as the cochlear implant posed the question of whether or not it should be implanted in the deaf. The National Institute of Deafness and other Communication Disorders conducted a census stating that in December of 2012 there were over 324,200 registered devices implanted worldwide. The cochlear implant has given the gift of speech and hearing to so many people and is considered to be a “miracle cure”. Though it has been disputed on whether it takes the deaf out of Deaf culture, it is a revolutionary device that should be used by all who have hearing disorders to enhance their daily lives. Deaf culture is a set of beliefs, behaviors, values, history, and a sense of community among those who are considered deaf. This culture uses sign language as a means to communicate as well as body language and vibrations. They believe that being deaf can be a gift and those members involved take pride in their community. With all the controversy, it has not yet been decided which stance is in favor regarding this argument.
The cochlear implant is a small, complex electrical device that directly stimulates the auditory nerve in the brain. It gives the sense of sound to one who is completely deaf. Cochlear implants, invented in 1978 by Graeme Clark in Australia, started a revolution for the deaf. Many saw this invention as a life saver, while other saw it as a way to remove Deaf culture from society. People who have been deaf for years or are inheritably deaf saw nothing wrong with not being able to hear. However, many hearing-able parents who had deaf children saw it as a miracle cure to this disorder. Between these two communities, the views of cochlear implants range from ‘amazing’ all the way to ‘terrible’ on the spectrum. Many people have revolted against it, while parents who discover that their child is deaf, rush them to the nearest audiologist to get the earliest appointment set up for implantation. Many members of the deaf community take offense to young infants and children receiving the implant. They believe that these children have not yet experienced being deaf and are having a life changing choice decided for them.
This idea of ‘fixing’ something that seems to be wrong in many people’s eyes can be defined by the term labeled ableism. Written by the Center for Disability of New York State, ableism is said to be “the set of beliefs that devalue and discriminate against people with physical, intellectual or psychiatric disabilities and often rests on the assumption that disabled people need to be fixed…” Ableism plays a big part in this debate because people who have this mind set are the reason discrimination towards the Deaf community occurs. The Deaf population may not think of themselves as “disabled” although described in the models of disability they are continuously categorized. The social and medical models pertain to the deaf community the greatest. The medical model associates them as a group of individuals that seek help from many different types of physicians, while the social model characterizes them into disability due to the vast population that has joined together and derived from the same difficulty (Canadian Hearing Association). To many people in the Deaf community being classified into a category shows an aspect of discrimination. The hostility towards ableism from the deaf stems from these ideas, beliefs, and models.
Although it may not be seen as discrimination to implant your child with a cochlear implant, those who are members of the Deaf community believe that it is. The Deaf community also believes that with the cochlear implant rising in fame and the idea of ableism, the Deaf community will one day diminish. The idea of this is daunts them all because their similarity is what brings so many deaf people together. The Deaf community sees the implant as incompatible with their lifestyle because it diminishes their means of communication; sign language. This is seen in many deaf schools and hospitals as well. The classrooms are segregated between the children with cochlear implants and children who learn through sign language. This is seen by the Deaf community as unnecessary competition. In hospitals, while the child is postoperative, sign language is criticized due to the fact that it is seen as not compatible to postoperative treatment (BWD pg.62). The use of the cochlear implant though would not diminish the use of sign language. People can still use it as a means to communicate. The cochlear implant would just make it easier for those who are deaf to hear not only language, but dangers that arise every day. They would be able to hear if a car is passing by if it wasn’t seen, or if car is heading in the wrong direction and the horn is blaring loudly.
Cochlear implantation videos of people hearing for the first time that are seen on the internet show the good in the outcome. But most people who have had the implantation device activated with their families around them in the audiologists office are confused. For the first time or first time in a long time, they are hearing audible stimuli and don’t know how to perceive it. They have sensory overload and sometimes can’t even understand what they are hearing. This is the reality of cochlear implants. It is not a ‘one and done’ procedure that allows deaf people to be integrated into the hearing community. It takes months to years of speech therapy, doctors appointments, settings adjustments, and all this costs much. Some people’s brain even reject the implantation and then there is a major problem that arises. Stated by Morgan Leahy in Beginning with Disability by Lennard Davis, “it takes practice and hard work in order to obtain something even close to audibility.” The cochlear implant device alone is $30,000. All this takes a toll on a person socially, mentally, and financially and it is a big investment of someone’s time and money. Taking all this into account, the Deaf community sees it as a huge waste of time and money. They consider themselves to be fully functional in society just the way they are and seem to agree that they like that there is something that distinguishes them from the norm. The Deaf community also believes that their deafness is a gift. Why would someone want to take a gift away from someone else? Why would people need to fix something that doesn’t need to be fixed? These ideas can be argued back and forth for hours but it seems to never have an outcome; no one comes to an agreement. From many doctor’s perspectives, cochlear implantation is a cure to a big issue. It gives someone the power and voice that they didn’t have before. Giving a young child the opportunity to be able to speak, is a miracle and research has shown that the younger someone is implanted, the better their auditory stimuli will respond to the rapid rush of sound, making it easier for them to develop standard language communication skills at their normal age level.
I agree with many of the doctor’s views on cochlear implants. One can say my views can be biased based on the fact that I am a Speech Language-Hearing Sciences major, but that does not mean I can’t view both sides of the debate. I understand where the rejection for the device comes from by those who are engulfed in the Deaf community, but I also have a great understanding on the needs to help those develop normal speech and hearing skills. My goal for the future is to become an audiologist so I can help people accommodate normal speech and hearing into their everyday lives, but, I also show approval to those who highly refuse the implant and would rather stay part in the Deaf community. I think the idea of the Deaf community is an amazing idea because it brings such a diverse population to the table who all share one thing in common. It trumps gender, race, religion, sexual orientation, political affiliation and indeed brings an otherwise very diverse community together under a singular identity. However, not having a voice may set people back from others. It interferes with one’s learning in school, job opportunities, and daily interactions. Competition is a big reality in so many parts of life and I agree that everyone should have a fair shot.
Cochlear implants give a greater shot to those that do have to overcome their difficulties with being deaf. Some say that life is considered to be a bit easier with the device. The language barrier between the hearing and Deaf community would diminish and interaction between the two groups would grow. Due to the joining of both communities, I believe both sides would have a better understanding for each other. Ableism would then diminish and people would understand each other more. This will allow integration to occur and acceptance between both sides would soon follow.