This happy cochlear implant story in the Charlotte Observer made me smile. The 11-year-old girl in the story talks about learning to distinguish a bell from a cell phone ringer. The story reminded me so clearly of when my 3-year-old daughter got her cochlear implant. In her case, she was being asked to distinguish between a toy giraffe and a hippo. I’ll never forget when she pointed to the giraffe. One day she could hear, a week later she was completely deaf, and 4 months later she could hear again. What a rollercoaster!
The girl in the Observer story was deaf a birth and did not get her cochlear implant until age 11.
When my daughter first got her implant, she was really dizzy. Even now, she still works on her balance (although it is much better.) Recently, some German scientists published some results on how the method used to place the implant can affect vertigo.
They studied two different insertion techniques: anterior versus round window. Their results indicate that significant differences were found with respect to the 2 different insertion techniques. The number of patients with vertigo after the surgery as evidenced by testing (23% vs 12.5%) was significantly different. They conclude that the round window approach for electrode insertion should be preferred to decrease the risk of loss of vestibular function and the occurrence of vertigo.
I have no idea how my daughter’s implant was inserted, but I plan to ask.
I don’t usually think much about eugenics – and when I do think about it, it is usually in the context of Nazi Germany. It’s not that eugenics is not important – quite the contrary. Eugenics might be one of the most important moral issues we will face in my lifetime. For those of you that are not up to date on eugenics, you will recall that eugenics is essentally a social philosophy which advocates the improvement of human hereditary traits through various forms of intervention. The best example is “selective breeding.”
The problem with eugenics is what happens in the extremes. Much of the current debate centers around eugenics-related abortions. However, there is some interesting talk about the implications of selective in-vitro fertilization (IVF). Recently I read a very interesting blog post regarding eugenics legislation in the UK. The post raises several questions:
- Is deafness at birth a defect? Certainly many in the deaf community would say absolutely not
- Is it OK to screen eggs based on avoiding a “defect” like deafness – if you beleive it is indeed a “defect”
- Is it OK to intentionally screen eggs in order to try to have a deaf child?
The last question is a really good one. Many deaf parents have expressed the view that they do not want their deaf children to have cochlear implants. They indicate that there is nothing wrong with being deaf, and that their children do not need to be “fixed” because they are not “broken.”
Well, what if that same family wanted to have a deaf child on purpose? Is that OK? I am not even sure what “OK” means in this case.
I am a hearing parent. My hearing child lost her hearing at age 3, so my choice to obtain a cochlear implant for her was clear (to me). For me, understanding an issue like this from the deaf family perspecitive is difficult. What do you think?
You can leave a comment, and I have posted this in the CochlearWorld Forums for further discussion.
Technorati Tags: CI Controversy, eugenics
Whoo Hoo!
Thanks to Mom To Toes for making the first post on the Cochlear World Forum. Mom To Toes writes an excellent blog that you can find at http://www.momtotoes.blogspot.com/.
So, cruise on over to the forum and say hello!
Direct link is http://www.cochlearworld.com/forum
Thanks,
Mark
My daughter lost her hearing at age 3 due to meningitis. One of the things I remember sitting in that hospital room was being thankful that she had survived the meningitis, but sad about the hearing loss. At the time, I did not know anything about cochlear implants. In fact, I had never even heard about cochlear implant technology.
I remember worrying about the fact that my daughter’s favorite video at the time was Peter and the Wolf. How could a deaf child possibly appreciate Peter and the Wolf, I fretted. It’s funny the strange things that you get hung up on during a crisis. Well, everything turned out OK. My daughter can hear quite well, loves Radio Disney, and is doing great in school.
What made me recall all of this is the recent report from DigitalSpy that KT Tunstall is planning to write music for her brother who recently got a cochlear implant. She intends to understand what beats and tones will be “scientifically” most pleasing for her brother to hear, and optimize a song around that. Very cool. She is quoted as saying “I’ve always wanted to write some music for Daniel, and find out scientifically what would be really pleasing to him. He loves beats. He tells me about these brilliant deaf raves he has been to, where all hearing aids come out and the volume is turned up.”
What a fascinating option!
Thank you for sharing. I had not heard of this "hybrid" option before.
Simpy amazing.
This is really exciting! My eldest son and I both have CIs. My son plays waterpolo, with a hearing team. We know all the dangers of being hit in the CI, but that is a risk that is acceptable at this level. However, since he plays on a hearing team, he misses out on a lot of instructions and signals.
Here (in Hungary) State sponsored implants still require proof of profound deafness, but the criteria is not complete deafness, but deafness when hearing aids do not improve hearing beyond a certain level. Since bilateral implants are discouraged--with improvement in technology we are saving the other ear for even better implants in the future--recently a few f children were fitted with digital hearing aids for the non-implanted ear. My son was one of them and while he doesn't get enough input from that ear to understand speech, it has greatly helped him in findig his way and the direction of sound.
When my daughter was implanted seven years ago, one of the key thing that we had to do was prove that she was totally deaf. Only deaf children could be approved for cochlear implants. Now, hybrid technologies that combine hearing aids and cochlear implants are under test. In fact, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting on an adult with great results. The devices from Med-El are currently under test in the U.S.
I love all the cool Cochlear Implant stories that make it into the media these days. Yesterday, the Great Yarmoth Mercury reported on a Cochlear Implant success story with a twist. The family was overjoyed because their seven-year-old was singing for the first time in her school Christmas play – something she had not been able to do before. The twist is that the family has recently raised money to help buy auditory equipment for the local clinic and hospital that will be used to help other kids. This is a really cool way for them to give back. The family the grandparents have raised £1,800 for the paediatric audiology department at the James Paget University Hospital in Gorleston.
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