Sometimes it takes less than an implant to made a difference.
My ENT doctor in Houston tried to do one morning of pro bono work each month. He came late to my appointment one week because he had 'operated' on both ears of a deaf child that morning. Except the child wasn't deaf, the child's ear canals were so packed with wax and somewhat overgrown with skin, and when he got into the first ear, all of a sudden a cleaning became a lot more than a cleaning, but it became a restoration of hearing for both the child's ears.

His enthusiasm was great and he was still excited. He'd been called in by a non-specialist, and then found that he could do something that would be a wonder for that family.

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Posted by Cleopatra

Member since May 2016

183 posts

Posted on 11/3/18 at 2:01 pm to rondo

quote:
Cochlear implants are actually a huge problem because audiologists tell the parents that their kid is now fixed and they should never teach the kid sign language despite the fact the majority have no more hearing than they had before or only minor hearing improvements So kids wind up having no language since they can't hear and haven't learned sign language. I personally know of 14 year old kids that cant read or write because their parents thought they "fixed" them with cochlear implants and ignored their child's lack of ability to communicate

This is the most ignorant statement I’ve ever heard. Every person with hearing loss and every case is unique. Family support plays a HUGE role in the success of an implant recipient. Wear time and aural rehab/ listening therapy do as well. Without the device, there is no auditory stimulation; without lots and lots of aural rehabilitation, the person will struggle to understand what they hear with it.

CIs are not a cure and audiologists cannot “fix” a person with hearing loss. Just like if a child was born with vision impairment, we would give them glasses to “aid” in their ability to see. There is no cure for any degree of sensorineural hearing loss. Cis are for people when hearing aids are either not sufficient or no longer enough. The research shows that children diagnosed and treated early enough (either with hearing aids or CIs) will learn speech and language (expressive and receptive) just like their peers. However, if a child is not diagnosed or treated within the critical period, they will show delays.

Quite honestly, I’d rather my child be born deaf in this day in age as opposed to blind. We are lucky to live in a world where early detection and intervention for hearing loss is possible.

This post was edited on 11/3/18 at 2:03 pm

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Posted by FightnBobLafollette