Cochlear Implants: A Choice Based on Lifestyle.
Just looking at the word makes the whole procedure seem scary. The surgery itself is not nearly as horrifying as the decision to actually get it done. There is no right or wrong decision; it should be entirely up to the person receiving the implant to choose what option is best for them. Hearing people can never fully understand the consequences a deaf person goes through when their final choice has been made. Most Deaf people embrace their community and would never want to change themselves in order to fit society's standards as to what is "normal." The cochlear implant is relatively new and there are very few studies on the long term affects of having one. There is, however, a lot of current research one must do in order to determine if the cochlear implant is right for them. .
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that provides sound information for adults and children who have severe nerve deafness in both ears and show no ability to understand speech through other hearing aids (Cochlear 2).
The cochlear implant is a prosthetic replacement for the inner ear and is only appropriate for people who receive little or no help from a hearing aide. The implant bypasses damaged parts of the inner ear and electronically stimulates the nerve of hearing. Part of the device is implanted in the skull behind the ear and tiny wires are inserted into the inner ear. The other part of the device is external and has a microphone, speech processor, and connecting cables (Cochlear 5). .
When research on the cochlear implant was first conducted in France in the early 1960's, it was a device with a single electrode or channel. Since then though, the device has evolved into systems that transmit more sound information through multiple electrodes or channels. In 1985 the average percentage of words identified correctly from a sentence by deafened adults who had been using the implant for at least six months, was 12% with out lip reading.
