Cochlear Implants Argument Essay

In support of Gallaudet University's, “Deaf President Now!” protest, Rev. Jesse L. Jackson once said “The problem is not that the deaf do not hear. The problem is that the hearing world does not listen.” (Lee) This concept been seen throughout Deaf history; Today it is especially noticeable now that technology has been developed to restore some hearing to many who are deaf. However these seemingly miraculous devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants (CI) are a gilding for the real problem. CI’s in particular are thought to be a miracle cure for deafness, this misconception causes a great friction between Deaf and hearing culture. Deaf people should not be expected to get CI’s to “cure” their deafness for three primary reasons: CI’s promise more than they can deliver, they are an affront to Deaf culture, and ASL is a more effective way to insure development.

Cochlear Implants are frequently thought of as an end all solution to hearing loss, a cure for deafness. However there are a couple things wrong with this line of thinking: First CI’s are not a perfect replacement for fully functioning ears. Second, they will only work for a few deaf people.

Cochlear Implants only restore very limited audibility. When described by formerly hearing Deaf people they compare it to hearing underwater, “fuzzy and timbre” yet still able to discern some

sounds and make out some words. A more precise explanation is given by one of BBC’s columnists.
A CI creates a crude approximation of [the Cochlea’s] continuous pitch-sensing device using a few (typically 16-22) electrodes to excite different nerve endings, producing a small set of pitch steps instead of the normal smooth pitch slope… CIs simulate [the Cochlea’s] method of pitch discrimination too, but only for frequencies up to about 300 Hertz, the upper limit of a bass singing voice. (Ball)
CI’s, although giving better than nothing, do not provide the level of hearing expected from such a miracle cure.
Another problem with thinking that CI’s are the cure is that they’ll will only work for a few deaf people in the first place. Statistics done by Brown University report that after a year 12% of parents of children born deaf reported no significant increase in communicative abilities with their CI’s, 19% had no increase in verbal speech (Brown) Another study further pushes this problem with data from audiologist testing, as opposed to parental opinion, reporting that Deaf people who had only slightly more than 4% of the implanted children have normal functional hearing ability, 33% are mildly limited in their functioning, 50.5% are severely limited, and nearly 12% are reported to have no functional hearing. (Johnson) So although some hearing is restored to some deaf people it is clear through these statistics that CI’s are by far not a one size fits all solution for deafness.
Cochlear Implants are an affront to Deaf culture.

According to Deaf culture, getting a cochlear could be considered a rejection of the great society they love while at the same time it doesn’t making you a normal hearing person either. To get a cochlear is to say that you are “fixing” your deafness, something that Deaf consider make them unique, not broken. The Deaf culture spurns cochlear implants because not only is it incredibly expensive and fairly dangerous procedure, but it’s also giving in to the pressures from the hearing majority to give up their Deaf pride and adhere to the hearing society they exist inside of.

(Moon)
One major reason Deaf people fear CI’s is the obsoletion of ASL over time as technology develops and more deaf children are forced by hearing parents to go through the oral method and begin to streamline schools to making that a standard. An article done by The Atlantic puts it best when they said:
To members of Deaf culture, American Sign Language is a cultural cornerstone. Because Deaf children who receive cochlear implants at a young age will likely be educated in the oralist method, they are less likely to learn ASL during their early years, which are the most critical years of language acquisition. For some Deaf parents, that would result in a child who speaks a different language than they do. Understandably, some see this as a loss of culture- one that, in some cases, has been passed down through generations. What may seem to a hearing person like an opportunity may be seen by some Deaf people as a loss. (Ringo)
For linguicide to occur in the Deaf community would mean the death of their culture because it’s the one thing that brings them all together and at the same time sets them apart from hearing culture.
CI’s cost more than just the surgery. Between the social baggage you buy with these surgically planted false hopes and expectations, and the unexpected expenses it’s no wonder many in the Deaf community doesn’t consider it worth the cost. Some social baggage is the false belief that because they can, sorta, hear deaf children will be able to fit in better but as was well put by the people at Start ASL “ There is still a visible implant on the child's head which will be an easy target for teasing in mainstreamed schools. The child will more likely be included without a cochlear implant in a deaf school than with a cochlear implant in a hearing one. Children are cruel and will seek out anything to put another child down. A bionic ear will be an easy target for low self esteem.”
However to be honest the real problem for the majority of deaf people is the financial cost that comes with this poor excuse for hearing. Implants tend to die after 15 years, and that medical insurance only covers one implant. When the implant dies, many get an implant in their other ear, spending several thousand dollars. (Cochlear) That’s not to mention the cost of batteries practically and very expensive replacements parts every time a piece of the outer part breaks.
There is an argument for CI’s under the justification of development and integration into the dominant hearing culture. According to hearing culture deaf children should certainly get the surgery because a lack of language early in life can be extremely detrimental to a child's development and it could be quite some time for the parents to become adapt at sign. (Poe) Some development issues that would force them back socially well is that without common language they could not express needs such as hunger, and late into childhood rather they may just act out violently until fed. (ASHA)
However when under closer examination of the issue, development and language are actually reasons to prioritize learning ASL. It is recommended by medical officials that in order to prevent the loss of language, ability, and any underlying consequences this lack of language may bring to the child's development that hearing children that parents should begin to learn sign and speak sign to their child in his/hers infancy. It is hypocrisy that audiologists tend to discourage signing to deaf children in the name of development, yet encourage signing to hearing babies also in the name of development. (NAD) Like for any other subculture in America, Deaf people shouldn’t be expected to go through all the hassle for an unofficial language when they have a perfectly good primary language of their own to learn first.
In conclusion, CI’s promise more than they can deliver, they are an affront to Deaf culture, and CI’s cost more than just surgery. Although technology has been developed to restore some hearing to many who are deaf, it should not be seen as a miracle cure or even a preferable option by hearing culture. Instead of asking the deaf to hear perhaps society should take a second to listen to what they have to say.