I was watching the Sundance channel the other night, (which I am now addicted to), and they had a documentary about deaf famillies and the decision to get these implants for their children or not. I don't want to offend anyone on the board that may be deaf but overall I came away very disturbed at the way deaf people viewed these implants. One example is of a Lady who is a daughter of deaf parents but she can hear and her daughter was born deaf. Her parents basically wanted to disown her because she wanted the implant for her deaf child. They actually said they were happy when her daughter was born deaf and the rest of the deaf community that they interviewed felt the same way her parents did.

Anybody see this and can remember what the name was?

I'm confused as to why someone would want to remain deaf despite treatment options?

Thats what bothered me so much, but the most disturbing thing was denying their children this who would grow up and live normal lives with the implants.

My son was born profoundly deaf in both ears and we had to make a decision whether to do the implant or to have him be a part of the "Deaf Communinity" They have been out of mainstream society for so long and felt not a part of society that they basically are akin to a cult and basically shun all those would use cochlear implants. They see it as a outright rejection of their lifestyle and want no part of anyone with an implant. We made the choice to go with the implant and are currently fighting our insurance for the second implant (they only cover one as of July 5th 2005). I dont understand why anyone wouldnt want to give their child every advantage and oppurtunity that science has now been able to provide for those with hearing loss. I also hate, detest and cannot stomach ANY group that shuns people for any reason. Since my wife and her family were Jehovah's Witnesses before i married her, i know all about shunning and the cult like mentality that sadly can seem to overcome people.
I too was shocked at the division and outright hostilty from the deaf communtiy regarding our decision to go with the implant.

Hope your son is doing well with the implant and I also hope everything works out with the insurance company to get the other one.

I think the name of that documentary was Sound and Fury. I googled and that's all I came up with but the descriptions sound right.

A lot of "minority-ish" groups can be pretty cliquey.

If someday I become deaf or blind, i kill myself.

thaaaaaaaaaaats a wee bit harsh there. life ain't over if you have a disability. (see ray charles, johan sebastien bach, terry fox, etc.)


can cochlear implants heal even completely deafness? thats pretty nuts.

Short answer yes, long answer...not exactly.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant



If i understand correctly, the implant will give the person some auditory sense, but it will not replace actual hearing. It doesn't work like a standard hearing aid, which just amplifies sound. It would be similar to replacing a lost limb with a prosthetic one. The prosthesis serves a purpose and allows the person to regain some functionality, but it doesn't function the same as the missing limb did.

My life would suck without cinema, my life would suck without music.

right gotcha. thanks a lot