RE: Biased posts in other forums ?

[Guest guest]

Faith,

If you don't get her a CI while she is very young, she may never be able to

learn to hear. If you do, she can always remove it if she chooses the Deaf

culture route or is not successful with the CI. Remember, she will always be

Deaf without the processor(s). I would much rather her come back to me

later and say " Why DID you? " than to say, " Mom, you could have given me a CI

to allow me to hear, but now it's too late. " Did you watch the recent

documentary on HBO about the couple who got CI's late in life?

Lynn

Fairhope, AL

Nucleus Freedom

Surgery date 9/6/06

Activation date 9/27/06

Biased posts in other forums ?

Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you asked " what

do we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that will

always have the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in their own

measure because that is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be fueled

with " facts " , but you never know how 'out of context' they are being quoted.

Those opposed to CIs always talk about the risks. But no one seems to share

the quantified numbers. What percentage of people have facial paralysis, or

any of the other things? One percent? Five percent? If so, then there is

a 95 percent chance that someone receiving a CI will NOT have one of the

side effects. However, I am working, as a hearing person, to understand all

points of view.

I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound Bilateral

SNHL. When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know that CIs

existed. When I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what we'll do

then! " However, in the past 5 months, I have read all I can get my hands on

regarding Deaf culture as well. I feel in order to make an informed

decision, I must get informed! :-) I have taken the opportunity to find

out about the Deaf communtiy in my area. (Didn't even know if there were

any Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong bias against CIs in the

Deaf community and met some that will accept someone with a CI. I think

just as in any debate, you will meet people that feel strongly at one end

and some at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a personal

view.

I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I wish I

didn't have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about how all

the adults love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way. Especially

when Mikaela has her hearing aids in and I see her respond positively to

some sounds it makes me think that she really wants to hear more.

If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!! I'm

kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and could tell

me that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I mean? At

this time, I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I think that

when she gets older and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why DIDN'T you? "

I feel best about answering why I did give her every opportunity to utilize

all of her abilities. Even though I believe Deaf culture is perfect as

well. It is just newer to me. Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am searching

for.

Did I share too much here? :-)

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Lynne,

I do not have HBO. I am aware of the auditory nerve/brain development thing in

the first three years of life. She is only 7 months. I have 5 months minimum

left before I have to decide. My state/hospital will not implant under one

year.

True. She can take off the processor should she choose Deaf culture. Some Deaf

will frown on the scar - seeing it as another form of oppression as one Deaf

person described it to me. But again - opinions of others will always be.

Like I stated in my post - I am leaning towards the CI because of how much she

likes to hear. She leaves on her hearing aids and is so much more engaged when

she can hear some of what is going on.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Faith

Marlton, NJ

Biased posts in other forums ?

Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you asked " what

do we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that will

always have the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in their own

measure because that is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be fueled

with " facts " , but you never know how 'out of context' they are being quoted.

Those opposed to CIs always talk about the risks. But no one seems to share

the quantified numbers. What percentage of people have facial paralysis, or

any of the other things? One percent? Five percent? If so, then there is

a 95 percent chance that someone receiving a CI will NOT have one of the

side effects. However, I am working, as a hearing person, to understand all

points of view.

I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound Bilateral

SNHL. When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know that CIs

existed. When I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what we'll do

then! " However, in the past 5 months, I have read all I can get my hands on

regarding Deaf culture as well. I feel in order to make an informed

decision, I must get informed! :-) I have taken the opportunity to find

out about the Deaf communtiy in my area. (Didn't even know if there were

any Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong bias against CIs in the

Deaf community and met some that will accept someone with a CI. I think

just as in any debate, you will meet people that feel strongly at one end

and some at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a personal

view.

I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I wish I

didn't have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about how all

the adults love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way. Especially

when Mikaela has her hearing aids in and I see her respond positively to

some sounds it makes me think that she really wants to hear more.

If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!! I'm

kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and could tell

me that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I mean? At

this time, I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I think that

when she gets older and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why DIDN'T you? "

I feel best about answering why I did give her every opportunity to utilize

all of her abilities. Even though I believe Deaf culture is perfect as

well. It is just newer to me. Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am searching

for.

Did I share too much here? :-)

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Hi Faith,

You did not share too much information.that's what we're here for!

I think you are doing a wonderful job of getting informed and I know you

will make the best choice possible for your daughter. Often parents are

uninformed sometimes out of choice and sometimes because they didn't have

access to the information. Whatever decision you make, I'm sure you'll be

at peace about it since you are being so thorough.

If you have questions, don't hesitate to ask away.

Bilateral CI's - Right ear (1/05) Left ear (8/07) and loving them

From: [mailto: ] On Behalf Of

Faith Weikert

Sent: Sunday, June 08, 2008 12:12 PM

Subject: Biased posts in other forums ?

Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you asked " what

do we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that will always

have the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in their own measure

because that is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be fueled with " facts " ,

but you never know how 'out of context' they are being quoted. Those opposed

to CIs always talk about the risks. But no one seems to share the quantified

numbers. What percentage of people have facial paralysis, or any of the

other things? One percent? Five percent? If so, then there is a 95 percent

chance that someone receiving a CI will NOT have one of the side effects.

However, I am working, as a hearing person, to understand all points of

view.

I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound Bilateral

SNHL. When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know that CIs

existed. When I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what we'll do

then! " However, in the past 5 months, I have read all I can get my hands on

regarding Deaf culture as well. I feel in order to make an informed

decision, I must get informed! :-) I have taken the opportunity to find out

about the Deaf communtiy in my area. (Didn't even know if there were any

Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong bias against CIs in the Deaf

community and met some that will accept someone with a CI. I think just as

in any debate, you will meet people that feel strongly at one end and some

at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a personal view.

I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I wish I

didn't have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about how all the

adults love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way. Especially when

Mikaela has her hearing aids in and I see her respond positively to some

sounds it makes me think that she really wants to hear more.

If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!! I'm

kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and could tell

me that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I mean? At

this time, I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I think that when

she gets older and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why DIDN'T you? " I

feel best about answering why I did give her every opportunity to utilize

all of her abilities. Even though I believe Deaf culture is perfect as well.

It is just newer to me. Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am searching for.

Did I share too much here? :-)

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Hi, Faith:

I think it's great that you are asking the right questions, and not just going

the implant route by default.

I was implanted when I was 43 years old after being profoundly deaf my entire

life. I had some hearing with the benefit of hearing aids, but none for 35

years in the ear which I chose to implant. After my comprehension in my

remaining ear slipped rapidly, I opted for an implant. My implant was very

successful, although it took a few months to comprehend speech. (I use the

telephone all day at work now.)

I'm sure glad that I was able to make the choice myself to be implanted as an

adult, because an implant is irrevocable. That said, I do recognize that the

implants are much more successful now and that many children do learn language

successfully with implants.

You are right, the surgery is invasive. I can't think of any other elective

surgery that a parent would choose to have performed on their healthy child.

Most implants destroy the residual hearing in that ear. If it doesn't work out,

the child can't go back to using a hearing aid in that ear. This is one reason

why I, myself, hesitate to even go bilateral now. I am extremely hesitant to

give up my (tiny, tiny bit of) residual hearing in my other ear. More refined

surgical procedures will be commonplace soon where the residual hearing is not

destroyed; other research is also underway to regenerate hair cells from the

surviving ones. The technology changes so fast that I feel my own implant 5

years ago is practically obsolete!

One thing I always ask parents of deaf children is to compare their experience

to adopting a child from a foreign country who speaks another language. Even

if the child learns your language, wouldn't you still take the time to learn

your child's natural language? Wouldn't you embrace that child's heritage so

the child has some sense of identity? Wouldn't you make sure the child

interacts with other children of the same background?

To be honest, I don't think many people blink twice anymore when parents make a

decision to implant their child. My issues with my own (hearing) parents tie

back more to the fact that they never tried to accommodate my deafness, never

learned sign language, I never met another deaf person until I was an adult and

had moved away from home. From that perspective, I feel my parents didn't have

the right to make the implant decision for me because they never accepted me as

a deaf person.

Ironically, now that I can use the telephone, I don't call my parents because we

never developed that relationship. So I hope that whatever choice you make on

the implant, remember that, even with a very successful implant, it's still not

perfect. Your child will probably be hard-of-hearing at best, and frankly,

life can be much more difficult for people who are kind-of-hearing than it is

for the deaf (speaking as one who has been both) because hearing people make far

less effort for the hard-of-hearing.

Anne

Biased posts in other forums ?

Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you asked " what

do we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that will

always have the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in their own

measure because that is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be fueled

with " facts " , but you never know how 'out of context' they are being quoted.

Those opposed to CIs always talk about the risks. But no one seems to share

the quantified numbers. What percentage of people have facial paralysis, or

any of the other things? One percent? Five percent? If so, then there is

a 95 percent chance that someone receiving a CI will NOT have one of the

side effects. However, I am working, as a hearing person, to understand all

points of view.

I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound Bilateral

SNHL. When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know that CIs

existed. When I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what we'll do

then! " However, in the past 5 months, I have read all I can get my hands on

regarding Deaf culture as well. I feel in order to make an informed

decision, I must get informed! :-) I have taken the opportunity to find

out about the Deaf communtiy in my area. (Didn't even know if there were

any Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong bias against CIs in the

Deaf community and met some that will accept someone with a CI. I think

just as in any debate, you will meet people that feel strongly at one end

and some at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a personal

view.

I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I wish I

didn't have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about how all

the adults love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way. Especially

when Mikaela has her hearing aids in and I see her respond positively to

some sounds it makes me think that she really wants to hear more.

If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!! I'm

kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and could tell

me that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I mean? At

this time, I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I think that

when she gets older and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why DIDN'T you? "

I feel best about answering why I did give her every opportunity to utilize

all of her abilities. Even though I believe Deaf culture is perfect as

well. It is just newer to me. Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am searching

for.

Did I share too much here? :-)

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Faith,

My Dad who was solely (his choice) responsible for my Mom's health issues, was

afraid of having her go through surgery for cateracts and she became blind.

That, along with age related hearing issues, left her unable to see or hear and

therefore couldn't communicate much with anyone at that stage of her life. My

brother and I were very upset over what we considered his selfishness and lack

of putting her first rather than giving in to his fears.

You are a very conscientious and thoughtful Mom. If you have Mikaela implanted,

she will have the choice to be and do what she wants later on in her lifetime.

If you were to choose not to have her implanted, she probably will have to

struggle more and may never have the opportunity to succeed in her aspirations.

So now you are weighing her chances for success against your own fears. I trust

you will choose to put your fears aside and do what is in Mikaela's best

interest. If one day she chooses not to hear (although I doubt that), all she

needs to do is remove her processor.

I lived in a hearing world and had that taken away from me due to sudden

deafness..... and then was given my hearing back again by means of cochlear

implant surgery. I must tell you that being deaf was not only devastating but

also very isolating for me...... and believe me when I tell you that I am not

alone with those feelings. My cochlear implants are a gift I will forever

cherish.

Happy Hearing!

Carol

Boca Raton, FL

N24C 3G left ear -12/11/01-upgraded to Freedom on 2/19/08

N Freedom- right ear- implanted 3/01/06 activated 4/6/06

Biased posts in other forums ?

Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you asked " what do

we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that will always have

the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in their own measure because that

is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be fueled with " facts " , but you never

know how 'out of context' they are being quoted. Those opposed to CIs always

talk about the risks. But no one seems to share the quantified numbers. What

percentage of people have facial paralysis, or any of the other things? One

percent? Five percent? If so, then there is a 95 percent chance that someone

receiving a CI will NOT have one of the side effects. However, I am working, as

a hearing person, to understand all points of view.

I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL.

When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know that CIs existed. When

I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what we'll do then! " However, in

the past 5 months, I have read all I can get my hands on regarding Deaf culture

as well. I feel in order to make an informed decision, I must get informed! :-)

I have taken the opportunity to find out about the Deaf communtiy in my area.

(Didn't even know if there were any Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong

bias against CIs in the Deaf community and met some that will accept someone

with a CI. I think just as in any debate, you will meet people that feel

strongly at one end and some at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a

personal view.

I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I wish I didn't

have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about how all the adults

love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way. Especially when Mikaela has

her hearing aids in and I see her respond positively to some sounds it makes me

think that she really wants to hear more.

If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!! I'm

kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and could tell me

that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I mean? At this time,

I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I think that when she gets older

and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why DIDN'T you? " I feel best about

answering why I did give her every opportunity to utilize all of her abilities.

Even though I believe Deaf culture is perfect as well. It is just newer to me.

Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am searching for.

Did I share too much here? :-)

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Carol,

I am sorry to hear about the situation with your mom. That is actually one of

the reasons I am really leaning towards the CI. We never know - any of us - how

long we have the gift of our senses. Should something happen and Mikaela lose

her sight having her implanted with a CI from an early age would benefit her

tremendously... I really have considered that! Plus watching her giggle more

with her sister when she has her aids in is the biggest factor. I truly believe

she wants to hear and talk well.

Having lived in a hearing world all my life I, too, would choose a CI if need

be for myself without a thought. It is a bit more challenging 'for me' to make

that decision for someone else. In fact, as someone from an Italian background,

my family though I was crazy not to pierce my 4 year old daughter's ears as a

baby!! :-) I told them, " They are her ears, she will decide when and if she

wants them pierced. " (She still isn't ready.)

At this time, we are on the CI track. Yes, Carol, you are right. I do have

fears. But the hospital with which I am affiliated is very conservative. If

they tell me in August that Mikaela is a candidate, I will feel a lot more

confident and many of my fears will be quieted.

Hearing all of the CI success stories on this forum and others really is

helping. Thank you for sharing your comments too!

Health and laughter,

Faith

Mom to - 18

na - 4

Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

[Guest guest]

Faith,

I do understand what you are saying...

Let me explain you where I come from. My name is . I am currently

attending a state college in Western New York. I was born profoundly

deaf, prelinguistically. I never heard anything, even without the

beneifts of hearing aids, until 3 and half years ago, when I was 20.

I am now 23. I will always identify myself as deaf. I will never

identify myself as hearing or HOH. I am not even an oralist. ASL is my

primary mode of communication.

I have been mainstreamed since I was in second grade, with the services

offered from the deaf program in the school district I attended my whole

life. I am at a school where there are only one other deaf student that

I know of, and we don't really interact with each other.

I love my college. But I wish there were more options for the deaf

students attending a mainstreamed college, especially in a rural area

where there is not much of a reliable public trransportation.

I don't regret getting a CI... I wish I got it earlier so I can hear

more. I can hear pretty well, I just can't identify the sounds. I have

learned a lot of sounds. Am still learning. For example, I bought a

drink befoe my class today, I could hear changes dropping down in the

" change slot " . And I was shocked. I learn new sounds everyday.

I know you are concerned about biased views from both sides of the

world. Come to think about this... whether your daughter is white or

not, whether she is from the city or not, whether she will run with the

popular crowd or not, she will always face biased views. Everyone does

everyday.

The perfect white skinned, blonde haired, blue eyed, still gets biased.

Perfect or not, there will always be biased views.

It is no position for me to tell you how to raise your child, but if

your daughter is raised and taught to be a strong person, she will just

do alright. Being deaf my whole life has made me a really strong

person.

However, I oppose the oralist mode of education. It is good for the

family to provide your daughter with her primary identification. I

absolutely see nothing wrong with being mainstreamed and having the

resources from the deaf education program.

Ok I'm done blabbing here. If you have any questions, feel free to

email me anytime. I look forward to it if you're looking forward to

it.

--

[Guest guest]

Faith said:

" Some Deaf will frown on the scar - seeing it as another form of oppression

as one Deaf person described it to me. "

Faith,

It is highly unlikely anyone will see a scar. Within just a few months, the

hair is all grown out. You are cut around the back of the ear, and up a

little from the top of the ear. The hair grows right back, and especially

with a girl, you will never see or notice the scar. The scar is not even

noticeable on the men. With my thick hair, you can't even see my BTE speech

processor or coil unless I pull my hair back into a ponytail, and then you

can only see the bottom part of my processor.

Lynn

Fairhope, AL

Nucleus Freedom

Surgery date 9/6/06

Activation date 9/27/06

[Guest guest]

Anne,

Were you able to use the phone prior to your implant ?

Dan

>

> Hi, Faith:

>

> I think it's great that you are asking the right questions, and not

just going the implant route by default.

>

> I was implanted when I was 43 years old after being profoundly deaf

my entire life. I had some hearing with the benefit of hearing aids,

but none for 35 years in the ear which I chose to implant. After my

comprehension in my remaining ear slipped rapidly, I opted for an

implant. My implant was very successful, although it took a few

months to comprehend speech. (I use the telephone all day at work

now.)

>

> I'm sure glad that I was able to make the choice myself to be

implanted as an adult, because an implant is irrevocable. That

said, I do recognize that the implants are much more successful now

and that many children do learn language successfully with

implants.

>

> You are right, the surgery is invasive. I can't think of any

other elective surgery that a parent would choose to have performed

on their healthy child.

>

> Most implants destroy the residual hearing in that ear. If it

doesn't work out, the child can't go back to using a hearing aid in

that ear. This is one reason why I, myself, hesitate to even go

bilateral now. I am extremely hesitant to give up my (tiny, tiny

bit of) residual hearing in my other ear. More refined surgical

procedures will be commonplace soon where the residual hearing is not

destroyed; other research is also underway to regenerate hair cells

from the surviving ones. The technology changes so fast that I feel

my own implant 5 years ago is practically obsolete!

>

> One thing I always ask parents of deaf children is to compare their

experience to adopting a child from a foreign country who speaks

another language. Even if the child learns your language, wouldn't

you still take the time to learn your child's natural language?

Wouldn't you embrace that child's heritage so the child has some

sense of identity? Wouldn't you make sure the child interacts with

other children of the same background?

>

> To be honest, I don't think many people blink twice anymore when

parents make a decision to implant their child. My issues with my

own (hearing) parents tie back more to the fact that they never tried

to accommodate my deafness, never learned sign language, I never met

another deaf person until I was an adult and had moved away from

home. From that perspective, I feel my parents didn't have the right

to make the implant decision for me because they never accepted me as

a deaf person.

>

> Ironically, now that I can use the telephone, I don't call my

parents because we never developed that relationship. So I hope

that whatever choice you make on the implant, remember that, even

with a very successful implant, it's still not perfect. Your child

will probably be hard-of-hearing at best, and frankly, life can be

much more difficult for people who are kind-of-hearing than it is for

the deaf (speaking as one who has been both) because hearing people

make far less effort for the hard-of-hearing.

>

> Anne

>

>

> Biased posts in other forums ?

>

> Well, I read the thread on the other forum you attached and you

asked " what

> do we make of it? " I think it is a long standing discussion that

will

> always have the entire spectrum of opinions. All are valid in

their own

> measure because that is all they are. Opinions. Some seem to be

fueled

> with " facts " , but you never know how 'out of context' they are

being quoted.

> Those opposed to CIs always talk about the risks. But no one

seems to share

> the quantified numbers. What percentage of people have facial

paralysis, or

> any of the other things? One percent? Five percent? If so, then

there is

> a 95 percent chance that someone receiving a CI will NOT have one

of the

> side effects. However, I am working, as a hearing person, to

understand all

> points of view.

>

> I am a mom of a 7 month old with a diagnosis of Severe/Profound

Bilateral

> SNHL. When we first found out she was deaf, I didn't even know

that CIs

> existed. When I learned about them, I thought, " okay! that's what

we'll do

> then! " However, in the past 5 months, I have read all I can get

my hands on

> regarding Deaf culture as well. I feel in order to make an

informed

> decision, I must get informed! :-) I have taken the opportunity

to find

> out about the Deaf communtiy in my area. (Didn't even know if

there were

> any Deaf folks). I met some people with a strong bias against CIs

in the

> Deaf community and met some that will accept someone with a CI. I

think

> just as in any debate, you will meet people that feel strongly at

one end

> and some at the other end, and everywhere in between. It's a

personal

> view.

>

> I still haven't decided what I am going to do for my daughter. I

wish I

> didn't have to decide, but I do. When I read all the posts about

how all

> the adults love their CIs, it really makes me lean that way.

Especially

> when Mikaela has her hearing aids in and I see her respond

positively to

> some sounds it makes me think that she really wants to hear more.

>

> If any of you want to tell me the right thing to do - feel free!!

I'm

> kidding....but it would be nice if someone had a crystal ball and

could tell

> me that if I did ____X_____, she would be happiest. Know what I

mean? At

> this time, I think for my family, a CI is the right thing. I

think that

> when she gets older and says to me, " Why DID you? " or says " Why

DIDN'T you? "

> I feel best about answering why I did give her every opportunity

to utilize

> all of her abilities. Even though I believe Deaf culture is

perfect as

> well. It is just newer to me. Maybe unfamiliar is the term I am

searching

> for.

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> Did I share too much here? :-)

>

> Health and laughter,

>

> Faith

> Mom to - 18

> na - 4

> Mikaela - 7 months Severe/Profound Bilateral SNHL

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[Guest guest]

Hi Faith,

NOBODY is going to see the scar when she gets enough hair on her head.

I had a scar that went from the top of my head to below my ear, and half

my hair was shaved to do it. THAT was how it was done 12 years ago. I

told anyone who looked I had a brain transplant. You would be AMAZED at

how few people notice things like cochlear implants. So wrapped up in

their own world.

meanwhile, if your daughter loves to hear sound, why would you take

that away from her? Especially since the implant is going to allow her

to hear so many MORE sounds than what she hears with a hearing aid. The

HA only amplifies what sounds she can hear. The CI restores hearing to

those areas that she cannot hear. I think you answered your own

question!

True. She can take off the processor should she choose Deaf culture. Some

Deaf will frown on the scar - seeing it as another form of oppression as

one Deaf person described it to me. But again - opinions of others will

always be.

Like I stated in my post - I am leaning towards the CI because of how

much she likes to hear. She leaves on her hearing aids and is so much

more engaged when she can hear some of what is going on.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts!

Faith

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