There are many misconceptions and misunderstandings about Cochlear Implants. A Cochlear Implant does not restore normal hearing. It can only give a deaf person a useful representation of sounds in the environment and help him or her to understand speech.
Hearing aids amplifies sound so that sounds can be detected by damaged ears. A Cochlear implant, bypass the damaged parts of the ears and stimulates the auditory nerve.
Hearing people always view deafness as a disability and view it as something they need to fix. The hearing community obviously thinks that cochlear implants are the solution to what they think is a “problem that can be fixed”. The deaf community is at war with cochlear implants, and the implementation of cochlear implants. Most deaf individuals feel a sense of pride to be part of a close knit community. Deaf people do not view their deafness as a disability but rather as an opportunity to be apart of something great.
Orientation to Deafness 2nd Ed.Nanci Scheetz ISBN: 0-2-5-32801-6
Are Cochlear implants the same thing as a hearing aid. I guess that would be my own personal misconception. I am thinking that a cochlear implant is just a fancy word for hearing aid. Is this true? I may have to look that up and find out.
ReplyDeleteNo. The cochlear implant information was posted in a previous blog. A hearing aid is just an external device thats helps with frequency. The cochlear implant involve surgery where as a hearing aid does not. Great question! I was confused at first as well before research.
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