Yesterday, the Tampa Bay Hearing and Balance Center showcased a live video of a cochlear implant surgery:
Cochlear Implant Surgery
Warning: this is not for the faint of heart.
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About Me
- Karen Putz
- I'm a deaf mom to three deaf and hard of hearing kids. The hubby is deaf too. Kaycie, our Westie, can hear a rabbit breathing a half mile away. I grew up hard of hearing and became deaf at the age of 19.
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20 comments:
Perhaps this video will give some parents an opportunity to think twice. It shows very invasive surgery, drilling through the skull and entering the inner ear which is close to the brain itself. Along with the truth that inserting the implant electrode destroys cochlear structures, this deserves serious criticism.
My opinion: if hearing aids and earphones are any use at all, hang the expense of the batteries! Avoid surgery if not necessary to save life.
To all parents: Deaf people are happy, well adjusted and effective people. Just accept your deaf children as they are and be welcomed into the community as cherished friends.
Thank you for the warning. I couldn't get past the needles... I figured I was brave enough to watch some of it but no... my breakfast wouldn't allow it. I'm just GLAD you didn't post one of a baby getting the surgery done. THANK YOU for that!
Carrie Gellibrand
Gasp! I couldn't watch it all. So horrible. It's so sad. I never forget when I was a kid, they pumped water in my ears hoping I could hear. I can't say better than Dianrez, Deaf people are happy. Yes, it's true. My advise for all parents, Learn sign, teach others, sisters, brothers, uncles, aunts, grandparents and more to sign. You will be all right and happy. And see the deaf children get good educations.
Welcome to the future. We will find ourselves being inserted with more and more stuff which arent due to a life threatening illness.
I had three C sections. That's even more invasive. CI surgery is nothing, really.
Tatooing, body piercing, scarring, boob implants (life threatening huh?), penile implants, cochlear implants... SO WHAT.
Welcome to the future!
Anna S
That was interesting. Thanks for posting that.
Yes, it's VERY invasive...the doctor was drilling all over the place...then placing body tissue back into empty spaces...
I am no doctor, but I'd always thought surgeries were a tad bit more cleaner than that...
it is not as invasive as i thought. it is not like sawing the brain skull open... maybe some day they could do it via mouth. the surgery is not medically necessary tho...
h...
Curious why we're obsessed with the CI surgery? I have met many people with CI, and they are marvelous people. Some of them benefit some from CI (environment sounds only), and some of them benefit greatly (more speech skills, etc.). It had became a 'no big deal' to me.
Hope to see eye surgery on the videoclip some day - I'm sure it's invasive, too. And, I'm very sure that it's extreme gross. We value our eyesights and will do anything to perserve our eyes. In the hearing world, it's same for them - perserving the hearing as much as possible.
I had multiple surgeries and they all ended up very positive for my body, and I even forgot the pain itself. I enjoy watching the Discovery Health channel.. I got to see how surgery works (very bloody, gross, stomach turning momments).
We need to let the CI issue go and move on. We can fight for CI and ASL being the way for our future deaf children. Bilingual education is the best way for our CI children..
Yawning....
I was in awe when I watched the surgery. The video shows how simple it is to get the CI inserted behine the ear. I had bilateral implants and I did not have any serious side effects except dry mouth for 3 months.
It is different for each person and I had severe menieres syndrome and after surgery no more vertigo and ringing in the ears.
It is true that a CI is not for every child. The problem is that parents expect a hearing loss cure but when the device is turned off the person is deaf again.
ewww! i am so glad i finished lunch earlier lol
There happens to be other hearing loss mitigations than the CI and I happen to serve on a PAC to one of the new cures that dont need surgery.
Richard
wearing hearing aids is good enough!!!
SURGEIES LOOK LIKE THIS...... DONT GET SCARED MY DEAR FRIENDS...... THIS TEMPORARY PAIN WILL MAKE A BIG CHANGE IN CHILD'S FUTURE...... SIGNING,TOTAL COMMUNICATION IS VERY EASY BUT LOT OF PRACTICAL DIFFICULTIES...... PLS THINK TWICE... BEFORE U POST SOMETHING..... ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO USE GOOD HEARING AID/COCHLEAR IMPLANTS AND THEIR LIFE STYLE WILL COMPLETELY CHANGE.....
A lot of people I know are pushing the CI surgery on me. I just have so much hesitation over it!
When I have a better Internet connection, I will come back to watch.
-Maybe totally deaf people are happy without any hearing, but what if they someday lose their sight too? Any parent that can guarantee that their deaf child will never go blind is a total fool. And let me tell you, about the only way a deaf-blind person can communicate is through touch-- how many "normal" folks are going to have the patience to sign everything into a deaf-blind person's hand... or will even have the skill to do it in the first place? So, picture your sweet little deaf child going blind in his/her teens or early 20's or later in life from a head injury (car accident?), shooting accident?, macular degeneration? etc... and mommy and daddy will not always be around to take care of this person who is now living in a silent and dark prison... can you imagine it? Well I can, because I have lost both my sight and hearing-- I was a great lip reader for years but when my central vision went so did my ability to see what people were saying. Without a CI I would be totally isolated from the world. I can hear so well it seems like a miracle.
All that just for a monotone sound and some beeps that "sound" like real "hearing"? I wouldn't put my child through this...no way. Chances are that a better implant will come out within the next 10 years, anyway.
I am stunned by all of the people who would shy away from such an opportunity. My son at 17 months underwent this surgery which looks more invasive than it is. In 2 hours, my son was a whole new person. How could I not give him such a wonderful opportunity to hear...to hear his sister's voice, to hear me say "I love you" to him, to have him hear music and birds and running water. 3 days after surgery he was running around and feeling like himself again. I have no problem with sign language but I feel his best opportunity in life is with speech and hearing. I could never deny my child the benefits that speech and hearing will allow him.
I don't get it either, anonymous. My son, too, has had this surgery twice, once in each ear. Before the first one, I was scared enough as it was, I think a video would have put me over the edge, but man, oh, man, what an amazing technology the cochlear implant is. It has totally opened up my son's world. He can now communicate with a much greater segment of the population, like he can talk to anyone he wants and understand them with his back turned because he hears so clearly he doesn't need to read lips. I am so glad we didn't pass up this opportunity until it was too late for him to benefit from it.
The monotone beeps are used to adjust the levels. Once the device is turned on, and once a person acclimates to it, the hearing quality is quite good.
The cochlea is the hardest bone in the body. This, the surgery is completely contained in the inner ear, and does not enter the brain. Saying it is brain surgery is like saying getting your ears pierced is brain surgery.
The CI is all about CHOICE. The militant Deaf think it's OK to wait until a child is old enough to make the decision themselves, but by then it is too late to benefit from it the way they would have if they got it young. The child has more choices in communication after the CI than before.
Don't turn your back on this amazing device that lets people hear and understand whispers without having to read lips. It is nothing short of miraculous.
Karen, as a person who promote all forms of communication and has started such a wonderful organization (Hand & Voices) I wonder what posting this is all about -- clearly puts some people off. Is there some hidden agenda here?
Anonymous wrote:
I wonder what posting this is all about -- clearly puts some people off. Is there some hidden agenda here?
I know that cochlear implants can be controversial to some, but for myself, it isn't a controversial topic at all. I have several friends who are about to undergo the surgery for themselves and their children and I posted it for anyone who is curious about how the surgery unfolds.
The responses to watching a video of tooth extraction are likely to be similar, unless one is in the medical profession-- oh, gross! The idea that this surgery is terribly risky is so outdated that it is laughable. When I think of all those people getting Lasik so that they can get rid of their glasses, and then read a post like dianrez's which tries to effectively prevent parents from making this great choice to allow hearing in their children... well, it's criminal. You should be ashamed of yourselves for spewing such nonsense. All of those well adjusted, happy deaf individuals are also currently lobbying hard for the legislation about ADA-- why? Because, deafness IS a disability, like it or not. Be happy, that's great-- but don't prevent little children from being able to mitigate their disability.
I had a cochlear implant surgery done in 2003! I was 15 at the time, I am 20 years old now. I am totally deaf in my left ear, but I wear a hearing aid in my right ear. I have to admit, yes it is a VERY painful process and I was in alot of pain after the surgery! And it was NOT worth it! I had HUGE headaches, vomiting, and loss of sleep! I dont even wear the device to this day! Whatever they put inside my head, is still there! I would advise not to get this done, you will have headaches for days without end!
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