Article by Dennis Hung
To be deaf means that a person either cannot hear or they have a severe hearing impairment. For a long time, hearing people have looked at those who are deaf as people that need to be fixed. But deaf people don’t see it that same way. Horace Walpole, an art historian, once said, “By deafness one gains in one respect more than one loses; one misses more nonsense than sense.” They see deafness as a whole new culture. They have their own language. They have their own senses of humor and, in a way, being deaf is the same as speaking German in an English country. So, what about the technology that we have that can make deaf people hear? Do they even want it? Or should we create a better way to help deaf people understand the hearing world?
What is the Cochlear Implant?
The cochlear implant was a miracle when it was first created. Hearing people saw it as a way to “cure deafness.” It is an electronic medical device that is surgically implanted inside the skull. From there is can electronically replicate the sound. It bypasses the normal acoustic hearing process and instead, they replace it with electric hearing. For a hearing person, this sounds like the perfect thing for deaf people. The problem with that thought is that for most deaf people, the risks outweigh the benefits. The risks include nerve damage that can alter your sense of taste, nerve damage in your facial nerves, dizziness, and leaks of fluid around the brain. For a person who feels like nothing is wrong with them in the first place, why would they want to risk the surgery?
The Controversy of the Cochlear Implant
Many deaf people do have the surgery which has an 80% success rate. For the people who want to get the surgery, they come out happy and enjoy being about to hear some sounds (even if it’s not the same things that hearing people hear). But for deaf people who don’t want the surgery, the cochlear implant is extremely controversial. Deafness isn’t to be treated the same way as an infection in the body. For an infection, all you need to do is rub on folliculitis ointment, and watch as it clears up. Deafness, however, is a way of life for people. Since they have a language (Sign Language), a community, and successful lives, they don’t see a need to change anything about it. Doctors and hearing professionals need to be able to understand that not every deaf person wants to change and hearing people need to respect and understand that choice. Deaf people can read, drive, write, and do everything a hearing person can do, except hear.
A Better Way to Include the Deaf Community
Rather than forcing a deaf person to give up their culture and their language, why don’t hearing people learn more about the Deaf? To start, the Deaf are extremely proud of who they are. After interviewing a deaf person, you’ll find that they are really no different from you. You are just as intelligent and sometimes even more creative. They speak a signed language that relies wholly on visual representation. They use their hands to spell and convey complex ideas. Their language is animated and whole. There is nothing that you can say in English that you can’t say in Sign Language. You’ll find that they have a great sense of humor and can make you laugh with stories for hours.
Instead of making them give up their language and their culture, look into taking a sign language class yourself and learning to communicate with them. Help your community become more deaf-friendly and encourage your neighbors to learn more about the culture as well. Even Starbucks has opened up a store that is dedicated to the deaf and hard of hearing. If a coffee shop can learn sign language so can you.
