4 ms·

As the father of a deaf girl who had cochlear implant surgery a few years ago, I despise these videos for misleadingly representing the reality of the situation

As the father of a deaf girl who had cochlear implant surgery a few years ago, I despise these videos for misleadingly representing the reality of the situation for most patients. Those videos you mention are designed to invoke “happy-feelies” to maximise engagement and monetisation, nothing more. The doctors warned us not to expect any reaction in our daughter like in those videos. Even so, I wasn’t prepared for just how difficult my daughter’s post-implantation journey was. It took many months before the implants provided even remotely similar benefit as the tiny amount of benefit her older hearing aids could give. She had to learn to hear all over again from scratch. This affected her self-confidence, her friendships, her schooling, and was a very difficult time for her. Those turn-on videos you mention are overly saccharine to make you feel good while having nothing to do with the reality of the situation for almost all cases.

noman-land 2y ago
Wow I truly had no idea about this. Thanks for sharing your personal experience and setting the record straight. I wish you and your family nothing but positivity and good luck in life. Every day I discover a new way that humanity has disappointed me.
kiwijamo 2y ago
As someone who has had cochlear implant surgery myself, that is 100% true. Luckily as a member of the Deaf community I knew full well what to expect so I didn't expect to hear straight away and just looked forward to taking my time learning how to hear. Even now I still can't hear 100% (and will never be able to) but that is fine as I still use our national sign language which will always be the language I can communicate best in. It took a bit of adjustment for the hearing members of my family. Even though I kept explaining I won't be able to hear perfectly from day 1, it was still a shock for some who realised the switch on was only the start of an incredibly long journey which I am still on. Ironically, only those who had deep involvement in the Deaf/sign language community understood exactly the reality of cochlear implants -- showing that even with medical advancements, the Deaf community is still an important part of any Deaf person's life and sign language will remain a useful toolkit for all Deaf people.

noman-land 2y ago

Wow I truly had no idea about this. Thanks for sharing your personal experience and setting the record straight. I wish you and your family nothing but positivity and good luck in life. Every day I discover a new way that humanity has disappointed me.

kiwijamo 2y ago

As someone who has had cochlear implant surgery myself, that is 100% true. Luckily as a member of the Deaf community I knew full well what to expect so I didn't expect to hear straight away and just looked forward to taking my time learning how to hear. Even now I still can't hear 100% (and will never be able to) but that is fine as I still use our national sign language which will always be the language I can communicate best in. It took a bit of adjustment for the hearing members of my family. Even though I kept explaining I won't be able to hear perfectly from day 1, it was still a shock for some who realised the switch on was only the start of an incredibly long journey which I am still on. Ironically, only those who had deep involvement in the Deaf/sign language community understood exactly the reality of cochlear implants -- showing that even with medical advancements, the Deaf community is still an important part of any Deaf person's life and sign language will remain a useful toolkit for all Deaf people.