Most opposition [to cochlear implants] from the deaf community has died down. Most children who are born deaf have normal hearing parents, and the parents make decisions about whether to have an implant, he commented.
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August 2007Dr. Gianoli said that in the past, some activists in the deaf community considered deafness a culture, not a disability, and believed that having a cochlear implant separated the child from the deaf community. But this type of opposition is dying down. In the beginning, cochlear implants weren’t popular, but the results are so fantastic with new advances that there is little opposition, he said.
Dr. Levine believes that members of the younger generation are more likely to accept the idea of cochlear implants than older people. He said that the accumulation of experience with implants in deaf children has alleviated much of the concern.
©2007 The Triological Society
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