Charlie wrote a very good article on the issue of giving a cochlear implant to a deaf person to ‘fix’ their hearing loss . Reading through the comments left by the public, I am shocked at some of the bigoted views, sad to see the ignorance displayed, but pleased to read some excellent views put forward (usually by cochlear implant users themselves).
At the end of the day, it is the individual’s decision to accept a cochlear implant and make it work, no one else’s. I didn’t consider myself ‘broken’, until I reached a point where I couldn’t cope any more, and looked for other options to help me manage my ability to communicate. My choice was the cochlear implant, as I wanted to start living my life again – right here, right now. Other people’s choices might be learning / using sign language, resignation and acceptance, or waiting for effective drugs , stem cells , nanotechnology , neural implants or infra-red light based cochlear implants . Everyone’s personal choice is just that, and should be respected.
The Guardian: Not all deaf people want to be ‘fixed’.