Children with implants, the doctors assert, if prepared well and encouraged to speak, have a whole world of opportunities to choose from. Activation alone, however, is no guarantee. Some children become frustrated by the work that must follow implementation. And some, particularly adolescents, abandon the implant in favor of a life among deaf peers. Not only is the technology constantly being improved but the follow-up research also is rarely more than five years old.
Case studies taken at random can be misleading.
Two years ago, the National Institutes of Health held a Consensus Development Conference on Cochlear Implants to study the issue. These problems need not be ignored and the person should be sent to an audiologist right away. If you suspect someone you know has a hearing loss and does not know about it, or just hasn't told anyone, check out our links and try to get help for them. It is very common in our majority hearing culture to view the Deaf of Hearing Impaired as a minority disabled group, who in some way may need our help. It's been my experience that the Deaf are a very close nit group, almost a universal family.