Deaf culture critics are opposed to cochlear implant surgery .
Deaf culture critics argue that the cochlear implant and the subsequent therapy often become the focus of the child 's identity at the expense of a possible future deaf identity and ease of communication in sign language , and claim that measuring the child 's success only by their mastery of hearing and speech will lead to a poor self-image as `` disabled '' ( because the implants do not produce normal hearing ) rather than having the healthy self-concept of a proudly deaf person .
Cochlear implant