Antw: [SLLING-L] Re: Cochlear implant

Tue Dec 9 08:28:36 UTC 2008

Dear Gerard,

I would like to warn you of the expectation to get "objective"
information from sound files which "demonstrate how the CI works. It is
ok for me that we get some illustration for that, but this will create
no possibility for decisions on only "objective" criteria. Seen as a
whole, the Wikipedia article tells some of the problems which occur with
an assistive aid which is not so "simple" like a transplantaion or
replacement of an organ, but has to do with language perception and
learning.
There is no doubt that a CI in most cases allows the persons implanted
to hear something. But the crucial point (especially with implanted
children) is, whether or to which extent spoken language can be
perceived in a way that it becomes understandable and learnable. One of
the biggest problem here is that we have to cope with economy = selling
products. Reporting about CI success does often not obey the rules of
medicine science accepted elsewhere (e.g. concerning the different
grades of success). Many presentations on CI's are more like advertising
than scientific reports.
We often find only indirect statistics when e.g. it is told that a
certain percentage of the implanted children is only able to go to the
school for hearing impaired and a second percentage cannot do even that.
My concern is not the successful cases but are the cases where the CI
does not work in a way that spoken language can be acquired. These cases
are hidden to societ AND science. The situation of the children is worse
than any other because when they got the CI, everyone expects that it
will work per 100% (even this is told by some surgeons). The argument is
then that either the children or their parents are "guilty" for this
failure; never it is the implantation, some lacking anamnesis or
anything else. One of the best examples of a science which works in this
unbearable way, is Graser, Peter: Sprachentwicklungsstörungen bei
Kindern mit Cochlear Implant. Heidelberg: Winter 2007. This author
argues that the CI is always working. If it is not successfull, the
reason has to be inside the phonological apparatus which doies not work
adequately, he says.

My orientation is also not "objective", because my opinion is that
every individual child which is barred from a language development
necessary for a full life, is one child too much. And a wrong
undersanding and handling of CI's can also lead to this situation. If
you are interested, I can send you an article of mine concerning an
inclusive environment for all people with hearing handicaps.

Best Regards

Franz Dotter

University of Klagenfurt
Center for Sign Language and Deaf Communication
Funded by: Provincial government of Carinthia, Bundessozialamt
Kaernten, European Social Fund
Head: Franz Dotter (hearing)
Collaborators: Elisabeth Bergmeister (deaf), Silke Bornholdt (deaf),
Christian Hausch (deaf), Marlene Hilzensauer (hearing), Klaudia Krammer
(hearing), Christine Kulterer (hearing),  Anita Pirker (deaf), Andrea
Skant (hearing), Nathalie Slavicek (hard of hearing), Natalie
Unterberger (deaf).
Homepage: http://www.uni-klu.ac.at/zgh
Deaf server (in German): http://deaf.uni-klu.ac.at
Fax: ++43 (0)463 2700 2899
Phone: ++43 (0)463 2700 /2821 (Franz Dotter), /2822 (Andrea Skant),
/2823 (Marlene Hilzensauer), /2824 (Klaudia Krammer), /2829 (Christine
Kulterer)
Email addresses: firstname.lastname at uni-klu.ac.at

>>> "Gerard Meijssen" <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com> 12/06/08 2:06  >>>
Hoi,
I have been really happy with the replies so far. I have listened to
soundfiles from websites, I have downloaded a program and played with
it. I
learned just now that in the Netherlands a cochlear implant has 22
channels,  much more then I heard on the website. So all in all I was
not
able to come to grips with what it sounds like. Given that the emotions
in
the discussions around cochlear implants run high, I think it is
really
important to get more objective information out. When you read that
the
article on the cochlear implant on Wikipedia needs expert attention,
that it
needs reference sources, I can only urge better information that will
help
people appreciate this emotive issue.
Thanks,
     Gerard

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant 

2008/12/1 Gerard Meijssen <gerard.meijssen at gmail.com>

> Hoi,
> I have been in a number of discussions about deafness, signing and
> SignWriting. Quite often, the Cochlear implant is mentioned as this
> brilliant thing that makes deafness go away. My understanding is that
while
> it provides an amazing difference, in essence it is still a crutch.
Now my
> discussions are between hearing people. What I would love to have is
a few
> sound files that give an approximation of what a Cochlear implant
does for a
> deaf person.. I would like to have three sound files, one of a
person
> speaking English in a quiet background, the other of a person
speaking
> English in a noisy background (no music, just people talking) and the
last a
> sound file with 30 seconds of music followed by 30 seconds of the
same
> fragment as it was recorded.
>
> I would be surprised if such sound files do not exist .. One extra
> requirement, these files need to be available under a free licene
because I
> want to use them in the Wikipedia projects I am active in.
> Thanks,
>       Gerard
>

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