AW: [sw-l] Appreciating the cochlear implant

Sat Dec 6 22:20:17 UTC 2008

Hi all, 

great description of the function of a CI  Bill! 

The other point is the human being – most often today a very young child. Of
course – and who would not understand – hearing parents suffer if they get
the information that their baby is unable to hear. Now medical experts
explain that there is a solution – kind of we can fix the problem. Now there
is hope .... and depending on the pedagogical concept these little children
get in contact with Sign Language – or not. 

It is true that there is quite a number of children who develop hearing ( =
they develop spoken language by listening to spoken language ...)  thanks to
this device and a number of other different factors .

The last aspect (... different factors) is the major problem. From my point
of experience we do not know in before who of the deaf  children will not be
able to succeed. 

And that is the point. Children need to develop language skills in early
childhood. There is no argument whatsoever to accept that children grow up
without any language ... but this will happen, if they are not exposed to a
competent Sign Language using person ... 

I loved to read Bills list  # 1, 2, 3, .... a CI wearing child being  deaf.
...and I agree – a child with CI is much better of if he or she masters
SignLanguage and SignWriting. 

Stefan ;-) 

  _____  

Von: sw-l-bounces at majordomo.valenciacc.edu
[mailto:sw-l-bounces at majordomo.valenciacc.edu] Im Auftrag von Bill Reese
Gesendet: Samstag, 6. Dezember 2008 22:04
An: SignWriting List
Betreff: Re: [sw-l] Appreciating the cochlear implant

Technically, it aids hearing so it's a "hearing aid" but it's not like
previous hearing aids in that it doesn't change sound in some way to make it
better understood by a hearing impaired person.  Instead, it delivers
electrical impulses directly to the hearing nerve, bypassing most of the
auditory structures.  It does this in the cochlea, the organ within the
inner ear that does this for people who can hear.  

Within the cochlea, which looks a bit like a snail shell, there's a winding,
narrowing passage through which sound travels.  Different frequencies move
hair cells at different points along that passage, with the lower
frequencies being in the wider part and the higher frequencies further
along.  These hair cells are like switches, sending electrical impulses to
the brain, which translates the impulses to an image of sound.  

Depending on manufacturer, a cochlear implant inserts 16 to 22 electrodes
into this passage, each terminating at different points.  A speech processor
is worn outside of the body, either on the ear, like a hearing aid, or on
the body, like the older body worn hearing aids.   This device is a mini
computer that processes sound, turning it into impulses, which are sent to a
headpiece.  This headpiece is an FM transmitter which transmits both power
and signals to the internal electronics.  The internal electronics then
translates the FM signals into the impulses which are sent to the cochlea
through the electrodes.  Depending on the frequencies of the sound,
different electrodes are switched on and off, resulting in a simulation of
the sound.

Bill

Valerie Sutton wrote: 

Isn't the cochlear implant simply a fancy hearing aid implanted inside the
body? 

I always thought of the cochlear implant as another kind of hearing aid...

Val ;-)

--------

On Dec 6, 2008, at 12:35 PM, Adam Frost wrote:

Ha! The same thing could be said with hearing aids as well, which was
thought to be the cure-all of deafness much like many think cochlear
implants are now. Interesting how the arguments throughout history stay the
same, it is just the toys that change. ;-) 

Adam

On Dec 6, 2008, at 12:27 PM, Bill Reese wrote:

Gerard,
Perhaps I should not mention that I have a cochlear implant as I'm
late-deafened and don't really fit into the category of a born or cultural
deaf person whose first language is sign language.  However, I and others in
my ALDA-Suncoast support group have cochlear implants and we all still sign.
It's pidgin sign, not ASL, and used to get across what we are saying in
English.  The implant doesn't help any of us hear 100%.  For some, it's more
like they're deaf as opposed to stone deaf.  For others, they can enjoy
music.  But when we're together as a group, sign language, speechreading,
writing notes (total communication) is what we do.

I believe, just by the nature of that fact, it may be imputed that a born or
cultural deaf child who gets an implant and who is immersed in Deaf culture
would still naturally use sign language.

A few things to consider:
1. At night, the implant is usually turned off and the deaf person is deaf.
2. When swimming, the device is off and the deaf person is deaf.
3. When the implant's battery dies and the person has no spare, they're
deaf.
4. When they just don't feel like wearing the implant, they're deaf.

In short, the implant isn't used 24/7 and sign language is still needed.

Bill

Gerard Meijssen wrote: 

Hoi,
In several discussions about sign languages and SignWriting, the subject of
the cochlear implant was mentioned. I have been doing some reading on the
subject. I find it hard to learn what a cochlear implant does for someone
who gets an operation and has one implanted. I learned that the operation is
not without risks and the soundfiles that I listened to on the Internet do
not give 22 channel quality.

The Wikipedia article is deemed to be not good enough. So I am really
looking for an improved article and also in a better appreciation of such
devices.
Thanks,
     Gerard

http://ultimategerardm.blogspot.com/2008/12/cochlear-implant.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cochlear_implant

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