by Tzila Seewald

    Imagine asking these questions and being ignored. How would you feel? Hurt? Angry? Frustrated? Before jumping to any conclusions, stop and think. Maybe that person is deaf. Maybe that person didn't respond to you because he or she couldn't hear you.

    Two inventions that have greatly improved the hearing abilities of deaf people are cochlear implants and hearing aids. Though both have been revolutionary devices, there are significant differences between the two. A cochlear implant is an electronic device designed to help individuals who are severely hearing impaired or deaf, and gain little or no benefit from hearing aids. A hearing aid can only amplify sounds. Users of hearing aids and cochlear implants need excessive speech therapy for long periods of time. In addition, constant tune-ups of the processors in cochlear implants are necessary.

    New social situations often present challenges for someone with a cochlear implant. Most people have to learn how to be friends with someone who is different from them. They have to understand the disability and know how to be comfortable with it, but not make it the total focus of their friendship. This takes work on both sides. Attending a regular school may be difficult for someone with an implant. Students with a cochlear implant may have trouble understanding the teacher because of background noise from a large public school classroom. In addition, they may be unable to take notes and listen to the teacher at the same time. While they can get help to stay in a regular education classroom, they might find it easier to eliminate some of the stimulation found in large classes.

    You may think that people who are hearing impaired might despair about dealing with the difficulties their disability presents. My experience has been that the opposite happens. I have found that people who are deaf are usually very strong. While they are making new friends they are also educating people about how to treat people who are deaf with respect. In school, they get help from an oral interpreter who explains things to them and takes notes from the teacher.

    When my hearing loss was diagnosed at two years old, I was fitted with very powerful hearing aids. Extensive speech therapy was not successful because my hearing loss was too great. I was implanted at age three and immediately began to hear. However, because I had not ever heard any sounds, I needed extensive training to help me recognize these sounds and eventually learn to speak. This process continues today. I still receive speech therapy and will continue to for the foreseeable future.

    I have been attending a private bilingual mainstream school since nursery school and use the services of an oral interpreter to help me take notes and understand my teachers. I am presently in eleventh grade and plan to study psychology in college.

    Every day I have to tell people not to treat me differently because of my deafness. My father always says, "Be stubborn." He is right. Persistence is one way of achieving a successful life. Although my disability has made me strong, it is very hard to be strong everyday. All those therapy sessions take me away from the things and people that I enjoy. Sometimes I cry because I feel my life is made difficult by deafness. However, I always try to refocus on the positive side. If I don't do that, I couldn't survive at all. Given all these pressures, I am living proof that you can still be a great kid living with a cochlear implant and enjoy life to the max!

Home	Current Issue	Past Issues	About Us	Contact Info