A few men have been successful in reducing baldness with products that restore hair. I’ve heard medical stories where doctors grew a body part to make a replacement. Scientists are looking to do the same tp restore hearing. It almost sounds like an urban legend, but it’s not. I’m not sure what I think of this especially when they speak of chickens and mice.
Anti-CI Poetry
I didn’t see this one when I checked out the ASL poetry. I’m all for free speech, but the one from Michael J. Olivier is a strong misinterpretation on the reality of getting a cochlear implant. It’s a scare tactic. Not reality. But anyone who lets this scares him away from surgery has clearly not done research to make a decision without having one person’s opinion affecting this decision.
It’s fine if Mr. Olivier feels strongly about it, but he certainly can’t interpret an operation and the results unless (a) he was a doctor and (b) he had the implant himself.
Here’s the translation [ Thanks, Steven ]
Hello my name is Mike Olivier. The story is called cochlear implant. The story will be told from A to Z and 1 to 10 handshape.
Putting on latex gloves. Ready? Ready? (Nodding)
A: cut
B: open
C: taking out stuff out of the ear
D: drill
E: putting array on
F: putting the wires in place
G: putting wires in the holes
He told a story (from 1 to 10) about a baby or young child after turning on CI. The child took off the CI so fast because the child hated the noise so much. Also, what surgery is not a pain in the rear? One of the surgeries I had last year was worse than the implant.
Well, guess what? Putting on contacts for the first time does not feel good either. Everything takes getting used to… braces, glasses, contacts, hearing aids, implants, ASL, Braille.
ASL Poetry
The Slope ASL Poetry Special has original poetry by Ella Mae Lentz, Patrick Graybill, Clayton Valli, and the Flying Words Project featuring Peter Cook and Kenny Lerner. Plus, you’ll find poems by the winner and finalists of the National ASL Poetry Prize. Slope is the first national poetry journal to publish ASL poetry online in video form.
I love the Flying Words’ Untitled. Original! It’s an experience to watch these talented folks. Thanks to Rita for bringing it to my attention.
Listening and Memorizing
I’ve been working hard to learn all the words to three songs. Over and over and over. Amazingly enough, I’m not sick of them… yet.
Been trying to keep an eye out for an easy book on CD (so I can listen to it at work and in the car) because I don’t have time to sit down with a book and follow the words. So it has to be something where I know some of the words and can practice figuring out the rest, like pieces of a puzzle.
The thing is… I’m memorizing these songs and recognizing the words based on music cues. How is that going to help me hear unfamiliar words? I can’t make out the lines I don’t know from a song period.
Broken Parts
It looks like the surgery did added one aftereffect: inflammation in the ear. It hurts from time to time. Cochlear implant: -1, Hearing aids: 1.
The processor died. I haven’t been using it because I wear the BTE (behind-the-ear), but when my music cable stopped working, I got the processor out to test which cable wasn’t working (there are two parts for the BTE and the processor uses just one part). I tried switching batteries, switching battery comparments, and nothing worked.
Should I be surprised considering many of the accessibility equipment I’ve used over the years stopped working within a short time frame?
It’s been the week from tech heck. I ran into problems with my computer as well as my new laptop, but those are fixed.
Hearing implant harnesses platinum and iridium
“Doctors have highlighted a new surgical procedure to restore hearing in deaf people that utilises activated iridium implants to directly stimulate nerve cells.
For the first time surgeons have placed the implants directly on the brain stem – a risky procedure as the stem carries signals from the entire body to the brain.”
Stem cell? Oh boy. I can’t imagine who’d want to be the first set of volunteers.
Finally Got the Song
Claiming I listened to a song 50+ times in one week is no exaggeration. I was determined to learn it as mentioned in the previous entry, and finally did. It’s a combination of memorization and music recognition that helps me follow the song. A section of the song is not covered in the lyrics that I have and I can’t figure it out. Going to have Paul listen to it.
I went to a doctor today and he said that I speak a little better already. Paul and I were surprised. Paul hasn’t noticed a difference and I don’t hear myself speak any differently now than before the implant. It was nice that he said it, though.
Can't Get the Song down
I am hooked on a song and am trying to learn the words of it — I only know some of the words. So, I reviewed the lyrics along with the song a dozen times.
On my way to the chiropractor yesterday, I listened to the song in the car and couldn’t get more than four lines figured out. Frustrating. Why couldn’t I figure out some of the words without the script?
What song? No way. I’m too embarrassed to share. One hint — it’s from a musical.
What's the Big Deal?
Recently, my family was mentioned in a newspaper blurb because of Paul’s being laid off. The blurb mentioned we have three kids and that I’m hearing impaired. I asked Paul what the big deal was about mentioning the deaf part. I mean, it’s like saying someone wears glasses, isn’t it?
Paul said that people believe it’s a big obstacle that a person has to overcome in life. I don’t think of it that way. I was born deaf and it was just another characteristic to which I had to adapt. Like some people have to adapt to being short, tall, have fewer number of limbs than the average, of a certain race or culture, etc.
Although, I admit that I’ve blamed my hearing loss for a lot of things… why I wasn’t popular… why I didn’t have more friends… why I was never voted for anything… I believed people thought less of me because I sounded different and couldn’t always know what was going on in a group conversation. Bugging people to know what was said or what people are talking about. That’s a topic for another day. It’s just impossible not to blame deafness for a few things in life.
The Rolling My Eyes Department
Here’s another person who believes the hearing world is Dehumanizing the Deaf. I draw the conclusion that this person is saying, “Adapt to us, not us adapt to you.”
Last I checked, people living in the US who speak languages other than English are expected to learn English to be able to get along better in the world. They can’t expect all of us to learn their first language and adapt to them.
I know that cities like Miami and those in South Texas have a lot of Spanish signs and such, but it’s a compromise because those places are close to Spanish-speaking countries and have many who speak the language.
My friends and colleagues do adapt to me. They learned to look at me when they speak and they respect the fact I can’t use the telephone in the same way as everyone else. Both parties do what they can to adapt to one another.
As for the whole parents making decisions for younger kids thing… the earlier a child works on communication skills, the better chance she will adapt to the world, which is predominantly hearing.
I could go on and on here and I am sure a few of you have strong feelings about the topic. I am my own person and I could’ve gone off and learned sign language when I left home at 18. I chose not to do that because I am comfortable with who I am. Would I feel differently had my parents put me into sign language classes instead? I don’t know as I have never been in that situation.
As a mom of three, I do the best I can to give my children the best opportunities to learn and grow in this world. I make mistakes along the way or they might not like some of the beliefs I have by the time they’re old enough to understand. When they’re ready, they can change to whatever works for them.
All I can do is teach them what I know and believe so that when they’re on their own, they can lead productive and moral lives.