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Deaf history and culture essay
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Deaf history and culture essay
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After watching the movie “Sound and Fury”, I learned about what a cochlear implant is and the effects that it has on Deaf culture. A cochlear implant is a surgically implanted device that provides the brain with sound signals. In the movie Heather who is from a completely Deaf family wants to get the implant Another family in the movie who the husband (Chris) is the brother of Heather 's father (Peter) who has newborn twins, which one of them is Deaf. The effects that the cochlear implant has is that while it can help Deaf people improve their ability to hear sounds it can also make them lose their Deaf culture which Heathers parents are afraid of. For the newborn twin, Chris and his wife want their child to have a successful life through hearing.
While it is, of course, critical to show the harms of cochlear implants and include examples of cases like Charlie’s, experiences like that are the minority, and depicting only experiences like Charlie’s is not accurate
Cochlear implants represent a relatively new approach to treating deaf and partially deaf peoples via surgical implantation of a device which receives sounds from the environment, and transmits them via electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve. The cochlear implant represents an effective way to treat the hearing impaired on a case-by-case basis, offering successful results to those who otherwise may never be able to hear. We must disregard the population who have had both positive and negative reactions to the surgery to understand the surrounding controversy, which does not focus on the efficacy and success of the cochlear implant on the recipient, but rather on the deaf culture and whether the use of such a device imposes a societal standard which marginalizes the hearing impaired and categorizes them as “disabled”.
Have you ever thought why cochlear implants are a controversial issue? Some people tend to say that the cochlear implant is a great idea to give the child a chance in the future while others (a.k.a the deaf world) say that the cochlear implant will only make the child to not be interested in the deaf culture. Well to begin with, a cochlear implant is mainly an electronic device which replaces the function of the damaged inner ear. Unlike hearing aids, cochlear implants are planted inside your head to actually send sound signals to the brain through the device. The cochlear implants will only help the child and not change their identities because there are meant to help the child, improve their future, and to be able to be part of both the hearing
The documentary Sound and Fury shed great deal of light on the morality of utilizing cochlear implants to allow for deaf people to hear again. Specifically, this film focused on the decisions that families have to make when deaf children are born into deaf or hearing families. There are several obvious positive impacts that come with the ability to hear through the use of a cochlear implant, and the movie points some of these out. In the first place, children who receive the surgery when they are young have the opportunity to learn a speaking language because their brains are still developing language mechanisms. The five year old girl named Heather told her family that she wished to have the surgery in order to have the ability to communicate with her hearing friends and family.
With this option, she may still be able to identify herself as part of deaf culture because, in the documentary, I learned that some kids prefer to stay in deaf culture even after the have received the implant because they feel more comfortable staying with their culture. Although she may feel the same as the kids who decided to stay with deaf culture, she may also want to learn more about hearing culture and how both hearing and deaf culture is different. As she is learning more about the hearing culture, Heather may also learn more about her own culture at the same time because she may learn about the difficulties that her parents have faced while growing up and that there were fewer opportunities for them while growing up. With the knowledge that she may learn about the two cultures, Heather may want to change the way society is separating the two cultures by being the bridge that connects them together where everyone may be able to understand one
Sparrow explains, “ According to the testimony of many individuals who are members of Deaf culture, it is perfectly possible to lead a happy and productive life without hearing or spoken language” (137). The deaf culture believes that deaf people do not need cochlear implants to fit into society. They believe that deafness is not a disease and does not need to be fixed. With a cochlear implant, it is not used to fix the deafness, it is used to help with the person to give them more of a normal life and to help them have the ability to fit into society
The Deaf community has been faced with discrimination all throughout history. This has made it difficult for Deaf to people to find jobs and has spawned many false misconceptions about the Deaf. One the most famous people to discriminate against the Deaf was Alexander Graham Bell. Bell wanted to eradicate sign language, stop Deaf intermarriage, and in effect squash Deaf culture (Signing the Body Poetic). Bell played a major role in discrimination against they Deaf but in the end the Deaf culture persevered threw it and became stronger.
Cochlear implants, their benefits and drawbacks are certainly a hot topic between the deaf community and the hearing world. The decision to undergo this procedure should be done with education and information regarding all benefits and implications form all sides. The two communities need to stop worrying about their personal positions on the topic and consider the effect their negative or positive behaviors is having on those who are making the life changing decision to go through with the procedure or not. The fact of the matter is that no matter what side supporters take, it is going to affect others and it is up to both sides of the argument to at least be informed and
When used for the proper reasons, cochlear implants can be a tremendous help. However, these implants can also come with a great deal of risks. One of the main risks is that they will be discriminated against in the Deaf community. They feel that cochlear implants are greatly diminishing their culture.
Cochlear implants don’t take deafness away they only help to hear the world of sound. I personal want cochlear implants and hear is why you my family should consider allowing me to get them. This new medical intervention is a great way for deaf people to hear sound. The article Cochlear Implant Debate states “To create sound,
The History of Deaf Culture Deaf people have long been discriminated against. In 1000 BC, their rights were denied due to Hebrew Law. Those who were Deaf could not own property, testify in court, couldn’t participate in temples, and even had different laws for marriage. This is just the beginning, from 427-237 BC Plato believed that all intelligence was present when someone is born.
While Peter is married to Nina, whose also Deaf, and they have 3 children, Chris is married to Mari (whose hearing) and they recently had twins. All of Peter’s children are Deaf but his 5-year-old daughter, Heather, expresses that she would like to get a Cochlear Implant for many reasons. In the beginning of the documentary, Heather signs that she wanted to get the implant because she wanted to hear everything, and needed to hear alarms, to be alert, and to use the telephone. Heather also wanted to know when horns were beeping/car crashes, and when other people were talking around her. She even made it clear to her mom, Nina, that she’ll talk and sign, thus still being intact with Deaf culture, while being a part of the Hearing world.
Deaf children with Deaf parents usually develop a strong sense of self and know who they are. While many Deaf children with hearing parents grow up and have resentment for their parents and professionals. They usually they feel as if they weren’t exposed into the deaf world enough. Both parents face considerable challenges in raising their children. They face their children being “educated below their capacity, employed below their capability and viewed negatively in the hearing world because they are deaf” (28).
Being Deaf does not mean they are disabled, wrong or unable to