by Patricia M. Chute
As an audiologist involved in the field of cochlear implants for more than 25 years, I am constantly amazed at the courage and persistence of children and adults who use these devices. When a deaf adult, or a parent of a deaf child, opts to select this treatment alternative, they embark upon a lifelong journey that continually evolves.
The initial decision to seek an implant is often complicated by factors that are both intrinsic and extrinsic to the individual. Intrinsic factors are related to audiological issues, physiological issues, and personal choice. Issues within the family, the social community, and the health care system are extrinsic factors.
Decision-making is most effective when the person making the decision is maximally informed. Information should be gleaned from a variety of sources and should never come from a single one. Single-source information is attractive because it is easier to absorb, rarely includes conflicting information, and may be based on a personal relationship with the individual providing the information. The danger in single-source information is cloaked in personal bias, limited exposure, and a narrowed breadth of experience. Therefore, it behooves adults and parents of children seeking implants to access as many different types of information resources as possible. Individuals who seek an implant should access the written media as well as speak with professionals, implant recipients, and families of implant users. It is also helpful to contact the individual manufacturers. However, consumers must always be aware of the fact that this information is constructed to demonstrate a very unilateral view. Informed implant recipients should never feel as if they were passive receivers of the cochlear implant, but should consider themselves active participants in the entire process.
Susan's story underscores the importance of all the people, places, and things that she accessed to ensure that when she made the decision to obtain an implant, she was completely ready for it. The amount of information that each of us requires to make a decision-and feel comfortable with it-varies as much as our individual personalities. Susan relied upon resources that she knew and then used those resources to identify new ones. As she notes, it took several evaluation sessions before she felt comfortable with her final decision to obtain an implant. No implant candidate should ever succumb to the pressures that might be placed upon them by well-meaning professionals, friends, or other implant users. It is only when the individual is ready that he/she should proceed.
The process of information gathering does not end at the time of the surgery. In fact, the amount of information that the implant recipient requires after implantation is even greater. Parents of children with implants and adult implant users should continue to educate themselves about changes in technology and everyday maintenance by attending local seminars and workshops, joining online chat groups, and accessing organizations such as the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing and Self Help for Hard of Hearing People.
Patricia Chute is an associate professor at Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, NY. She has been involved in the cochlear implant field since the late 1970s and has written two books and more than 40 published articles. Contact her by e-mail at pchute@mercy.edu.