The Parents' Guide to Cochlear Implants
The Parents' Guide to Cochlear Implants
Gallaudet University Press | October 14, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1563681293 | 200 pages | PDF | 1.27 MB
Gallaudet University Press | October 14, 2002 | ISBN-10: 1563681293 | 200 pages | PDF | 1.27 MB
A cochlear implant (CI) is a system of internal and external devices that analyze and digitize sound into signals, stimulating auditory nerves in the cochlea and sending the results to the brain for interpretation. First developed in the early 1980s, CIs have been a source of controversy among the deaf, particularly when used in prelingual children. Many feel that CIs show that the hearing world sees the deaf child as a "disabled" member of the hearing community rather than an integral member of a vibrant deaf culture. In the last few years, however, there has been a slow-growing acceptance of CIs as one more tool, like a hearing aid or speech reading.