It’s Been a Year

…since I’ve written anything in this blog. Why? Because the people it is intended for (my family) were not reading it. They are all on Facebook! So I have moved my educational efforts there. I browsed through this blog to refresh my memory about what I have written in the past, and realized I need to update a few things.

First of all, Steve no longer uses his cochlear implant. It turned out to be more of a hassle than it was worth. From what I’ve read, it appears many deaf adults come to this decision eventually, especially now that video phones and VRS are available.

Our decision to become more involved in the Deaf Community has been the BEST decision we ever made for each other. We still live too far away from our Deaf church to be able to attend regularly and that is a bit disappointing, but with the video phone Steve communicates regularly with Deaf and hearing friends. We also use Facebook, of course!

I continue to learn ASL by watching whatever videos I can understand. Most of the time, you ASL users are too fast for my old eyes. But if I watch closely several times, I eventually understand. And once I understand, I prefer ASL over reading English. It’s only by learning and doing that we begin to appreciate the real strength and beauty of Sign Language. Everyone should learn it.

Law & Order: Criminal Intent: Silencer

Law & Order: Criminal Intent featured an episode called “Silencer”, starring a talent-heavy cast of Deaf actors, including:

Deanne Bray
Alexandria Wailes
Garrett Zuercher
Darren Frazier
Hillary Baack
Willy Conley
Raymond Luczak

NBC broke history by hiring the most Deaf extras (35 people) for a network TV episode.

Season 6 Episode 06017

SILENCER 9/8pm 4/03/07

ESTEEMED EAR SURGEON KILLED AFTER TESTIFYING AGAINST COLLEAGUE — When esteemed ear surgeon, Dr. Jack Mallory (guest star Jack MacGruder) is found murdered in his office, Detectives Goren (Vincent D’Onofrio) and Eames (Kathryn Erbe) suspect a prescription pusher. After further investigation, the detectives learn the doctor had testified in a controversial case involving another doctor — Dr. Strauss (guest star Timothy Carhart) — who had performed a cochlear implant on a baby. The baby got an infection and died as a result of the surgery, leaving the deaf community with strong opinions about the procedure. Detectives Goren and Eames race to uncover a tangled web of beliefs in a community they’re not members of. Alexandria Wailes, Deanne Bray, Garrett Zuercher, Darren Frazier and Eric Bogosian also star. TV-14

Watch episode videoclip on YouTube

Steve was unable to watch this show, but I watched it. This is what I got out of it, and I may have to watch it again to make sure I got it right. It was interesting. It turns out this man who was deaf had a sister who was born hearing. When she turned 17, she left home to go to college and he never heard from her again (she abandoned her deaf brother). The deaf man had a deaf girlfriend who was in the process of getting a cochlear implant. He was afraid that after she got the implant and could hear, she would abandon him like his sister did.

So he blamed the doctor who performs CI surgery and was going to give his girlfriend an implant. The man shot the doctors hand so he could not perform the surgery. I guess there was a lot of yelling going on, so the man stomped on the doctor’s throat to stop him from yelling. It appeared that the doctor was still yelling (his mouth was open but the deaf man did not know that the doctor could no longer use his voice), so the man shot the doctor and killed him.

Amongst all of this, the Deaf Power activists picketed another CI surgeon and added a little more drama to the show.

Interesting and dramatic, like most of these TV shows. From what I read on the Deaf Forum, I guess there are some Deaf people who get pretty upset about cochlear implants.

When I told Steve what the show was about (emailed him what I’ve written above), this was his comment:

“I can relate to the deaf man being afraid he will be abandoned by his deaf girlfriend if she gets a CI. Also I know of even parents abandoning their deaf kids. The kids usually get put in places for the mentally retarded. It’s all downhill for them from there. My own brother and sister did not really want to help me at all when I was young. Neither did the other hearing students in the regular schools I was in. The teacher would ask someone to show me a chapter in the textbook the teacher was using. All refused to do it. Remembering all this makes me feel bad.”

Prime motivation to get a CI is employment!

I met with the signing teller and her husband last night, and had pizza with them. It seems that the husband has worked as a Seaman for the local ferry to Seattle for many years. He is progressively becoming more and more deaf. They wanted to ask me questions about my Cochlear Implant. I showed them the CI device, told them my experiences and they took notes because they were actually going to their first CI evaluation/interview the next day.

I did my best with them. They seemed content with the pros and cons involved. It turns out that the man needed at least some hearing to keep his job with the ferry. He is required to hear emergency warnings and stuff on the public address system, etc. Right now he is wearing hearing aids, but they won’t help if his hearing gets worse as it probably will. He said the ferry management would have to put him in a different job if his hearing gets worse (Union rules). That is good because at least he will have a job. Problem with this is they may reduce his pay scale or he may be unhappy with the new job tasks, and be very limited in the new position they give him.

All shows that like I, his prime motivation to get a CI is employment! I can’t say I blame him or me.

Update (April 04, 2007): I heard from the man here about his CI. He went to his meeting/evaluation and they told him he is not a candidate for a CI yet. He has 68% speech recognition with hearing aids, and the eligibity limit is 60%. His hearing is getting worse, and he will still get a CI in the future.

My speech recognition must be 10% or lower even with the CI.

It’s Too Loud

I can’t hide from my husband anymore. He hears me in the kitchen when I’m “banging around” in there. He hears me in the bathroom. He hears me coming down the stairs even though there is carpet on the stairs. Last night as I was watching television, he teased me saying it was too loud and turn it down. My hearing has been tested and it’s better than average (so I was told). He seems to hear better than I do now and he loves it (the fact that he hears better).

Today after church he complained because he thought it was too noisy during the passing of the Sacrament. He said it sounded like a chorus. I guess I have become so use to hearing children in church, they seem quiet to me during Sacrament. He said he could hear a baby crying but could not see where it was coming from.

I do not know exactly how the cochlear implant works inside his head. I do know from what he tells me that it is easier for him to detect various sounds when there is little to no background noise, which is probably why he can hear me so well in the house. The cats don’t make any noise.

Welcome to the world of sounds, dear.

Cochlear Implant

One of my husband’s dreams for several years of his life was to receive a cochlear implant, but the cost for such an operation made it impossible for him. When he moved to Utah, the university hospital was able to have most of the cost covered by Medicare.

The doctor warned him that because of his age and because of the calcium buildup inside his ear, the implant may not work for him. Implants work best on children (according to the doctor). The thought of having his head cut open was not too thrilling, but he decided to go ahead with it, having high hopes of being able to hear.

The operation was a success, too successful I guess. He could hear sounds but it was just noise to him. Even people talking was just noise. When he wore it to church, all he could hear were the children, and babies crying. I tried to help him make out the different sounds, but it was too confusing for him. He finally decided he likes being deaf. He still has the implant in his head, but he does not use the receiver.

At least he had an opportunity to know what it might be like to hear, but sometimes it’s better to accept our lot in life. Besides, many sounds in this world we are better off not hearing.