The Pros And Cons Of Cochlear Implants

Imagine living in a world of complete silence. Not being able to listen to music, hear the television, or even hold a conversation with friends sounds terrifying, right? Now, what if there was a way to change all of that, a way where you could get most of your hearing back. Would you take it? Well some of the hearing parents who have deaf children are wondering the same thing. They are debating on whether or not they want to have their son or daughter get the miraculous solution best known as cochlear implant surgery. However, cochlear implants may not be as glorious as it sounds and it does have risks. These parents have to determine whether or not being able to hear is really worth the risk. Cochlear implant surgery was created to help deaf people be able to listen. So far it has been pretty successful in doing so. People have been able to talk on the phone, understand speech without lip-reading, and enjoy music thanks to the operation. People who suffer from deafblindness say that …show more content…
Some risks during the cochlear implant surgery are: injury to the facial nerve, Meningitis (an infection of the lining of the surface of the brain), Tinnitus (a ringing or buzzing sound in the ear), taste disturbances, or numbness around the ear. Other risks that may come with the use of the implants are: they may hear sounds differently, may lose remaining hearing in the implanted ear, their implant may fail, they may have to have it removed due to infection, they may not be able to hear as well as others who had the surgery, they will have to use batteries, they will have it for life, they can’t let the external parts get wet, and they may develop irritation. Not only are the exposed to all of that, the procedure is also very expensive. It can range anywhere from $45,000-$125,000. So even though the surgery could help a deaf person with their disability, it can cause a lot of problems for the recipient of the