Deaf Baby's Reaction To Cochlear Implant

Tallon · 09-06-2010 8:30am #1

This 8 month old baby was born deaf, watch the moment as his cochlear implant is activated and he hears sound for the first time, and his mother’s voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZDD7Ohs5tAk

/tear

IvySlayer · 09-06-2010 9:12am

I..er....think I have some dust in my eye

CrazyRabbit · 09-06-2010 7:59pm

That's just brilliant to watch. Can we even imagine what it is like to suddenly gain a new sense?

Smokin_Aces · 09-06-2010 8:04pm

As a Deaf person, You don't see the positives that much often. It's a lovely video.

My name is URL · 09-06-2010 8:05pm

My speakers are broken, but he certainly looks happy

Tallon · 09-06-2010 8:07pm

CrazyRabbit wrote: »

That's just brilliant to watch. Can we even imagine what it is like to suddenly gain a new sense?

Get a spider bite?

cutymonalisa · 09-06-2010 8:15pm

That just brightened up my otherwise shoite day

Iwasfrozen · 09-06-2010 10:35pm

Can't believe anyone hasn't said this yet but, yummy mummy alert!

C_Dawg · 09-06-2010 11:24pm

Great video - that genuinely brought a tear to my eyes

Nulty · 09-06-2010 11:43pm

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Can't believe anyone hasn't said this yet but, yummy mummy alert!

Yeah...but not now!

Great video.

GAAman · 09-06-2010 11:52pm

That puts things into perspective, bigtime

Iwasfrozen wrote: »

Can't believe anyone hasn't said this yet but, yummy mummy alert!

:rolleyes:

fikay · 10-06-2010 1:17am

Dunno what to say.....
Thanks for posting Mr. Tallon, what a lovely thing to see.

Posy · 10-06-2010 1:46am

Yeah, thanks for that link. Very sweet. Amazing to see years of research and work into making such implants come to life with a baby's smile. Ah.

subway · 10-06-2010 8:15am

great video.

sad to see the "pro-deaf" american sub culture arguing that these things should be banned in the comments

Valmont · 10-06-2010 8:21am

subway wrote: »

sad to see the "pro-deaf" american sub culture arguing that these things should be banned in the comments

I know, right? That little activist group is sick and twisted. They went from empowerment to an abomination.

That video is amazing.

javaboy · 10-06-2010 9:05am

My name is URL wrote: »

My speakers are broken, but he certainly looks happy

Post a vid of the first time you get them working again.

Amazing video. I've heard it can be very overwhelming for people to suddenly gain a sense they never had. Especially in adults.

Clanket · 10-06-2010 11:26am

Amazing stuff. Truly amazing.

Started reading the comments on Youtube and lasted about 30 seconds. There really are some crazy ass people out there.

SoundWave · 10-06-2010 11:34am

having just had a kid its pretty special to see them react to your voice for the first time, so id imagine its out of this world for that family considering the circumstances.

thanks OP.

strobe · 10-06-2010 1:23pm

Man I must be getting soft in my old age.....cool video.

Heh, love the way about ten seconds in he just lets the soother fall out of his mouth, like a little aristocrat losing a monacle in shock.

brianthebard · 10-06-2010 3:12pm

strobe wrote: »

Man I must be getting soft in my old age.....cool video.

Heh, love the way about ten seconds in he just lets the soother fall out of his mouth, like a little aristocrat losing a monacle in shock.

lol best simile ever.

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 3:22am

If you had a deaf baby, you'll insert a cochlear implant?

I wouldn't.

epgc3fyqirnbsx · 23-04-2011 3:29am

ffs

Tallon · 23-04-2011 3:38am

Y u ruin a great thread? /(

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 4:14am

what's great about it?

think about it.

You're only given one side of the story.

Yes, it is wonderful that this particular baby is benefitting from the cochlear implant.

However one must know both sides of the story to come to a complete conclusion.

Cochlear implants being inserted do not mean the baby is cured.

This is a dangerous misconception.

The child is still deaf. And the very act of inserting the implant actually destroys any natural hearing the child has.

Being Deaf is not about being with 'broken ears'

Don't get me wrong, if someone loses his or her hearing and wants an implant, I'm all for it.

Bear in mind it works for some, and does not, for others.

Why would I not implant my deaf baby? there are other options open to my child than just the implant.

I know plenty of people with cochlear implants and they are leading happy and productive lives, REGARDLESS. In some cases, it improved their lives. In other cases, they had to stop using the implant as it just does not work for them.

As we all know, there is a difference between picking up sound and making sense of what you pick up. Cochlear implants do a terrific job of picking up a mechanical version of sound. However, the second part, the making sense of what is picked up is beyond the abilities of the implant.

Tallon · 23-04-2011 4:24am

Did you even watch the video?

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 4:30am

Tallon wrote: »

Did you even watch the video?

yes, i did. why do you ask? I wouldn't have commented otherwise.

DOC09UNAM · 23-04-2011 4:35am

Shame on the parents for trying to give their child a better quality of life.

:rolleyes:

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 4:43am

THAT is what annoys me. The presumption that cochlear implants is the ONLY thing to make a deaf child's quality of life better.

I never said anything like that.

Cochlear implants work for some, which is great.

Cochlear implants do not work for others, which is a disappointment.

Cochlear implants is not the only thing on offer.

The way people were going on (not in this thread, but overall) is that the cochlear implant is the only option for an improved quality of life, it isn't.

DOC09UNAM · 23-04-2011 4:45am

Do you have the percentages of success/failures when implanted as a baby by any chance?

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 5:09am

Critics of the CI industry often point to this very issue, the secrecy when it comes to success/failure rates.

Every surgery involves some risk. So of course when dealing with such a delicate procedure as cochlear implant surgery, there are documented cases of children having died of menigitis after CI surgery, especially in certain hospitals in America.
(I know citing my sources is very important, so bear with me until I get the opportunity to check the books on Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend.)

However, I am glad to say Beaumont hospital here in Ireland, where people get their CI surgery carried out, has had very good results. At least I haven't heard of any illness as a result.

As for online sources: (To be balanced, I'm giving you both sides so you can decide for yourself.)
http://www.bioethicsjournal.com/past/pbj1.1_weinberg.pdf

http://www.milestonemom.com/cochlear-implant-controversy-for-hearing-impaired-children/

Bear in mind, I am NOT against implants.

Buceph · 23-04-2011 5:15am

Mysticvean wrote: »

Every surgery involves some risk. So of course when dealing with such a delicate procedure as cochlear implant surgery, there are documented cases of children having died of menigitis after CI surgery, especially in certain hospitals in America.
(I know citing my sources is very important, so bear with me until I get the opportunity to check the books on Tuesday after the bank holiday weekend.

Here you go. http://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/full/10.1086/524083

Went to the meningitis wiki page and searched Cochlear and that was the reference.

Mysticvean · 23-04-2011 5:40am

thanks!

Package · 23-04-2011 12:37pm

awh thats a beautiful video.

subway · 23-04-2011 12:51pm

http://www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/cochlear.htm

This is a good read for the basics.

Mysticvean can you elaborate on the alternatives you mention?
What exactly are you opposed to, is it just the surgery?

Sisko · 23-04-2011 1:05pm

I'm surprised the baby didnt scream in fear:

What do cochlear implants sound like? - 1: speech

dannydiamond · 23-04-2011 1:17pm

Sisko wrote: »

I'm surprised the baby didnt scream in fear:

What do cochlear implants sound like? - 1: speech

Sounds like the borg.

Resistance is futile.

pablomakaveli · 24-04-2011 1:14pm

Sisko wrote: »

I'm surprised the baby didnt scream in fear:

What do cochlear implants sound like? - 1: speech

The music one sounds like a train.

Sisko · 24-04-2011 2:22pm

It does indeed

Earthhorse · 24-04-2011 2:30pm

That's horrible. Pretty much all music sounds like dance to them.

Access · 21-06-2011 12:54am

is there anything better than a smiling baby and a yummy mummy?

Mysticvean · 14-09-2011 2:50pm

subway wrote: »

http://www.umm.edu/otolaryngology/cochlear.htm

This is a good read for the basics.

Mysticvean can you elaborate on the alternatives you mention?
What exactly are you opposed to, is it just the surgery?

Sorry, didn't see this until today.

I am not opposed to it. (Note i put this in capital letters in a previous post in this thread)

I only point out the sheer sentimentality of people's reactions to people inserting into people's skulls a mechanical device that only produces an approximation of sound, and only works for some.

You see sensationalist reports of this in the press, which often touts this as a cure. It is no such thing.

If you have this implanted, and you 'hear' better as a result, great.

However, if the battery dies, you go back to being deaf again.

As someone with an implant told me, she is always deaf. The implant is only a machine that provides an approximation of sound.

I just don't like the way people go ahh, bless, what a wonderful thing, to cure people of their affliction.

1. It is an affliction for SOME people, but not all. I myself don't view my deafness as an affliction.

2. It is not a cure. It is an advanced technological hearing aid that works as an implant.

Here is the crux:
I am opposed to the false impression being given to people that it is a cure, when it is no such thing.

Beaumont hospital is good in their approach, in explaining that it may or may not work.

Hope I make my stance clear?

subway · 14-09-2011 4:42pm

Mysticvean wrote: »

I myself don't view my deafness as an affliction.

Hope I make my stance clear?

can you please elaborate on this for me? i dont see how you cant see deafness as not an affliction or disability. i lost 80% movement in my left wrist and i can work around it but i dont tell myself its perfect and i would certainly take any treatment that improves that movement.

if i lost my hearing, fully or partially, i would be first in line for treatment that restores some or any function for me.

please dont take offence at this, but deafness is the only disability where its put forward like a lifestyle choice that has to be defended and i have zero comprehension why.

Mysticvean · 14-09-2011 8:08pm

subway wrote: »

can you please elaborate on this for me? i dont see how you cant see deafness as not an affliction or disability. i lost 80% movement in my left wrist and i can work around it but i dont tell myself its perfect and i would certainly take any treatment that improves that movement.

if i lost my hearing, fully or partially, i would be first in line for treatment that restores some or any function for me.

please dont take offence at this, but deafness is the only disability where its put forward like a lifestyle choice that has to be defended and i have zero comprehension why.

I'm not taking offence at this at all as I can see why you are baffled.

Let me explain this:
Padraig Pearse apparently said (Though I find it hard to find citations) that with a language comes culture.

If you have a broken wrist, you do not develop a language out of that, but use your own language. English. Dealing with a broken wrist in a world when it is an affliction is a constant reminder of what you can or cannot do. So of course it is an affliction.

If you are Deaf, you use a completely different language that is not based on spoken language. Over the years cultural norms develop associated with the use of signed languages. Let's use Irish sign language, the language used by Deaf people here in Ireland. (Also in no way associated to Gaelic Irish). When you have a group of people communicating away in the same language and within the Deaf community and using the cultural norms, You'll find these people do not feel disabled at all. AT ALL.

I can walk into a shop, and ask for a pint of milk. No problem. I lipread the shop assistant. He hears my voice. It's not perfect, but I can make myself understood.

Disability only comes into it if you are not a member of the Deaf community, and struggle to understand people around you.

The only time I find it an annoyance is when I come across intercoms. That's the ONLY time. How often do I deal with them? Not that much. Once every six months. So it is easy to forget that what you see as your life is viewed as an affliction by others.

It's all about perspective. I'm not really in an auditory world, the way I run my life. So being Deaf in a visual world... that's no problem. Hearing is irrelevant to me.

Make phone calls? Text. Relay service. I do not have to ask anyone to make phone calls for me. i can make my own calls using devices at my disposal.

Talk? I can talk, but not as you do. I sound as if I have a cold. (Or so I was told.) If you do not understand me, I can lipread you, and write back.

Deafness an affliction?
It's only a problem if you are Deaf or hard of hearing in an auditory world, and where being able to hear is very relevant to you.
Most of the time this only affects people who do not understand what the Deaf community has to offer, who never heard of the relay service, and only sees all the negatives and lack the strategies to render hearing irrelevant.

At the end of the day, to be fair to everyone, it's all about perspective.

subway · 14-09-2011 8:12pm

Thanks for taking the time to write that, very insightful and interesting read

gozunda · 14-09-2011 8:23pm

Cute baby...could be gas though!

Amber Lamps · 14-09-2011 9:02pm

Mysticvean wrote: »

....

At the end of the day, to be fair to everyone, it's all about perspective.

Hey thanks a lot for that mysticvean. Its good to get an insight to a community a lot would know little about. I particularly like the view that with language comes culture.
You were saying earlier that when some people get the implant they cannot make sense of what they are hearing. I'm wondering if that is a similar thing to when some blind people are given the ability to see in later life they cannot make sense of what they are seeing. I remember seeing a program about it and some people would be just looking at cracks in walls and wrinkles on peoples faces and such, they were kind of drawn to imperfections if i can remember rightly. Thanks again

DoubleBogey · 14-09-2011 9:35pm

Amber Lamps wrote: »

Mysticvean wrote: »

....

At the end of the day, to be fair to everyone, it's all about perspective.

Hey thanks a lot for that mysticvean. Its good to get an insight to a community a lot would know little about. I particularly like the view that with language comes culture.
You were saying earlier that when some people get the implant they cannot make sense of what they are hearing. I'm wondering if that is a similar thing to when some blind people are given the ability to see in later life they cannot make sense of what they are seeing. I remember seeing a program about it and some people would be just looking at cracks in walls and wrinkles on peoples faces and such, they were kind of drawn to imperfections if i can remember rightly. Thanks again

That applies to people who have been blind or deaf for years. Their brain has developed and adapted to being blind or deaf and as adults our brains become hard wired and our ability to readapt becomes deminished. The saying that old people are set in their ways is quite literal, the neurological pathways in their brains are set and cannot easily change.

But this is a baby. Its brain is a sponge and will adapt to it's new implant.

Mysticvean · 18-09-2011 7:26pm

DoubleBogey wrote: »

That applies to people who have been blind or deaf for years. Their brain has developed and adapted to being blind or deaf and as adults our brains become hard wired and our ability to readapt becomes deminished. The saying that old people are set in their ways is quite literal, the neurological pathways in their brains are set and cannot easily change.

But this is a baby. Its brain is a sponge and will adapt to it's new implant.

Bearing in mind the implant is an advanced form of hearing aid, and renders mechanised versions of sound the mind may adapt, but not always, even if exposed to sounds from infant age.

I myself can speak from experience.

I was diagnosed as deaf as an infant and hearing aids were fitted soon after. Yes, I was exposed to sound as an infant. However, they only helped me pick up sounds, and even with years of intensive therapy at school, I still need to lipread.

If you wish to focus on cochlear implants, that's cool. Very young children have been implanted, and still will not learn to hear as you do.

It depends on the individual.

Some will do remarkably well with cochlear implants, and that is brilliant.

Others will not succeed.

It all depends on so many factors. The age at implantation is only one of these factors.

My friend lost her hearing at 14. She got an implant at 16. It did not work for her, even though she had the auditory memories already set. Some years later, as an adult, she tried another implant. It worked this time.

shaydy · 25-09-2011 3:01pm

Mysticvean wrote: »

My friend lost her hearing at 14. She got an implant at 16. It did not work for her, even though she had the auditory memories already set. Some years later, as an adult, she tried another implant. It worked this time.

That's a very interesting point, do you know what was different about the second implant that worked for her? Perhaps the hearing nerve on the other side was more responsive?

Very interesting thread and your posts are a great read in giving a balanced view

Mars Bar · 26-09-2011 1:18am

@Mysticvean. I hope you intend on making yourself comfy over on the Hearing and Deafness forum when it opens in the Soc section. It has been approved and all, just waiting for it to be opened properly.

Mysticvean · 28-09-2011 9:25pm

http://www.johncradden.ie/2011/09/28/a-steeper-mountain-to-climb/

This link brings you to a very interesting and honest blog on what it is like for the author after being switched on.

A steeper mountain to climb
By ADMIN | Published: SEPTEMBER 28, 2011
Bless me father, for it’s a full week since I last posted. It’s been two weeks since my switch-on and while all is fine, I’m realising I have a bit more of a mountain to climb than I thought in terms of reaching the optimum benefit from this CI. Of course, what everyone has been repeating to me more or less ad nauseum since I got the implant is that it takes time (by everyone I mean my audiologists, other CI implantees, well-informed relatives and my wife Sorcha. Even our four year old Ana chipped in once). But being the impatient person I often am, this reality hadn’t quite sunk in until my first mapping session on Monday 13th, one week after switch-on.

Jacki switched me to two faster programmes than the one I had been on since switch-on the week before. Then afterwards I did the same speech recognition test as I did pre-op, and in which I had only gotten 14%. What did I get now? 20%. While Jacki assured me this was OK, and not to expect too much (it mainly serves as a baseline for future tests, to measure your improvement as the months go on), I was hoping for a bit more, so I was slightly disappointed. Some people seem to do very well straight from the word go, while others can take many more months, even years before they reach a stage where they can get scores of 80pc or higher in the speech recognition test.

It seems hard to believe at this stage that I will reach those kinds of heights, over the last few days of working at my listening rehabilitation (basically someone reading out stuff without me lipreading them and trying to recognise what they say, as well as things like listening to audiobooks), I sense a small improvement in recognising speech. The odd word here and there. Hearing with the implant alone is still hard, but the two together is much easier.

The other thing is that I’ve belated realised I’m hearing those beeps and squeaks that I thought I didn’t comprehend in the hours after my switch-on, but which I now recognise as er… beeps and squeaks. Jacki tells me I probably need some further tweaking to my programmes.

So all in all, no miraculous progress; more of a slow burner. The brain needs time to rewire itself, after all.

While I’m on the subject of rehabilitation, I learnt a while ago that many CI programmes would not have included any aural rehabilitationtraining- at least in the past. In other words, implantees would have gotten the implant, gotten switched on, and then were more or less left alone to figure out how to get the best from the implant. I’ve a strong feeling already that my rehabilitation programme as directed by Lesley at Beaumont Hospital, while it seems a slow, often boring and ponderous business, will be hugely important on my journey back to serviceable hearing.

But in the meantime, everything else is working as it should, which is really reassuring, particularly given the news of the Cochlear (which makes the implant hardware) recall recently. Onwards and upwards.

Deaf Baby's Reaction To Cochlear Implant

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