Cochlear implants are a great advance in technology that has given hundreds of thousands of people the ability to hear who otherwise would have gone their entire lives soundless. These implants are typically placed in individuals who are still in the developmental years because their brains are more able to adjust to the implant and therefore have the highest rate of success. When placed later in life, it is much more difficult for the individual to get used to the sudden input of sound and to interpret the new input in a way that benefits their life. The article linked below explores the communication ability differences between recipients of the implant at different ages.
Given the typically young age of recipients of this implant, parental consent is required for this procedure and it becomes controversial in some communities. The deaf community is a very proud one, and when a deaf child is deprived of the deaf experience (via cochlear implant), there have been frequent accounts of offense taken by the community. Children who are born deaf to deaf parents are less likely to receive an implant because they are a part of the same deaf community as their parents and the people that their parents likely associate with, so the parents see no hearing intervention necessary. Children who are born deaf to hearing parents are more likely to receive a cochlear implant because their parents are more likely to see the deafness as a problem that has a cure (the implant).
The implant itself is an amazing device. People who are eligible for a cochlear implant typically have damage to the small hairs in their inner ear which pick up sound wave vibrations and send that signal to the auditory nerve. The implant works by bypassing this and directly sending the sound wave signal to the auditory nerve. The technology is incredible, but that doesn’t necessarily mean that we should use it just because we have it. By receiving the implant, a child will be on the outside of the deaf community. On the other hand, by forgoing the implantation procedure, they may miss out on a multitude of experiences and opportunities. The conundrum is that the decision must be made while the child is still young in order to have the best outcome. Is it moral for parents to make such a significant decision for their child’s life before the child is fully able to make this decision themselves?
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