The Hearing Vs Deaf Debate

How deaf people can say hearing is not better. I've never met anyone who doesn't love music.

Because being able to hear sounds doesn't mean you understand it. Once you take off the CI, you're back to being deaf again. When will that happen? While asleep, while showering or swimming, if it breaks and you're waiting for it to be repaired, when you run out of batteries and can't afford to replace them (they're not cheap, not covered by insurance), when the processor itself dies and you can't afford the 8k out of pocket for a new one (insurance doesn't cover it), or who knows, what if the internal parts stop working?

I enjoy music, but not the isolation I feel around hearing people-- I can't understand them because it's like they're all speaking a foreign language. I hear them just fine, though. How well someone learns to process sounds with the CI will vary, but regardless, it's all the same result when the processor is taken off the head: back to silence.

I don't see anything wrong with hearing devices as long as it's a bilingual home. I do see something wrong with denying deaf children ASL because it's assumed the device will work perfect. It's a lot of pain and frustration to go through speech therapy, audiologist appointments, training, to wait and hope for the best that maybe someday it'll work fantastic--it's a slow, long road to get there with absolutely no guarantees, with a lot of difficulties trying to fit into the hearing world. When you don't have access to a "time-out" (ASL) where all you get to do is understand 100% of what's going on, it makes the struggles more difficult and isolating because nobody else is going through it--only you. This goes whether the person has hearing aids or Cochlear Implants. There are many frustrations a deaf child goes through. Hearing parents may have their own frustrations raising deaf/hoh children, but it pales in comparison.

Ever notice when you read stories/opinions about CI, it's primarily from friends/family of the person with the CI?  The hearing people profess what an amazing difference the CI has made for their cousin/friend/classmate. It's really not up to them to share what a "success" the CI was for that other person. The ones with the CI should speak for themselves. They may not say anything negative, but how well it works should not be defined by hearing people.

And how well a CI works/does not work is also not defined by any single individual with a CI, either. There are many stories out there.