PROHIERAN Blog » Deaf

About Cochlear Implants

Prohieran — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 16:31:48 +0000

More than 23,000 adults and 15,500 children have received cochlear implants, according to the Food and Drug Administration. These devices can help adults who have lost most or even all of their hearing later in life to learn to associate the signal provided by an implant with sounds they remember. The technology can provide recipients with the ability to understand speech by listening through the implant and without requiring any visual clues such as sign language or lip reading. Children are also able to acquire speech, language and social skills by receiving a cochlear implant along with intensive therapy to learn how to use it. Implanting a cochlear device earlier in a child’s development rather than later can help provide critical learning during key development periods.

The implant requires a surgical procedure and then therapy to learn or relearn the sense of hearing with the device, and not everyone will have the same level of success. While cochlear implants have been considered extremely successful, advancements in technology and continued research is yielding better ways for even greater hearing efficiency and to help with expanded kinds of hearing loss.

The National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders is supporting research to improve the benefits provided by cochlear implants. According to their website, it may be possible to use a shortened electrode array, inserted into a portion of the cochlea, for individuals whose hearing loss is limited to higher frequencies. Other studies are currently exploring ways to make an implant convey sounds of speech more clearly. In addition, research is being conducted to determine potential benefits of pairing a cochlear implant in one ear with another cochlear implant or a hearing aid in the other ear.

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Fire Alarm For The Hearing Impaired

Prohieran — Tue, 21 Jul 2009 15:04:18 +0000

What could have been a tragedy for an elderly man in the UK turned out to be quite a remarkable story. What is believed to have been the work of an arson, a four story building was set on fire last Saturday. A 64-year-old deaf man lived in that building and would have slept right through the blaze, but thanks to a vibrating alarm from a company called FireAngel, he was woken up in time to put the fire out himself with only minor injuries due to smoke inhalation.

The firefighters believe that flammable material was put through the mail slot in the apartment, but when the blaze set off an in-bed hear impaired fire alarm the elderly man was able to save the entire building. “He actually put the fire out himself” firefighters stated, “only because he was woken up by the pad.”

You can learn more about the vibrating fire alarm for the hearing impaired at fireangel.co.uk

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Athletes with Hearing Disabilities Set to Compete in Deaflympics

Prohieran — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 16:33:04 +0000

Athletes who are deaf or hard of hearing but didn’t let the disability get in the way of their love of sports are preparing to compete in the Summer Deaflympics in Taipei, Taiwan, Sept. 5-15. Events that 2009 Team USA athletes will be participating in include athletics (track and field), basketball, beach volleyball, bowling, cycling, martial arts, soccer, swimming, tennis, volleyball, water polo, and wrestling. The USA Deaf Sports Federation is the only national athletic association in the United States that coordinates the participation of American deaf and hard of hearing individuals in international sports competitions. The Federation is affiliated with the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf (ICSD).

All deaf and hard of hearing individuals with a hearing loss of 55dB or greater in the better ear (three frequency pure tone average at 500, 1000, and 2000 Hz) are eligible. The use of hearing aids or cochlear implants are prohibited in competitions. U.S. team participants must be American citizens and members of the Federation in good standing. During the Deaflympics, deaf athletes compete against and interact with each other in sign language.

The International Olympic Committee officially recognizes ICSD as the sole organization responsible for the administration of all sporting events involving the deaf and hard of hearing. Conditions of competition in the Deaflympics are similar to those for the Olympic Games.

While the 2009 games have not yet gotten under way, plans are already in the works for the 2013 Summer Deaflympics, which will take place July 31-August 13, 2013, in Athens, Greece. These international events require tremendous effort and volunteer commitment to be successful. You can track details about the 2009 U.S. team’s success at the 2009 Summer Deaflympics from the website: http://www.usdeafsports.org.

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Celebrities With Hearing Loss

Prohieran — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 16:32:30 +0000

Actor Lou Ferrigno, the “Hulk” actor from the Incredible Hulk television series, has been in the news a lot lately because he was working out with pop star Michael Jackson before his untimely death last week. But long before he was a celebrity or hung out with celebrities, he was a champion for not letting hearing loss affect his life or success in body-building and in acting. Ferrigno suffered a 60-to-75 percent hearing loss at a very young age due to an infection. At age 4, he was fitted with his very first set of hearing aids. He has said that if he hadnít lost his hearing, he wouldn’t be where he is now because it forced him to maximize his potential and to become better than the average person to succeed.

Other celebrities are also coming forward with the need for hearing aids, hearing loss, and also to carry the message of protecting their overall hearing wellness. Miss America 2005 Deidre Downs serves as national spokesperson for the Better Hearing Institute on the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of hearing loss, while countless other professional athletes, actors such as Marlee Matlin, entertainers, and executives are also thriving in spite of having a hearing impairment. The fact that you donít read much about their hearing loss serves as a testament of their not letting their disability in any way define who they are.

While persons with hearing impairments may come from assorted walks of life and have different talents and interests as adults, most have championed efforts to protect hearing in both children and adults. Their message includes getting hearing wellness checks regularly, to wear hearing protection as needed to protect health, and to maintain overall body fitness and hearing wellness as much as possible.

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Documentary Explores Decision for Family to Have Cochlear Implants

Prohieran — Fri, 19 Jun 2009 18:56:43 +0000

Cochlear implant is considered an incredible technology that enables both adults and children with severe to profound hearing loss to hear. It is also considered controversial for many individuals in the deaf community, and in particular for parents who are deaf who have children who are deaf. While the surgery is increasingly being covered by insurance, choosing to be implanted or to have a child implanted is one that is personal and changes the dynamics of going from a non-hearing household to one that is hearing.

A documentary of a Chicago-area family is being made currently and profiles the struggles, decisions, and perceived benefits of eventually having all four members of the family receive Cochlear implants.

You can watch a trailer of the documentary, “Louder Than Words,” below.

LouderThanWordsDoc.com

More information about the potentially life-changing technology is also available on the Cochlear Implant Awareness Foundation website at ciafonline.org

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