Abstract
This paper discusses argument for and against cochlear implants. According to the paper, cochlear implants are an option that can be used by an individual or parents with children who are deaf in order to try and overcome deafness. However, this issue becomes complicated when one realizes that deaf individuals who have been taught sign language can function normally in society.

From the Paper
"Hearing loss, whether it occurs early on in childhood or later on in life, can drastically impact a person's ability to communicate. For many years, until the invention of modern surgical techniques, the only way in which someone could communicate that suffered from hearing loss was through sign language or other types of visual communication. Currently modern medical techniques have resulted in the creation of many options that a person can use to compensate for a hearing deficit or complete loss. One of the most recent inventions to combat hearing loss is the cochlear implant. The cochlear implant is placed directly into the ear..."

Tags:cochlear, deafness, implants

Abstract
The paper explains how the ear and hearing works and how the cochlear implant, the electronic audio mechanism, provides hearing in cases of sensor neural hearing loss. The paper outlines the fundamental workings of a cochlear implant and the need for a post-cochlear implant rehabilitation program. The paper also looks at the potential benefits of bilateral cochlear implants and explains when unilateral implants with FDA-approved cochlear implants and associated aural rehabilitation may be considered medically necessary.

From the Paper
"The cochlear implant is an electronic audio mechanism that returns to the deaf partial hearing. The human ear consists of three main parts - the external ear, middle ear or tympanum, and the inner ear, or labyrinth. The external ear catches sound waves and channels them to the middle ear. This is brought about when sound travels along the ear canal of the external (middle) ear and causes vibration in the ear drum. Accordingly, in the middle ear is where sound waves set up vibrations that are converted into nerve impulses in the inner ear. These impulses are in turn, sent to the brain. The inner ear is also responsible for the sense of balance."

Tags:nerve, impulses, fibres, sound, waves, vibrations, transmitter, speech, language, impairment

Abstract
The paper explains how cochlear implants work and how they help profoundly deaf people hear and acquire language skills. The paper discusses, however, how implanted patients experience a reduced and altered sense of sounds and speech at best, and furthermore, some users find them too noisy. The paper looks at how many in the deaf community oppose cochlear implants and explains that they do not see deafness as something that needs curing, and, they worry that sign language will disappear if cochlear implants become widespread. The paper concludes that despite the opposition of some, these implants will continue to improve in the future, and provide new opportunities for the profoundly deaf and hard-of-hearing.

From the Paper
"Often, implants are given to children who show signs of deafness, and they can be implanted as early as 14 months of age. There are better candidates for cochlear implants, and they must have a profound hearing loss to qualify, someone with mild or moderate hearing loss is not a good candidate. To qualify for cochlear implants, the person must have severe to profound hearing loss in both ears, has a functional auditory nerve, has experienced hearing loss for at least a small amount of time, has good speech and language skills, or if they are children, has a family that is willing to work with them to develop these skills. In addition, the person is not being helped by conventional hearing aids, is healthy enough for surgery, wants to live in the hearing world, is realistic about the results, and has a therapist or other professional available for rehabilitation and therapy after surgery. People who lose their hearing as adults are good candidates for the surgery, but they have to have a functioning auditory nerve, otherwise the implants will not work."

Tags:sound, speech, hearing, sign, language, therapy, rehabilitation

Abstract
This paper explains the position supporting cochlear implants for deaf individuals. Generally, when successful, these implants can make deaf people, especially young children, much more able to distinguish auditory phenomena and, therefore, represent progress against the condition of deafness that is assumed to be a disability. The author points out that the argument opposing cochlear implants is more of a cultural than biomedical one; many members of the deaf community are content with their unique culture and do not regard deafness as a disorder to be cured. The paper concludes that the cochlear implants can enhance the lives of deaf people by allowing them to hear and not be segregated into a deaf word; therefore, the author favors the use of these implants.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Supporting View
Oppositional View
Personal Position
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Personally, I think this issue needs to have more public advocacy so that people can really explore the arguments from both sides and see objective portrayals so that they can make up their own minds about supporting or opposing cochlear implants. Most of my personal feelings on this issue support cochlear implants from the perspective of
someone who is not deaf and therefore might not have the sort of empathy for the deaf community that someone inside or involved with this community may feel. That is, I feel dissonance personally at the notion of someone not wanting to hear if they are deaf because it seems that it would be much more convenient to recognize speech and other things in daily life."

Tags:signing, progress, segregation, dissonance, children

Abstract
A cochlear implant is an electronic device that is surgically embedded in the mastoid and an electrode array is surgically inserted in the cochlea. The device receives sound which is transmitted to the residual auditory nerve fibers in the cochlea. The author of the paper examines the effect of a cochlear implant on deaf children's cognitive development. The writer points to a number of research projects which show that the cognitive development of a deaf child is slower than that of a hearing child. The writer then goes on to examine the benefits such an implant brings to the deaf child.

From the Paper
"There have been studies that compare the communication and intellectual differences among children with and without cochlear implants, and among normal-hearing children. Thirty to forty percent of children with profound hearing loss will present with developmental delays in differing areas compared to those who can hear. Children with hearing disabilities also have a difficult time learning abstract words such as jealous or before and after; they also have difficulty learning words with multiple meanings. Children who have had their implants before the age of 5 have shown progress in language development at rates close or equal to that of hearing children (Bat-Chava, Martin, and Kosciw, 2005). The goal of early cochlear implant is to lessen the language gap between deaf children and those who can hear. It has also been found that children who are trained in oral communication have far better results in speech perception and production than those who are trained in total communication. Oral communication makes use of hearing and speech to learn language. On the other hand, total communication involves the learning of language through sign and oral communication strategies. The use of oral communication is made possible for children with profound hearing loss through cochlear implants."

Tags:hearing, development, speech, language, auditory, prethalamic, communication, implants, neuropsychological

Abstract
The paper defines a cochlear implant as a device which converts sound waves into electric signals and thus allows the hearing impaired to hear at a greater level than a hearing aid provides. The paper discusses the effects that cochlear implants have on childhood development, focusing on children from one to four years of age. The paper explores the issues of speech recognition/language, academic concerns, social ramifications and family relationships.

From the Paper
"The University of Michigan performed the largest study ever on Cochlear implants and released the findings in January of last year. Researchers found that children who are implanted with cochlears before the age of four are able to achieve high levels of speech recognition and language skills. Dr. Paul Kileny establishes that research shows "a significant difference in speech recognition between those who got their implants between the ages of 2 and 4 years, during the critical language development period, and those who received them later." He concluded that people who receive the implant early in life get the greatest benefits."

Tags:deaf, American, Medical, Association, sign, language

Abstract
The writer of this paper examines both sides of the cochlear implant debate while explaining how the device assists hearing impaired individuals by implanting a combination of a microphone, speech processor and a translator/simulator into the ear. While many experts hail this advancement in medicine and encourage individuals to consider the option of the implant, there are those who are major proponents of sign language and find the cochlear implant option unnatural and believe that sign language is an efficient method of communication.

From the Paper
"Receiving a cochlear implant can seriously change a person's life and their lifestyle. There are many people who find the idea very rewarding and those who think that no one should ever change whom they are. Some people are unsure of whether or not their children should receive a surgery in order to change their hearing, they are unaware of the long term effects, and seem to be scared sometimes. They do not understand why a surgery is needed when signing is an effective way for their children to go through their lives, it is proven and it works rather well. Although the overall number of people who are opposed to the idea has gone down substantially."

Tags:technology, medicine, communication, hearing, impairment

Abstract
The paper explains that a cochlear implant can help to provide a sense of sound to a person who is profoundly deaf or severely hard-of-hearing, although it is very different from a traditional hearing aid. The paper outlines the procedure for receiving these implants and the therapy involved. The paper also looks at the benefits that are seen from an implant and discusses how they depend on the type of communication training that a person used before the implant and received afterwards.

From the Paper
"In about 4-6 weeks after the surgery, the patient returns to the center to be fitted with the microphone and speech processor and to activate and program the implant. The initial fitting takes several days and may include additional visits over many months. The reason for this is that as each electrode in the cochlea is turned on, it must be adjusted and programmed into the speech processor. As a person begins using the implant, further adjustments and reprogramming are often required. Once the most favorable program is obtained, fewer visits are necessary. Usually there are annual follow up visits to the center for checkups (Cochlear Implants, n.d.).
"The clinic will usually give the patient the external components of the implant about a month after the surgery during the first programming session. This waiting period gives the patient time for the operative incision to heal completely. After about 3 to 6 weeks the swelling is gone, so the clinician can do the first fitting and programming. An audiologist will adjust the sound processor to fit the implanted patient, test the patient to ensure that the adjustments are correct, determines what sounds the patient can hear, and gives information on the proper care and use of the device (Cochlear Implants, 2009)."

Tags:deafness, ears, therapy, sound, processor, audiologist

Abstract
This paper looks at the invention of cochlear implants, which mimic the functioning of the inner ear. The paper explains how it works, its history, and the effectiveness and problems with the operations. Issues are discussed, including the deaf community's fears that the devices will destroy "deaf culture." Benefits and problems with the implants are looked at as well.

From the Paper
"An implant mimics the functioning of the cochlea, a seashell-shaped organ in the inner ear lined with 30,000 hair cells. In a normal cochlea, the hair cells turn sound into impulses that are sent to the brain where they are interpreted as speech, music, or other auditory information about the world. In most deaf persons, auditory nerve fibers are intact, but the mechanism to receive the information through the hair cells is absent. Thus, regular hearing aids are ineffective as they typically only boost the amplitude of sound input. The cochlear implant is a wire that replaces a person's missing hair cells, it wraps inside the cochlea and, attached to a small external computer typically worn on the person's belt, also translates sound into impulses sent to a transmitter that relays it back to the implant, that relays it to the brain. At this time, only one implant is being done per person, as developers of the device have not perfected how to coordinate the operation of two implants to provide accurate information relay to the brain."

Tags:deaf, surgery, operation, implantation

Abstract
This paper defines cochlear implants, describes how they help the hearing impaired, traces their history, offers drawbacks and benefits, and discusses cost, the installation procedure and general information. It is geared to someone with no knowledge of the cochlear implant.