Hi everyone. Does anyone know if there is a cochlear implant that is invisible to the naked eye??
Basically, i may look at an implant for my 2 year old daughter, but wanted to know if there was one on the market which is invisible. I have heard of esteem but they do not do it for children.
Any info anyone??
What kind of hearing loss does your daughter have? An esteem is not appropriate for a lot of types of losses.
A Cochlear implant has an external device that is visible.I don’t know of any that are not visible at all…
Not to be rude, but why do you care if someone sees it??? I’m sure your 2 year-old won’t care if someone sees it…children are a lot more exposed to children of varying disabilities and physical differences and are not so likely to poke fun at kids who have something “different”.
My kids elementary school also had a school for the deaf and hard of hearing on the same grounds. The kids that were HOH also main streamed at the elementary school for about half the day and very few if any kids were teased for wearing HA or CI. Also most kids with HA or CI had them decorated with beads , flowers, stars, stars and stripes which brought your attention to the fact that they were different and proud of it and some of the kids who had normal hearing were actually jealous of the kids with HA, so let your 2 year old be who she is and be proud of who she is and don’t try to hide it.
Hi thanks for the info, however, im not worried about what people think now, im worried for my daughter when shes 11years old plus. The world is evil, and ive seen bullying in school for someone with hearing aids, evn though i never bullied anyone for their support advices/differences etc. I know what people are like, and it would hurt me knowing people would bully my daughter, so im trying to protect her from evil people. Not worried for next few years, im worried for her teenage years. If i was deaf, i would have a cochlear implant and wouldnt hide it - so i dont want people thinking im against it look. My daughter has severe - profound hearing loss ranging from 55 - 95 db. Plus i have heard from an ENT Prof. that a clinical trial is still in progress where there has been a invisible cochlear implant (not esteem) implanted in adults. If successful, they would be for children aswell.
My son started wearing hearing aids at 16 months old. When he was in elementary school he chose to have bright colored ear molds as did most of the kids in his Deaf and Hard of Hearing program (which was in a regular elementary school). He’s 14 now and so used to wearing hearing aids he easily answers questions about them and is very casual about them - they are like his glasses, no big deal. He no longer gets colored ear molds but wants his next aids to be blue.
This year he just started high school and is the only kid wearing hearing aids. When I asked him if people say anything about them he says nobody does and most don’t notice them. He actually got fussed at in the library one day because a teacher who doesn’t normally have him thought he had on some type of bluetooth device and was listening to music. He calmly set the record straight (to the mortification of the teacher) and went on about his business.
Kids will be cruel about anything. If it’s not the CI, it will be something else. The thing is, if you teach her that her CI is nothing to be ashamed or embarrassed about and to have confidence in herself the few children that decide to pick on her for that (if they do even, schools are so integrated with children with disabilities I don’t think most kids would even notice or care) then she’ll be able to brush them off as annoyances. Plus, she’s a girl…if she’s embarrassed about it, she can just grow her hair long and no one will see it. It’s not worth waiting for the clinical trials to end and be approved for children because that will take years…many many years, and the speech and language development of your daughter isn’t worth waiting because you are worried about her being teased about it 15 years down the road. Kids would be a lot more likely to poke fun at a kid who talks weird than one who wears a CI or HA.
Doc Audio - i agree with your views totally. I have put HA on both ears, and im not asshamed and no one asks which i think is unusual, obviously hey must think why shes got the HA as she was not born with hearing loss only happened in this last 4 month.
I intend to keep HA on her, but im thinking of contingency plans in case my daughters condition worsen to the point where HA dont work for her - thats why i asked about Invisible CI. HA are like glasse - they are an aid to help one of your senses. FACT. I pray to god for her to get by these early years with her HA and help her develop her speech.
So many research is happening, and i wish the FDA think of people instead of money
I was bullied all through school. My father told me his earliest memories of me going to school was kicking and screaming as he carried me to the bus. I was bullied from elementary, to middle school, to high school - had zero friends. My hearing aids and speech had nothing to do with it. If kids choose to bully a child, I guaranty you there’s no logic behind it. Don’t take my word for it, just read the news. I’m in martial arts - and have been since 11 or 12. Best thing I ever did for myself (or my parents did for me before I earned my own tuition) - I’d encourage her in that direction: Karate, Kung Fu, Muay Thai, Judo, whatever makes her happy as long as she sticks with it. It’ll give her confidence well through school and into her career when she starts working.
Laura
What we need in this world is more Speech to Text gadgets to compliment our hearing devices.
I can imagine todays advanced software like Dragon or Google translation wirelessly streamed to the on-screen display in your car. A display in every room in your house that picks up your family conversation when you can’t read their lips. A display in your bedroom in the dark of night that picks up the speech to text of your companion.
Speech to Text displays in the classroom etc. A versatile system that can pair to your smartphone speech to text apps that a HOA person can use to pick up missed speech. A wrist display that pairs to a versatile lapel mic that your speaking friend can wear, so that you can check if you miss part of a sentence for example.
Hearing aids are just that, only aids, but with the use of speech to text devices the circle would be complete.
Speech to text is ignored too much. Closed captioning helps children learn to read, and is a good adjunct for people learning a new language. I grew up hyper-literate, because of comics and my parents reading to me. It took the place of more intense interactions with people, particularly in noisy environments. Such technology can be developed to the point that HoH and deaf people will generally have a reputation for a high level of literacy, rather than the opposite.
As for teasing, things are changing radically in the schools. Bullying is now becoming a serious disciplinary offense. Quit worrying. Your experience is out-of date. TG
I’m not sure that she’s a cochlear implant candidate, but standards may be changing. Many people in the range you mentioned (55-95db of loss) get by reasonably well with hearing aids.
If your daughter is really shy about her CI or hearing aids, she can probably get her hair cut in a way that covers them up.