I am not against Cochlear Implants at all. I don’t wear one and have been asked by readers about it. It’s truly a life saving technology for many. But one you should not rush into. With that being said, you’ll know when you’re ready. Parents would have to research and carefully consider the long term effect for their kids. I have friends who have this amazing device. Before I go any further, please know that not everyone is a candidate for surgery.
Pros:
- There’s no feedback like some hearing aids have.
- Surgery is outpatient.
- Improve auditory awareness of sounds at levels within the normal range of hearing.
- Improve speech and language skills. You may not require visual cues and lip reading.
- Improve quality of life.
- You are never too young or old for it.
- Technology is constantly changing for the better.
Cons:
- You lose all of your hearing. It’s irreversible.
- You go through a series of tests which can be exhausting to find out of your a candidate.
- The sounds can be unnatural but everyone is different.
- It’s for a lifetime.
- There can be risks of infection during surgery. While the surgery is expensive, there can be extensive co-pays following it.
- Physical activity is limited. Just as a hearing aid. You can’t get it wet. There’s still a device connected to your head with a hearing aid. (There’s also a new unconnected off-the-ear processor, not sure what exactly that is.)
- It’s not just an internal implant, you’re still wearing hearing aids with a magnet connected externally.
- Technology is constantly changing which can have it’s cons.
- Just like any surgery, you still need to rehabilitate. You will need to retrain your brain. It may take weeks before any adjustments and fine tuning. On top of that, many more months of visit with more adjustments and fine tuning to get your best hearing experience.
Here are more info online that may help as well. Cochlear Implants-NIDCD
That Deaf RDH Foundation 