Many of us know a close friend who's abilities are different in some way. Or the person reading this may themselves be differently abled in some way. I still remember my friend who was much older than me and yet “deaf”. We used to communicate so well and I saw nothing different about him except that I had to make elaborate gestures to make him understand. As a good friend, I also saw the sadness in his eyes which could not be concealed in his brave smiles when he communicated. He was also “mute”. He was severely challenged in society and found it very difficult to get a job. The real world is very cruel in it’s discrimination. Noble ideas very rarely exist outside of books. This means that it is absolutely essential for every person to come to a level playing field. I understand the dignity of people who wish to remain “deaf” and engage the world on their own terms. But, not everybody has the luxury to revolt, especially if a disabled person is extremely poor and has a family to support in a social system which offers little or no welfare. Technology shall come to the rescue of such people. Cochlear implant technology is a way by which a person can participate in a society dominated by people who can “hear” and converse without sign language. The opposition to such implants should be practical. A person who cannot hear cannot expect that everybody in the world knows sign language. Such a person has to become self-sustaining. Why should they depend on another person to engage the world. Cochlear implants are not an enhancement where the person wishes to have superhuman abilities to hear extreme frequencies of sound. These are people who struggle everyday in a world where their dignity is challenged continuously either consciously or unconsciously. Let them become independent. Only when the technology grows rapidly can it also become cheaper. Let the technologies evolve to a stage where we each may desire to have a cochlear implant to enable us to understand the diverse languages that enter our ears, thus not just addressing disabilities. It is not at all immoral to transform into “cochlear cyborgs” to hear the sweet sounds of life again. It is only human to do so. Beethoven would approve.
Article comments
1 - wildnfree
Quite an interesting article, it will be interesting to see what kind of feed back it receives.
Thank you,
2 - Christopher Rose
Great and fascinating stuff, V.R., thanks for writing this.