Last night I watched an episode of Criminal Minds titled, "The Silencer." It first aired on the CBS Network on September 27, 2012. I watched the episode on the computer on the CBS Network page.
Sadly, like other episodes aired on American Television on various networks, it implied that people who have cochlear implants "forced" on them are freaks. Worse, the actor who played a man who was born deaf on this episode was also portrayed as a Serial Killer.
The man's face drooped, and his right eye bulged. The incision behind his ear (depicting cochlear implant surgery) frankly looked like an incompetent surgeon had done the surgery with an ax.
The implicit message was this. People who get cochlear implants are freaks.
All sorts of horrible things go wrong when you undergo cochlear implant surgery.
You can't turn off the implant. NEWSFLASH: When you remove the cochlear implant processor, turn the volume dial down, remove the battery, you hear
SILENCE.
I am a proud bilateral recipient of cochlear implants. The incisions behind my ears were beautifully done and you have to bend my ears to see the evidence of cochlear implant surgery.
My face isn't drooping. I wear my cochlear implant processors with joy and pride. I am a member of a growing community of cochlear implanted recipients. I don't consider myself a freak, and I am certainly not a Serial Killer because I received two cochlear implants, one for each ear.
All surgery carries risk. Including Cochlear Implant Surgery.
Today, cochlear implant surgeries are done in accredited hospitals by surgeons who are well trained in cochlear implant surgery. Cochlear Implant research and the technology have come so far since cochlear implants were first invented in 1957 and were approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States in the 1980's.
I am a volunteer mentor to individuals who are candidates for cochlear implants and/or have just received a cochlear implant. I will advocate for anyone who qualifies and desires to experience the benefits of cochlear implants.
The decision to get the cochlear implants was 100% mine. Nobody forced me into getting cochlear implants. I was already so deaf in April, 2010, I tested within the physical limits of the audiometer. I had absolutely nothing to lose and everything to gain by going through cochlear implant surgery. Hearing Aids were no longer helping me with speech discrimination.
Here is my reality: Today, I hear far better with cochlear implants than I ever did with hearing aids.
I'm still deaf when I remove my cochlear implant processors at night. Cochlear Implants don't "cure" deafness, but when I wear my Cochlear Implant processors, I can once again hear.
CBS, by choosing to air an episode (in order to get ratings for the show Criminal Minds) insulted every dedicated surgeon, doctor, scientist, researcher, nurse, audiologist, speech therapist, teacher for the deaf, dedicated families, friends, and communities who advocate for the gift of hearing.
That is exactly what cochlear implants are for me, a gift. It is a gift that has changed my life so profoundly, it is hard to put it into words. It is a gift which gives me joy every day, gladdens my heart, my spirit, my soul, and allows me to experience hearing through wonderful technology.
I refuse to allow such bigotry, misinformation, and blatant abuse of freedom of "dramatic license," steal my joy in being a bilateral cochlear implant recipient.
Hearing with two cochlear implants continues to bless me each and every day.
I have absolutely no regrets in my decision to undergo cochlear implant surgery. None. I would undergo cochlear implantation surgery again in a heartbeat.
