I love my wife’s hybrid SUV. It has GPS and a far better turning radius than my car. Whenever my wife doesn’t need the hybrid, I take it. Well, thanks to a recent blog titled, “The Truth about Cochlear Implants“, my wife’s hybrid is now mine! It’s far too dangerous for her to ride the hybrid because she has a cochlear implant (CI), the blogger explains, so I am nobly protecting my wife’s health through this selfless decision.
According to an unidentified audiologist who presented to the blogger’s graduate-level class, hybrids are very dangerous for CI users. Here are the specific excerpts of the presentation from the blog:
This means that a person with CI should not ride roller coasters with magnetic brakes (newer roller coasters usually have this, not those wooden ones). The magnetic force is too strong for the CI. Same thing goes for MRIs (except for the Nucleus 3 system). If there is a magnet section in a science museum, a child with CI should never go into that area. And also, have you ever touched one of these blue/black balls with swirling electricity… and when you touch it, your hair goes straight up? Children with CIs should never touch those, nor should they touch other kids who are touching the ball thing.
Hybrid cars are pretty new, they’re pretty expensive but they’re great for the environment and maybe later in the future they will become more popular and less expensive. However, people with pacemakers cannot ride these cars. Now, people with CIs are warned to not ride in these cars.
My wife has been a proud hybrid owner since 2001 (yes, she owned the original Prius, 40 miles per gallon, baby!). Upon revealing this to the blogger, she responded, “I would suggest you, for the sake of ur [sic] health and the longevity of ur [sic] ci [sic], to [sic] check with your doctor.”
My wife rides roller coasters and she’s had a MRI before. No kidding! She touches magnetic objects everyday and she has even touched the “ball thing” at the science museum. What a hair-raising experience! At home, we have a cute kids book that includes magnetic objects. Thankfully the book isn’t dangerous according to the blogger, “Small magents [sic] shldnt [sic] be harmful, stronger ones might be.”
This blog is a good case study to test a theory from my V/Blogging Conference presentation. The theory goes, in the absence of reliable deaf media outlets that are held to journalism standards (i.e. Silent News); we give more credibility to deaf bloggers. I hypothesize that if we surveyed a random sampling of deaf people, this blogger’s credibility would rank among the highest of all deaf bloggers. She became a widely recognized person during the Gallaudet protests as a reliable and credible source of information. Heck, I believed most of what she wrote.
A high level of credibility brings increased responsibility. Witness the impact of her blog, one commenter crowed that it was a “great blog,” immediately followed by more commenters who said “very good essay,” “very informative,” “excellent information,” “thank you for these [sic] information about CI. There is so much for me to learn,” and “something parents should look into before getting CI for their children.”
After a few commenters criticized the reliability of the blogger’s information, she responded that she would contact the audiologist to cite her sources and reveal her name. This was the right response; unfortunately, it was something the blogger should have done before she posted her blog. Chances are, some of the people who read her blog probably told their friends, who told their family and so forth, the “truth” about CIs. A “truth” is an “a verified or indisputable fact” and the blogger cannot readily verify her facts.
Just because my wife did all the things I mentioned in this blog, please don’t assume that it is okay for any CI user to do them. There are real risks for CI users. They likely were informed of the risks from professionals such as audiologists, doctors, educators, insurers, etc. If they haven’t, they should consult their doctor immediately. None of the information contained in this blog are “indisputable facts” including my theory and name.
In the meantime, while we wait for the audiologist to respond to the blogger, it’s time for me to take a joyride with my new hybrid, hasta la vista!
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I think the commenters on that particular blog are giving her a lot of credit because it ‘attacks’ the CI. Anything that does that, it automatically must be good. This is just fear-mongering and probably preaching to the choir as well.
Very good post, Shane.. I enjoyed reading it and I agree with the points you made.
I have a strong suspicion that this is more a case of an overabundance of caution where the electrical field around an Hybrid may cause interference for the CI but not actually damage to it.
I know if I leave my T-switch on and walk past televisions, monitors.. things that use large amounts of electrical energy, they will interfere with the t-coil only briefly.
Good post.
I have the same problem when i switch my hearing aids to the t switch & listen to my ipod through my loop (especially on the metro). It creates so much static and drive me beserk. if only they could come up with a way so it wouldn’t interfere.
If you have a digital hearing aid, you can use a DAI boot. That’ll get around all the sounds your hearing aid picks up when on the t-coil setting. It used to annoy me too when on the metro or on the plane. But now I can listen to my iPod using the DAI without worrying about that kind of interference.
I have gotten some really odd sounds out of the Tcoil, that’s for sure. The strangest was some sort of anti theft device at a store that buzzed so loud I must have jumped ten feet in the air, and it was something no one else heard (odd twist, no?)
I was a little skeptical about all the claims as well; however if the filaments are that thin, I could see how a magnetic field might actually move them around. But honestly, that seems like that would be rather well known — as people point out, there’s no shortage of magnetic devices in this day.
My t-coil has interference with my hybrid (a Honda Insight Shane, around even before the Prius, 66+ mpg!) I noticed it when I tried using a HATIS to talk on the phone in my car. Lots of buzzing when accelerating (using battery power) and when braking (recharging battery).
I have no idea if CIs are sensitive to this, but I would guess there’s a lot of potential for interference in a hybrid.
:) Took my quote without asking me, eh? :P ;)
She did mention about getting in touch with the audiologist for citations or sources.
I do know some parents with CI children were told not to use their CIs when playing on plastic playgrounds.
I am a CI user and have attended CI meetings and I’ve seen parents discussing about replacing their playgrounds to wooden ones.
But it IS something for parents to look into, though. There have been reports at the meetings that some mappings were wiped out due to static - touching metal, that is.
I love my CI and have never had any problems, but there are some things parents do need to be aware of and research on.
Edited: grammar. hope it’s a little better…
I’m confused…are you saying that plastic is dangerous to CIs?
No, not AT ALL!
Just causes static if leaving on CIs and sliding…can wipe out the mappings.
Nothing dangerous, but inconivencent.
Wearing clothes made of polyester reduces the effect of static electricty. I wear a smock made of polyester when I repair the computers and laptops so the circuit boards won’t be damaged by the effect of static electricty.
I don’t think there would be effect of static elecricty unless the covers/castings of your CI device are opened. I learned from the static electricty class at work that the effect would happen when we open the laptop and computer castings when we were not wearing the smocks made of polyester and wrist straps with cords attacted to the ground wires on work benches. I felt like its a dog leach!
If you ever watch kids playing on a plastic playground on a cold/dry winter day, you’ll see the effect of static electricity: hair standing up straight.
My two boys have thin blonde hair so they get this comical *whoof* of hair when they go down the slide.
IAmMine,
Thanks for sharing your input. I think Shane acknowledges the possibility that there are real risks to CI users. The basic point of his blog has to do with credibility; it is dangerous and a bit irresponsible (especially in this Age of Information) to disseminate unverified facts without citing credible, specific sources. Unless, of course, you make it clear what category these “facts” fall in.
Thanks, Jt.
That’s why I’m scared of you people…I know I’d get analyzed to death. :D
Elisa did say she’d get more information but it was nice to see flowing of feedbacks - whether they were actual facts or not. It’s interesting to see what people understood or felt.
But yes, Shane made good points. It’s very important that we get solid facts.
Elisa was just sharing her thoughts from a presentation she attended and thought it was interesting to share. And she did acknowledge about getting proof on what she heard.
I forgot my suits at the cleaning store - well, actually they’ve been calling me and asking when I was going to pay them. I can’t find my glasses, either…
So..umm.. yeah, gotta go! *waves* :)
The suit and glasses again… *giggling* You are doing well without them. Really!
p.s. I have not seen any commenter’s fangs yet.
That’s ok, IamMine. You can borrow one of my suits! ;)
On a serious note: Great blog, Shane. This illustrates how we have to hold each other accountable and make sure if we’re discussing an issue such as CIs, we do need to double-check our facts and provide sources.
IamMine,
I figured out now. You are wearing the invisible suit!
http://www.time.com/time/2003/.....sible.html
I think you were wearing invisible glasses, also. COOL!
Aw, dammit. I’ve been on rollercoasters, touched that magnetic ball at the children’s museums, and have ridden in a hybrid. Am I doomed in never owning a hybrid car? This disappoints me as a environmentalist :-(
Not to mention having that deducted on our taxes for owning a hybrid vehicle!
;)
[sic]
Most patients with cochlear implant CANNOT get MRI scan. Most of current MRI machines are 1.5 Tesla or above, which will demagnetize, dislocate, and heat up the implant.
That’s why most of them would need a surgery to remove only the magnet part for a MRI screening - not the entire implant.
I’m trying to remember about a new MRI I read that even CI users can use and even newer implants wouldn’t be a problem?
Correct?
You may also want to keep SF mayor Gavin Newsom away from your wife.
In light of the recent warnings in regards to CIs, I find it interesting that the old horror movie, “Scanners”, could be re-classified as a non-fiction story.
These days, research is often bypassed for the sake of the bottom line. And when research was done, it is often narrow in scope.
I really hope that CI’s do not pose any threats to health in the long term. I say this because no one has done any research on the long term effects of CI in the head and the impact on surrounding tissue and organs.
I also find it appalling that there are now warnings that were not known before. These are warnings that involve simple items we face almost daily. Was it premature to push this product? Or was this a ploy done by CI corporations, very much like how cigarette companies hid the truth about their products?
Are any of us truly objective? Even when sources or such are cited, how do we know if the author didn’t select sources that favored his or her views? The author might have included the argument from the opposing side, but did the author select the weakest argument from the other side rather than the strongest one?
This is why I love math, numbers dont mislead. And damn it, I want relish on my hot dog.
Very thoughtful response - I enjoyed reading it. I often think of the exact same things when reading an article published in some academic journal. Actually, numbers do often lie (too!) - you can easily twist them around to highlight only the results you want. That’s why I hate it when people cite polls and statistics without acknowledging the involved fallacies.
I have heard vague references to long-term studies done on CIs, but haven’t yet seen anything published (not necessarily because none exists). Still, if implants were created as early as the 60’s (see: http://www.drf.org/timeline/cochlear_timeline.htm), we should at least know some of the long-term effects by now. I’ve had mine for 27 years now (Dr. House himself performed the operation) with no adversial effects, except those created within the deaf community.
If anybody could share research findings here, that would be greatly appreciated.
Jt,
27 years? I dont know anyone else who had a CI for that long, and I am pleased to know that there have been no problems in your case.
I just wondered if long term research doesnt make much sense to fund because the technology is progressing and changing at a quick pace? The results of a 1983 research probably would not be applicable to the current CI technology.
Regarding numbers, I meant scientific formulas and other measuring tools. But yeah, I get your drift.
The first cochlear implant clinical trials for young children were done in the very early 1980s. Prior to that, they were for adults only. I think it’s safe to say there are people out there who have had implants for about 30 years. The first/oldest implant were single-channel implants, the ones that Dr. House of House Ear Institute (HEI) implanted in that clinical trial. It wasn’t until the late 1980s or early 1990s that companies started making multi-channel implants (8 channels/16 electrodes for the Clarion, 22 for the Nucleus, and 50ish for the Med-El).
As a disclaimer, I have an Advanced Bionics Clarion implant. One of my friends growing up was in one of the clinical trials for the single-channel implant.
I am really thankful for being DEAF without any complications with the use of CI or hearing aids.
I grew up naturally without any artifical stuff attached to my human body. My deaf mother repeatedly told my residential school to halt the impratical speech therapy and the use of school’s hearing aids.
I was only the kid in my entire elementary class without hearing aid at that time. I also was one of very few students without the use of hearing aid in my entire elementary school during the late 60s and 70s.
I recall that how forunate I am without using any hearing or communicative assistance within my childhood.
I played rough or be a daredevil without worrying about the hearing aid attached to my body. I had seen many students struggled with frequent ear infection or frustrations with the hearing aid devices.
I usually persuaded my fellow elementary schoolmates to drop the hearing aid devices on hard surfaces. They did! Those students told me how liberating for not wearing any klutz stuff.
My deaf mother and I led the campaign to discontinue the state’s brand-new systematic hearing aid modules among deaf schoolmates. The state spent about $300,000 for the top-notch hearing aids and teacher’s speaker mode. In just an one year, the whole system got no longer used. Students refused to wear those stuff.
My fellow schoolmates listened to me. They grew up without the use of hearing aids through the entire school years til graduation. The former students still do not use the hearing aids at all.
RLM
RLM,
It is excellent that you are self-congratulatory on your work. One must maintain a modicum of pride in their efforts when they do not receive much feedback from others.
The problem I see in your comments is that you ignore the diversity of the deaf community, which to me is rather surprising. You evidently know quite a few deaf people, so should be able to recognize that is a great deal of variance in deafness. Not to mention the ethnic and religious diversity that naturally exist. In such an environment, there is as a result a broad array of response available. There is no one “perfect” response to the situation.
I’m surprised you would appear to espouse that there is one, and assume a tone that is rather offensive to CI-users. I should mention that while I’m deaf, I do not use CI or ever had it. I however do understand the need for it and respect the right of a person to choose that option.
In conclusion, in a forum that reflects the potential diversity that exists in the deaf community, I would recommend you take more tactful means to display your animosity toward CI. For example, don’t make your “Magneto” comment.
That would be a real delight to see “Magento” walking past the CI users in the upcoming new movie. Very bloody scene! No question about it!
RLM
I think it’s risky to get CI. With technology booming, I believe there will be something better than CI. I cannot face the facts of having my own head cut open to install a giant hole to fit a magnet and face a lot of inconveniences. What if I need a MRI? I know Shane said your wife had one, interesting!
I know a friend who’s CI broke and required another surgery to fix it. honestly is CI worth all that trouble and surgeries? yes I mean surgeries as in multiple (only when it breaks). I was recommended to get one. I refuse. I know it helps some people, but not for me not when it’s still new to technology. Who knows in the future it only requires an ear drop! LOL but I’m happy where I am right now as a deaf person not facing any inconveniences of life like playgrounds with my kids or worrying about getting MRI or roller coasters or passing thru metal detectors at airports and so on.
As for HYBRIDS! Yes I am dreaming to own a hybrid SUV! I checked them out, they are not expensive at all but to repair, they are expensive but you will have a great income tax return plus saving a lot of money on gas as well!! I’m sure warranty would cover most of the repairs anyway right?
Well - note I think people who are considering CI, please check your sources and informations carefully what you can do and cannot do before making a decision. I am not against people who have or want to have CI. I just hope the “hearing” doctors do not go around saying it’s a cure for deafness. It’s not a cure. It may help you hear but not cure it.
What Elisa did was fabulous. She shared something she learned about in class. I appreciated the new information on CI’s. It is up to us to judge whether it is credible or not.
That is the point presenter Jared Evans made at the conference. The readers themselves pass judgments about what is true and credible. The readers are the ones who have to navigate through countless websites, not only v/blogs of the deaf community but the rest of the world, and I have seen many, many sites that have had their credibility shot the minute my eyes glazed the page. That is a judgment call I am making. Call them the Enquirers and the Star magazines of the Deaf community, but like the hearing community, they are there to stay. Crying about the credibility of their content won’t do diddly-poop. People will still churn out these stuff and v/blogs with their “truth”. All you can do is not buy their magazines, and that applies to v/blogs that you believe do not have credibility, don’t check them out.
Off the point but yet… still related… pardon me if this is old, I just came across it today - girl dies of bacterial meningitis, possibly because of CI (I hope the hyperlink works, my apologies if it doesn’t…):
http://www.ketv.com/newsarchiv.....etail.html
Good to see you again via cyberspace with your perspective! I agree with all what you said.
It’s sad about how Katie’s life is being cut short. I wonder how many Katies are out there we are not aware of. I’ll be surprised if the CI industry or medical establishment community would share those information with parents of a deaf child. Thanks for this link otherwise I would have never known and I’m sure the same is said for many others.
Ive heard in 2002 about that at least 25 cases of meningitis had been diagnosed worldwide in children and adults ranging in age 21 months to 63 years who had CI for severe to profound deafness and a total of 9 known deaths resulted from these cases as of Aug 2002. Sad fact is that the CI indurstires have been keeping people in the dark afterward.
How are the CI industries keeping us in the dark? This is one of their press releases:
http://www.cochlear.com/Corp/Press/248.asp
Cochlear is one of the world’s leading manufacturers.
They do not share the infomation about the risk of meningitis to patients before their CI surgery. Thats what some patients I know told me. One of a friend who had been persuaded to take the CI which he refused asked the dr about the risk and was told no.
Lisa, I’m not defending *the* industry, but I did get a pamphlet prior to my CI surgery about meningitis. They offer shots for that and I got one.
I have yet heard any of that since they offered shots for meningitis prior to the surgery.
Isn’t this something very, very rare, by the way?
EVERY surgery has risks, no matter how UNLIKELY it is - even a knee surgery. My grandfather went into a surgery to have his right knee fixed, only to die a few days later.
My doctor did explain all the risks involved and told me that although the risk is very small and never happened with his over 200 patients, but that it *does* not mean it would NOT happen. He even knocked on wood when he explained this to me.
I guess it depends on how good your doctor is. I had a great doctor who was very informative and did not push me for one. He even told me to call if I had any questions and what to do if I changed my mind, etc.
We all make decisions every day - even driving a hybrid SUV could kill somebody, especially in a small car!
It’s hard to paint an accurate depiction of your product when your livelhood depends on sales. The CI industry has hundreds of thousands of employees, that either benefit directly and indirectly from the sale of the CI/the surgery itself. It’s so easy to tweak contract wording and statistics your way. My beef isn’t with the CI itself, it’s how they sell their product. I’ve seen a CI coloring book distributed by the surgicial office - where a regular child, AFTER a CI surgery, becomes a superman with a CI, flying with a cape. I wouldn’t want to be that child waking up from the surgery and trying to fly! I’d be pissssssed :) Bottom line, their truth isn’t always our truth. Rare or not, I’d like to be well informed before I go on the cutting table and that goes for every parent and child considering CIs…
I agree raychelle. I think it also has to do with the patient’s wanting to be well-informed, too. Some people just say, “Oh I trust you - just get it over with.” I’ve seen this.
Same with hearing parents of deaf children. We need to reach them to get them to be fully informed in all areas related to raising their deaf children.
Chris Heuer has come up with a great idea and I hope we can finally find a method that would reach more parents of deaf children!
I think ASL would be *finally* (what I mean by this is MORE people) viewed as positive that way because it’s included - not something that is viewed negatively as it has been for years!
iammine,
Thank you for taking a time explaining to me about the risk of meningitis. You were blessed to have a good trustworthy doctor. I agree with you that every surgery has risk. I’m sorry to hear about your grandfather. You are right that we make our own decisions. I decided not to have a sinus surgery years ago because the area was very close to the brain, yikes.
I enjoy hearing people telling me about their expeirences with their CI and I’m happy for them when they are happy with them. I wish them the best of lucks.
Hello Jt: the link to the Cochlear Corp memo was specifically about the risk of bacterial meningitis for cochlear implants with a positioner. Not all CIs have a positioner, and Cochlear Corp. CIs have never had one. Also, patients who have malformations of the cochlea are at higher risk for bacterial meningitis.
When I got my CI, my surgeon, Dr. Joe Roberson at the California Ear Institute, sat with me personally over several sessions and explained thoroughly all the risk factors. Before the surgery, I had to get the pneumovax vaccine to protect against bacterial meningitis, and also had to undergo a CT scan to make sure my cochleas were OK. I had to sign papers indicating informed consent. It’s a shame that not all surgeons and medical professionals are as ethical, conscientious, and thorough as Dr. Roberson.
I appreciate your clarification of the contents in that memo. I still stand by my point, which was that the cochlear industries are often more forthcoming than some would assume them to be - although the onus does ultimately rest on doctors. But the same could easily be said for pharmaceutical companies; they’re always accused of paying doctors to hawk their products. There will always be side effects for any given percentage, there will always be professionals with poor intentions, but the overall benefits in the long run should always be kept in mind.
Oh, wait. This is just a red herring. Let’s focus on Shane’s wonderful comment (##78605), for he raises many points that I was about to repeat in here.
I never FORGIVE President Bush for making the tax incentives to the new SUV owners. That is totally unacceptable for our government to promote the gas guzzlers with tax breaks.
I always am much pleased to see the SUV dealerships being trashed by the radical environmentalists in many areas. Those people are my true heroes for fighting back against the establishment.
I usually give the middle finger to the SUV drivers whenever I have a chance.
Why can’t people use the public transportation, live near the workplace and walk or ride bicycle?
RLM
RLM, please show me a link that Bush gave Tax Incentives to people that drives SUV’s! I know for sure that people that buy HYBRID SUV get Tax incentive and more money in return for driving a HYBRID.
Not all people drive SUV’s to show off! They have families with kids or pets that need SUV to make room for their loved ones. Yes it’s a gas guzzler but until we get all HYBRID SUV made, then fine, you want to blame people for having SUV made, blame the manufacturers for not coming up with a better idea to save gas on SUV’s not the people that drive it! You are just causing more road rages in people by giving them a finger! Which could cause injury to another innocent bystander or innocent driver front of the SUV!!! So I suggest you keep your finger to yourself!
I did some looking up, it seems like you have been giving hard working mothers, fathers, and people who care for pets driving a SUV a finger for nothing. It appears that SUV drivers DO NOT get tax incentives BUT - ONLY IF THEY USE IT A LOT FOR WORK PURPOSE ONLY. Please check your sources before giving people the middle finger, honestly you turned me off right there.
I care about the environment a lot, I see no reason why people have to buy a HUMMER but I do not give them a finger, I just IGNORE THEM. Why do people buy HUMMERS? To show off? most likely but I ignore them so who are they showing off to if we do not pay attention to them?
Anyway this is really way off point of what Shane is trying to say! Sorry! I am not going to provide you a link RLM because I feel you should check your own sources to prove your comments. Not have me or others do it for you.
Here is my link of HYBRID users getting tax breaks, it provides the chart how much they would get in return base on brand of HYBRIDS.
http://www.hybridcars.com/tax-deductions.html
Hummers get about 9 miles to the gallon or something ridiculous, so they’re already paying thru the nose. As for the work tax break on the SUV, I recall reading that tax accountants encouraged their clients to get the larger SUV’s so they COULD take this tax break (smaller ones such as CRV and Escape do not qualify at all).
When you calculate the costs incurred throughout the life of a vehicle, a Hummer is actually cheaper than a hybrid.
See link:
http://jarednevans.typepad.com.....humme.html
OK, even if we do calculate that Hummer is cheaper than a Hybrid, I do understand the cost of repairing the expensive gadgets on Hybrids but if we were to get warranty to repair the gadgets like we would on regular cars, would be fantastic. Not only that you are helping yourself and your family and friends breathe cleaner air and live longer! Which I find more important than money!
What a good reason to quit wearing CI’s.
The Cochlear Corporation is just like any other corporation- of which only cares about money, money, and money.
CI users are victims- victims of audism, victims of society pressures, and victims of lies from the Cochlear company.
I have a CI, and stopped using it. And to this day, my face is slightly disfigured from it.
The Cochlear company has been rabidily preventing private study on the CI’s. They know the truth.
Let’s stop being borgs, and return to being human ASL signers. Be proud. You are Deaf, don’t fool yourself.
Not every deaf person that doesn’t use CI is an ASL signer.
Uh-oh, did I disrupt your vision of utopia? Did I shatter it to reveal that there are countries out there beyond America that practice their own version of sign language or possibly speak an entirely different language, like the Italians speak, well, Italian?
The world isn’t flat, by the way.
raychelle,
I was thrilled with your response (#78519), because it directly addresses the main point of my blog. Cochlear implants are a red herring, so I am posting this as a new comment.
I am in complete agreement with you and Jared Evans that it is up to the audience to judge whether a blog or comment is credible or not! In fact, that repeats what I said in my presentation. Credibility is an issue that I will discuss later in this comment.
I explained that the deaf blog audience needs to become better critical thinkers and do a better job of detecting biases. I believe that our community is doing an inadequate job of using its critical thinking skills when it comes to blogs. Do you agree or disagree?
However, I have noticed that there have been moments where our community properly used their critical thinking skills. This usually happens when Dr. I. King Jordan, Dr. Jane Fernandes, or any other individual who was against the protest speaks up. There are definitely inaccuracies, biases or agendas in their statements. They were examined and debated at length. For example, not all protesters are absolutionists.
Yet, when a protest leader makes the same mistake, it is a “fabulous” thing? Is there a double-standard here? Is it motivated by ideology? I found it interesting that my ideology was scrutinized during the Q&A at the Conference, and I was the only one expected to answer it. At least I own up to, and acknowledge my own ideology. In any case, DeafDC wants all ideologies to be given the chance to discuss their issues. Of course, any facts must be backed up. If you’re interested in writing for us, let me know!
Onto my second point. My theory is: “in the absence of reliable deaf media outlets that are held to journalism standards (i.e. Silent News); we give more credibility to deaf bloggers.” Perhaps to better illustrate this concept so it can be more readily understood, I give the following analogy.
The Washington Post has a high level of credibility. We believe most of what we read. If there was a helicopter crash in Iraq yesterday, it is very likely that it happened. If we read the same thing on a blog, we would be more skeptical of the information until we see the story printed in the Washington Post. A national media outlet has more credibility than a blog.
Now, let’s imagine America where blogs (or like you say, the Enquirer and Star publications) are the only available media. If this happened, we would all behave differently, and probably not for the better. Well, this is exactly what is happening in the deaf community. Bloggers have been given more credibility because we are not able to rely on deaf media outlets to provide information that are held to journalism standards. At this time, all of the “facts” about the deaf community are restricted to hearing media stories about the deaf community (”Breaking the Silence”, etc.) But that is another observation for a later blog.
A high level of credibility brings increased responsibility. Another similar phenomenon that is similar with that point is fast food companies. We all know that the food that they serve is not healthy, yet people continue to gorge on them, making the companies multi-billion dollar industries. We like to think ourselves adequate excellent critical thinkers, but that may not always be the case. And we also like to think that the majority of our community are adequate critical thinkers, but those who are, are in the minority. A small number of people actually understand the dangers of fast food restuarant food and avoid it altogether. Along the same vein of thought, a small number of deaf and hard of hearing community actually understand the problems with blogs (inaccurate information, biases, agendas, etc.).
To address the fast food problem, the community employs a two-pronged attack. First they educate consumers about the dangers of fast food, thereby making them better critical thinkers. Second, we hold the corporations accountable and urge them to become socially responsible. We should adopt the same approach for deaf blog readers and especially for deaf bloggers, who are the de facto national deaf media outlets.
And that is the point of this blog, with increased credibility comes increased responsibility.
Shane, I appreciate this analogy and have needed to re-read it several times to encourage myself to not give up on the critical thinking and intelligent dialogue. Was just noticing that on DeafRead.com, a vlog about inequitable allocation of resources in the new Sorenson building at Gallaudet has gotten 818 views, compared to less than 200 for the rest that were posted at the same time. Yikes.
Fabulous! I commented to her blog and was thoroughly annoyed at the lack of sources. What bothers me about the way she presented the information was that it wasn’t qualified with “I heard that…” Instead, she stated it as fact. The problem with that is people in general don’t have great critical thinking skills and will take her word for it just because it is stated as if it is fact.
Sources, sources, sources, people.
Sorry, I said “I heard”. I mean that I got the infomation from the online medical news.
If anyone wants to know about adverse events involving cochlear implants. Go to the link below and type “implant, cochlear” into the field. Select “500 records per Report Page” and press “Search.”
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/.....search.cfm
Wow… pretty long list. My doctor performed 1300 implant surgeries and only had 1 problem to report. An inner ear infection that cleared up after treatment. Which is why I decided to proceed with him as my doctor.
The same amount of adverse events also involve pacemakers as well. Should we ban pacemakers then?
People would die without a pacemaker. People won’t die without a cochlear implant. Not only that, I don’t think anyone’s really advocating banning CIs.
It’s here to stay, and personally, I would like to see doctors, audiologists and educators be more honest about what and who is appropriate for CIs.
You beat me but thanks for making this point. Not only that but also an adult makes an informed decision to take a risk on her/his OWN behalf.
On the contrary, when it comes to deaf babies or children, it’s the parents who make a risky decision on behalf of their child when being deaf is not a matter of life and death. Deaf children lives like Katie’s ended for parents’ own decision.
While I do not see the need for CI for myself, if my future deaf child is older enough to make the decision to get CI, I would support his/her decision although there’s risks. I just can’t make this decision for my baby and live with the guilt if anything was to happen adversely.
I had a conversation about that same topic during lunch. Here it is verbatim for your giggling amusement, at least the relevant part:
froyer74: How’s atlanta
wordofhand: Ur an andriod
froyer74: Yup
froyer74: Cyborg
froyer74: So are pacemaker people
froyer74: Nobody gives them sh*t tho
wordofhand: So are u already using the metal thing attached to ur head?
wordofhand: Yes
froyer74: The BTE? That comes next month
wordofhand: Well that’s not a culutral thing
wordofhand: So u hear nada in one ear now?
froyer74: Well I’m not deaf cultural
I’m not proclaiming this to be true for every single person in the Deaf community, but my general experience, especially with the grassroots, is that in the Deaf community it’s either/or. You’re not allowed to just *be*. Why is that? A question that should be attempted to be answered but not by me, because nature is calling right now.
I normally don’t make typos (blush). Fred, you are still an andriod. You are allowed to “be” an Android. It’s your choice. I am glad people will be giggling over our conversation. ;)
Brian,
You did not give such an accurate picture of what is really going on with the sleath tax break for SUV and Hummer owners. Why the Bush II adminstration extend the existing law and make more easier for people to get the tax breaks for buying SUVs and Hummers?????
The original intention of the 103rd Congress to give the tax breaks to farmers and timber industries for purschasing the light-duty trucks and vans, not SUVs and Hummers.
The tax accountants urged their well-off clients to exploit the existing loopholes with the Envirnomental Incentives laws.
Driving the SUV or Hummer is not really necessary for professions like doctors, lawyers and other unrelated lifting professions.
Many housewifes, working people and other individuals ought to ask themselves about the Almighty God giving all of us, humans the stewardship of Mother Earth before driving the gas guzzlers, ex. SUV or Hummer. (I am an atheist myself deeply care about our real fragile planet- Earth).
Many women drive the SUV to make themselves feel real safe. The SUV vehicle is not 100 percent safe anyway.
I will keep giving the middle finger to the SUV and Hummer drivers regardless of their income, racial/ ethnicity classification and disability. Their SUV and Hummer drivings really f**** our only habitable planet in the entire universe.
I have to look up the Congressional Records for the original insert of the legislation passage for tax incentives for the light-duty trucks and vans this weekend.
People have to take a stand from time to time than being part of the “herd” mentality.
RLM
Very interesting learning more about CI. If I had some hearings I would love to have CI.
By the way, I realized that I could not find your wonderful blog in Deafread.com. I usually love to read your blogs again and again but could not find them there. any explaination?
Thank you very much and peace,
Susan
My wife contacted one of the audiologists at the River School about Elisa’s article. She, in turn, contacted one of the representatives from a CI manufacturer who had a discussion with one of the Toyota technical representatives. Here’s the answer (sorry if this sounds confusing):
“This is written by an engineer at one of the CI manufacturers. Sounds like they only cause an interference that can be heard by the CI user. The only problem with the magnet is if you are under the hood. There are no warnings for roller coasters. They always recommend taking off the processor. The internal device is not at risk. Hope this helps ease your mind!
“I got some numbers and more information from a technical rep in Toyota. I got passed around but I did manage to get someone who had some useful information. This rep said that Toyota has been getting more calls about pacemakers lately because of the warning but she is not aware of any issues yet. According to her, it had more to do with their new RFID technology (Smart Key System) they are offering in their recent cars; she didn’t think it was causing problem to the pacemaker battery. She gave me some technical specifications about their smart key system. According to her, the smart key system can be deactivated quite easily if necessary.
I had a long discussion with our RF engineer and we don’t expect the system to cause damage to our implant or drain our battery. However the frequency of the car’s smart key transmitter, when ‘smart key system is activated, is not too far from the audio frequency (134 KHz). There is a small risk of this signal being picked up by T-Coil, T-Mic, and other Mics. This signal could potentially be mapped to the CI user’s electric dynamic range and perceived as noise. In other words, the CI user could potentially get interference when near or inside the ‘Smart Key System’ activated car. We cannot rule this