What? "An MP3 player for the Deaf”?
Unbelievable! Sandy Mintz is currently working with Samsung to develop a new wireless MP3 system for the Deaf with cochlear implants (Ci’s). She is an audiologist at Advanced Bionics, the medical device designer. It said that the results are promising… Now Samsung is seeking FDA approval…
I don’t have CI, and never will… Years ago when I was young, like at the age of 12 to 13, my papaw and dad had been encouraging me to get that implant. I was hesistated for a while until Jordan I. King famously quoted, “Deaf can do anything but hear.” Then right there, I determined not to get it. I told them no. They were disappointed but respected my wish. I am happy with my life as a deaf person.
It may be a good product for people with CI. I see that there are appoximately 59,000 people worldwide already have them. In the US alone, about 13,000 adults and nearly 10,000 children have them. But perhaps, in ten years, it will possible go double. The research also says about 250,000 people would be good candidates for it. [the link]
If anyone asks, if CI gets small, better, and almost invisible, would I still consider getting it? No, not really. Why? It is a hassle. I have to learn all over again like a baby. I would have to go speech therapy to learn both ways — speak and hear. I would also have to learn probably over thousands of sounds…some sounds are not very pleased. I say , it will overwhelm me deeply. In fact, I always have been deaf since birth. I want to stay that way.That is what who I am.
You can read more about this newly possible product via Crave blog here.
Blogged with Flock
Working_Brain, 
Jarom, 
Not A CI user, and 4 others are discussing. 
Jarom 3:26 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Wireless MP3 player? Sorry AB an Sandy, Cochlear Americas already has beat you to it. With my Freedom, I can use microlink and plug in the adaptor in my ipod and hence I can enjoy music without dealing with the cable.
—————————————————————————-
Dean-
You got the number wrong… There are about 150,000 people implanted in USA and about 300,000 people world that are implanted. USA have the highest number of deaf people implanted. I went to the meeting reccently and the estimated number is very surprising because the number of patients has been increasing sharply… And it will continue to increase….
The One and Only Ridor 3:43 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Jarom, yes it has been increasing because the companies behind the cochlear implants are aggressively marketing the tools to make profits from it.
Ever wonder why the Medicaid can cover CI but not hearing aids?
Self-explanatory.
R-
Dean 3:49 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Ok, Jarom, I just found that statitstic through National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). It may be the old statistic. Thanks for the update.
It seems that the CI is growing very fast now.
LOUD 3:51 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Hey Jarom…does your iPod provide captioned lyrics?
Doubt it, but we can dream, eh?
LOUD
Dianrez 4:17 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
300,000? Amazing. This is a huge and growing rapidly industy and deaf people are the rich fields that are making people big bucks. Do we have accurate statistics on how much it is actually helping deaf people–audiological data on actual hearing loss and speech recognition data on those trained with them? Do we have complete data on how well these CIs are being used in achieving normal speech, normal communication, use of telephones, and integration into mainstream schools?
Well?
Not A CI user 5:58 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Actually Medicaid only covers hearing aids, not cochlear implant. I tried to see if i could use medicaid for cochlear implant, they declined me right away but suggested I should try hearing aids. Maybe it depends on each states. Can anyone clear it up for me?
Jarom M. 10:59 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
It depends on each states but normally they does cover the cochlear implant because they recognized them more helpful for the deaf than hearing aids. Don’t ask me why.
Dianrez- Look at those people and testify that they DOES benefit from cochlear implant. That’s all we need… If you want the “accurate statistics” then it’s virtually impossible because there are endless factors and many things that are involved… What is available is the estimated statistics… which is resulted from the surveys that was collected from patients over years.
Jarom M. 11:00 pm on January 10, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
Loud-
I don’t need captioned lyrics because I never look at the screens… I can understand the lyrics very well…
Working_Brain 1:42 am on March 3, 2007 Permalink | Log in to Reply
DianRez, I can’t speak for everyone but let me tell you about myself. you know the audiogram, right? Before implant, my audiogram showed hearing levels near the bottom. I could hear a jet plane if I was standing right next to it. After implant, my hearing loss in the mild range. In a quiet room, I can hear my cats purring, the click of their claws on hardwood floor, and the sizzle of bacon frying in the pan. I still need lipreading to understand everything said, but can catch common phrases like “do you have any questions?” without looking and in predictable context. I don’t have perfect hearing like a hearing person, but that wasn’t my goal anyway. I’m happy with the increased sound awareness and better lipreading ability. Each person is different and what they can expect to get from the CI.