The Forum > Article Comments > Here we go again: deafness and polio > Comments
Here we go again: deafness and polio : Comments
By Michael Uniacke, published 25/10/2011Queensland deaf educator Dimity Dornan has described deafness as a scourge that can be eradicated, like polio - really?
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As a parent, I found it quite frustrating when my son wouldn't use one - I'm not hearing impaired and I didn't understand - but he has auditory processing delay and hearing aids aren't that helpful, even FM monitors kind of exacerbate that delay in getting what people have said, and then by that time the speaker has moved on to something else - it's still the same problem but just louder than usual.
My grandpop had a similar problem, and only ended up having one ear drum for life - nobody liked his tv being turned up so loud(and he didn't like all the noise from the half dozen yelling kids),but, if you can see what I mean, that was his choice.
Hearing impaired people - like everyone - have the right to choose what is good for them. They've been through and go through quite enough already without having more of their rights and dignity taken away from them by being dictated to. Oralism was forced on a lot of deaf people and though speaking can be helpful, it should just be an option - for some people learning it is too difficult and too traumatic. We can present options but at the end of the day - it's their life & their choice and we have to respect that just the same as if someone didn't want to use a prosthetic limb.
My son's friend got a cochlear implant for his toddler, then it wouldn't work and he is stuck with the same cochlear implant - not working - for life because it's implanted.
Hearing aids don't work for everybody and there are lots of different forms of hearing loss - more every day.