Cochlear Implants A cochlear implant is an electronic device designed to enhance the hearing of people who are deaf. There are two components to a cochlear implant; the internal device that is surgically implanted and the external device, called the speech processor, which is worn outside the body and looks like a hearing aid.

A cochlear implant is different from a hearing aid in that it provides electronic stimulation directly to the hearing nerve via the cochlea.

A cochlear implant provides access to sound that cannot be actualized through traditional hearing aids to individuals with severe to profound hearing loss. However, it is not a cure for deafness.

The focus of the 2000 National Association of the Deaf position statement on cochlear implants is on preserving and promoting the psychosocial integrity of D/HOH children and adults.  “The adverse effects of inflammatory statements about the deaf population of this country must be addressed.  Many within the medical profession continue to view deafness essentially as a disability and an abnormality and believe that deaf and hard of hearing individuals need to be “fixed” by cochlear implants.  This pathological view must be challenged and corrected by greater exposure to and interaction with well-adjusted and successful deaf and hard of hearing individuals”.

Much of the strongest objection to cochlear implants has come from the Deaf community, which consists of pre-lingually deaf people whose first language is Sign Language. For some in the Deaf community, cochlear implants are an affront to their culture, which as they view it, is a minority threatened by the hearing majority.