George Bailey achieved a wonderful life
An unusual phenomenon in the world of hearing and those with hearing loss, unilateral hearing loss or deafness is often the result of disease or trauma to one side of the head, or even a bone or ear infection on the other. one side of the head. head. The example that so easily comes to mind is that of George Bailey, in the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. George loses his hearing in his left ear when he was a child because he contracted an infection with a high fever after pulling his little brother out of a crevice in the ice. The ear doesn’t work at all due to the trauma of freezing water, outside air, and infection. During the period in which this film takes place, penicillin did not yet exist, so his hearing was lost forever. That is, until Clarence, his guardian angel, momentarily restores him.
An estimated 391,000 children in the US have hearing loss or unilateral deafness. This continues into adulthood, but depending on the severity of the loss, BTE or behind-the-ear hearing aids may help. No guardian angel is going to restore these children’s hearing abilities, but hearing aids will. If the problem is with the cochlea, hearing aids will not help and only a cochlear implant will help. Otherwise, a series of hearing aids made to help people with mild to severe hearing loss. If the child is quite deaf, usually due to nerve damage or nerve cell death, there is currently no BTE hearing aid or implant that can help. But don’t lose hope; science and technology in this department are advancing rapidly.
Of course, the other side of this coin is recognizing that the child has the rare opportunity to be a part of two different cultures. Deaf culture is definitely a culture of its own, and those who are deaf stand up for it with pride. Because the hearing child with only one ear is also part of the hearing world, he/she can come and go making friends in both worlds. As long as the child is able to speak and receives proper hearing therapy with her monaural hearing, she can be successful in either culture.
It is difficult, as a parent, to make decisions for your child with hearing loss/unilateral deafness. The decisions you make about a BTE, a cochlear implant, or no assistive hearing device at all might not be the ones your child would make later in life. It is always better to choose the less extreme option until your child can decide for himself.
