Topic summary
Cochlear implants
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Cochlear implant.
Criticism and controversy
Cochlear implants for congenitally deaf children are most effective when implanted at a young age. Children who have had confirmed severe hearing loss can receive the implant as young as 9 months old. Evidence shows that deaf children of deaf parents (or with fluent signers as daily caregivers) learn signed language as effectively as hearing peers. Some deaf-community advocates recommend that all deaf children should learn sign language from birth, but more than 90% of deaf children are born to hearing parents. Since it takes years to become fluent in sign language, deaf children who grow up without amplification such as hearing aids or cochlear implants will not have daily access to fluent language models in households without fluent signers.