Cochlear Implant Advantages

Unlike most people, deaf and hard of hearing individuals have an option that they can wait to choose from their entire lives- being deaf or getting a cochlear implant. Both of these choices have their own clear benefits and risks involved, but someone can only pick one.
I chose this topic because I think that people need to know the benefits and downfalls of being either deaf or having a cochlear implant. I used to have a friend who was deaf, and I quickly learned that I could not communicate with her like I could with everyone else. Then, with the help of that friend, I learned some American Sign Language (ASL). When she moved to a different school, I continued to teach myself ASL and eventually started researching cochlear implants. I believe that others, too, should be aware of the differences of the two, in case they come in contact with someone with hearing loss, which is very
A cochlear implant is designed to aid hearing by surgically installing a device that can give signals to the brain regarding necessary sounds. In opposition, someone can use ASL or lip-reading to communicate, which has its obvious up and down sides. However, so does getting a cochlear implant. So, the decision that must be made is a difficult one: hear and lose a part of a completely different and unique culture or to be isolated in a hearing-dominated world but be a part of a minority group that is closely tied together.
Reading about this debacle is one thing, but its complexity and challenging aspects are more than represented in paragraph form. So, to leave you, the reader, I propose a challenge. Imagine that you have a child or sibling that develops meningitis and is losing hearing- quickly. There is not much time before his/her ears do not work at all anymore. You have two options: cochlear implants or remaining deaf. So, what do you