If your child were born 100% deaf...what would you do?

Randi • In love with my best friend. ❤ 5/26/18 👰🤵 Mama to the perfect baby boy born 11/14/19👶💙

I don't have a HUGE knowledge of Deaf culture, but I took two years of ASL in college and learned a lot about it. This is a big debate among the deaf community and everyone has their own opinion on it.

The question is...if your child were born deaf, absolutely no hearing, and you were given the option to give them a cochlear implant and raise them "hearing" or forego surgery and raise them deaf, which would you do? And why? Let's assume the surgery would cost nothing (in reality it's quite expensive) and would 100% work (it isn't always effective). It would still be the same "mechanical" hearing though.

For those who don't know what a cochlear implant is, it's an implant in the brain connected to an outside hearing aid that allows a deaf or hard-of-hearing person to "hear" electronically when effective. When they get it young it is a lot easier than when they're older, as they have to learn "how" to hear when they're older. How to discern between noises and what speaking sounds like, etc. But if you give it to them younger you take away their freedom to choose whether they want it or not. It can never be reversed and robs them of the experience of being a "true" part of the Deaf community. Of course they can still learn sign language either way and be a part of the community as they are, in reality, deaf...but from my understanding it often makes the person feel "half-deaf" and not a full member of the community.

So what would you do?

Deaf people's opinions are especially welcome but I want to hear from anyone and everyone!