I was profoundly deaf. I wore hearing aids and later got a cochlear implant. And I've known several people in a similar position.
Trust me, these stories about people hearing for the first time are sensationalized, to say the least. I'm in no way minimizing how miraculous these devices are -- just be aware that the experience is quite different to that being portrayed in the media.
You're an expert on how this fellow felt the first time he listened to music via his new equipment?
I think it is likely that you are an expert on how you feel, but this guy is crying as he listens to Mozart, he said it himself, and I'm not sure how much more we can ask for.
Nice straw man you've got there; I didn't say anything about the guy, let alone his feelings. Let's keep this discussion constructive.
I'm just sharing my perspective, based on experience -- these stories are misleading at best. Like all stories, they're far too neat. Reality is messier. Despite what the stories would have you believe, they still doesn't hear normally. They hear better. But not normally.
You know what the reality is? The reality is getting hearing aids and still not being able to use the phone to do phone interviews. And having people insist on it anyway. And then helplessly watching your dream job slip out of your grasp because you can't hear the interviewer's questions. Reality is being in school and failing, because the exam had a verbal component. And having the instructor just smirk. It's sitting as a bystander in conversations because you can't follow it. It's being passed over for promotions because you can't be trusted to hear important things. And nobody can see any of it happening. Except you.
That's the real story. A little piece of it. Yes, there are delightful moments with any improvement in hearing, but there's a larger context that always gets left out of these feel-good pieces.
I was profoundly deaf. I wore hearing aids and later got a cochlear implant. And I've known several people in a similar position.
Trust me, these stories about people hearing for the first time are sensationalized, to say the least. I'm in no way minimizing how miraculous these devices are -- just be aware that the experience is quite different to that being portrayed in the media.