OT: WOMAN HEARS FOR THE FIRST TIME.....

[Paul]

Just in case you missed this, it's been one of the
most moving videos I've ever seen. Just incredible medical
technology, and it's only in it's early, infant stages. At
some point, bionic ears will actually hear better than
natural hearing. Imagine having hearing as acute as a dog!

Kids, stay in school!! Learn the sciences, but try to
apply them towards Peace, not War.

Unbelievable, and it gives me hope for mankind...



http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_989220.html

[TT]

I don't get it...what's the deal about hearing yourself if you never
heard any sounds at all...

[Norman Draper]

On Sep 30, 8:57 pm, TT <as...@usenet.org> wrote:
> 1.10.2011 6:34, Paul kirjoitti:
>
>
>
>
>
> > Just in case you missed this, it's been one of the
> > most moving videos I've ever seen. Just incredible medical
> > technology, and it's only in it's early, infant stages. At
> > some point, bionic ears will actually hear better than
> > natural hearing. Imagine having hearing as acute as a dog!
>
> > Kids, stay in school!! Learn the sciences, but try to
> > apply them towards Peace, not War.
>
> > Unbelievable, and it gives me hope for mankind...
>

> >http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_9...

>
> I don't get it...what's the deal about hearing yourself if you never
> heard any sounds at all...

Really? You don't get the deal?


Norman Draper

[TT]

I'd think hearing anything would be a big deal...not particularly yourself.

[felangey]

Beautiful stuff. Love these videos.

[JB]

You better not play any of those high notes!!

[Paul]

Well, if you watch the video, she's clearly hearing the
technician too....it's gotta be quite emotional.

It's easy for us hearing folks to take things for granted....

[Rodjk #613]

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_9...

Cochlear implants are amazing.
My son, Sean, was born deaf and at the age of 18 months received his
first cochlear implant.
In about 2 weeks, he will receive his second.

It is not a miracle, it is science and technology. And it works very
well.
This is a video I took when he was 'activated' about a month after his
surgery.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdqyWyKE04

Rodjk #613

[Paul]

Just awesome. How old is your son now? How has he adjusted
to the hearing world?

It looked like most insurances only cover a single side,
and not "bilateral". Will you have to pay for the second
one yourself?

I'm an electrical engineer, and I rarely see something
that excites me so much, that I'd love to be somehow involved
with the process. Helping to give the gift of even limited hearing
to someone who has been completely deaf since birth is
just awesome.

[Rodjk #613]

On Oct 1, 5:10 am, Paul <quiller...@gmail.com> wrote:
> On 10/1/2011 2:52 AM, Rodjk #613 wrote:
>
>
>
> > On Sep 30, 10:34 pm, Paul<quiller...@gmail.com>  wrote:
> >>        Just in case you missed this, it's been one of the
> >> most moving videos I've ever seen.  Just incredible medical
> >> technology, and it's only in it's early, infant stages.  At
> >> some point, bionic ears will actually hear better than
> >> natural hearing.  Imagine having hearing as acute as a dog!
>
> >>        Kids, stay in school!!  Learn the sciences, but try to
> >> apply them towards Peace, not War.
>
> >>        Unbelievable, and it gives me hope for mankind...
>
> >>http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_9...
>
> > Cochlear implants are amazing.
> > My son, Sean, was born deaf and at the age of 18 months received his
> > first cochlear implant.
> > In about 2 weeks, he will receive his second.
>
> > It is not a miracle, it is science and technology. And it works very
> > well.
> > This is a video I took when he was 'activated' about a month after his
> > surgery.
> >http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdqyWyKE04
>
>      Just awesome.  How old is your son now?  How has he adjusted
> to the hearing world?

Sean is just over 2 yrs old. He is adjusting just fine. He gets speech
and auditory therapy every week and is slowly catching up.
He seems to understand that he can only hear with the device attached.
When it is detached accidentally, he has learned to put it back on his
head on his own. Or, if it stops working for some reason (it is
battery powered) he will come to you and point to his head and shrug.

The second implant should help a great deal.

>
>      It looked like most insurances only cover a single side,
> and not "bilateral".  Will you have to pay for the second
> one yourself?

Sean is adopted, and as he is considered disabled he is on medicaid.
Thankfully, the program will cover the cost of the implant.

>      I'm an electrical engineer, and I rarely see something
> that excites me so much, that I'd love to be somehow involved
> with the process.  Helping to give the gift of even limited hearing
> to someone who has been completely deaf since birth is
> just awesome.

It is an amazing device, but there are still kinks to be worked out.
Sean has destroyed about 6 of the processors and more of the weak
cables connecting it. The cable won't just 'quick disconnect' it just
breaks. I have left a lot of feedback with the manufacturing company
(in this case, Advanced Bionics).

You cannot expect a 18 month-to-2 yr old to have much patience with
the devices. He would put the headpiece in his mouth or just pull the
whole thing off and throw it. It really has been a full-time job to
keep it on him. But now, he seems to be beginning to understand that
he cannot hear without it and he messes with it a lot less.

Rodjk #613

[Mike Brown]

In article
<8096ea89-2400-400c...@z12g2000yqz.googlegroups.com>,

"Rodjk #613" <rjk...@gmail.com> wrote:

>
> Cochlear implants are amazing.
> My son, Sean, was born deaf and at the age of 18 months received his
> first cochlear implant.
> In about 2 weeks, he will receive his second.
>
> It is not a miracle, it is science and technology. And it works very
> well.
> This is a video I took when he was 'activated' about a month after his
> surgery.
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzdqyWyKE04
>
> Rodjk #613

A great moment.

MJRB

[Larry Brown]

"..point to his head and shrug."
I do that sometimes too, but not for the same reason.

[Steven Bornfeld]

We have acquaintances with 2 daughters born nerve-deaf. They got
cochlear implants shortly after their deafness was discovered. They are
in their late teens or about 20 now, so they've grown up with them. I
would guess that your son's device is considerably more sophisticated
than their early devices were.
Nevertheless, the girls grew up with what appears to be normal speech
and hearing. They could not get them wet, so if they are swimming (for
example) they unplug the devices and communicate with each other in
rapid-fire sign language.
I don't understand the political deafness "advocates" such as those at
Ballaudet University--I'm sure their political stance makes sense to
them, even though to me it seems delusional.
My sister in law has a condition characterized by multiple tumors in
the central nervous system. A typical feature is the presence of
acoustic neuromas. She is totally deaf in one ear, and is rapidly
losing her hearing in her other ear.
A cochlear implant would do her no good, as her problem is between the
cochleae and her brain. For people like her, they are developing a
brainstem implant. I don't know how many have been produced. It is
said to produce a much more basic sound perception than do the cochlear
implants. My guess is they would work far better in someone who did not
previously have hearing, as the "hearing" it produces is so crude.
It's easy to put down medical research, and of course like any other
human endeavor touched by money there is corruption and avarice. But
it's the best hope we have to make our lives better, and these
researchers often labor for years in obscurity, but can have a hand in
major achievements that still can make them the heroes of our age.

Steve
They

--
Mark & Steven Bornfeld DDS
http://www.dentaltwins.com
Brooklyn, NY
718-258-5001

[jdeluise]

On 1-Oct-2011, Paul <quill...@gmail.com> wrote:

> I'm an electrical engineer, and I rarely see something
> that excites me so much, that I'd love to be somehow involved
> with the process.

That and stopping FEDDY TRAIN?

[Paul]

Some in the deaf community are theatened by a
technology that in theory, if the cost is brought down
and the quality improved, can make their ASL culture
extinct. Perhaps many of these people cannot
afford the operation themselves.

But it's all rather silly. Someone mentioned
it would be the equivalent of eyeglass wearers
throwing away their glasses, which I agree with.

All new technology meets with resistance at
first...the deaf community is more accepting of
CI these days.

[Paul]

I DON'T NEED TO WORRY ABOUT THAT. NADAL, DJOKER, TSONGA,
BERDYCH, ETC...TAKE CARE OF THAT!!!

[David Hajicek]

Cool.

Dave

"Paul" <quill...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:j661p4$gs$1...@dont-email.me...

[thomas]

> http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/30/sara-churman-deaf-woman-_n_9...

In a later video, not linked here, they play her some Kenny G and she
begs the doctors to rip out her implants.

[Bob Dorgan]

"Rodjk #613" <rjk...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:8096ea89-2400-400c...@z12g2000yqz.googlegroups.com...

Thanks for sharing one of life's greater moments.

It certainly brought a smile to my face.

dorgan

[Paul]

On 10/1/2011 11:08 AM, Steven Bornfeld wrote:

They truly are heroes, all the people who have contributed
to this technology. For me, this would be the real reason one
should consider becoming a doctor or medical researcher: not
necessarily just for the money, but for the chance to make a
gigantic difference in someone's life...

[dsi1]

On 10/5/2011 7:58 AM, Paul wrote:
>
> They truly are heroes, all the people who have contributed
> to this technology. For me, this would be the real reason one
> should consider becoming a doctor or medical researcher: not
> necessarily just for the money, but for the chance to make a
> gigantic difference in someone's life...
>

My guess is that in less than 20 years, nerve deafness will be cured by
gene therapy. We'll be able to hear like children i.e., up to 20K Hz.
That would be something. Brave new world. :-)

[thomas]

On Oct 5, 6:12 pm, dsi1 <d...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote:
>
> My guess is that in less than 20 years, nerve deafness will be cured by
> gene therapy. We'll be able to hear like children i.e., up to 20K Hz.
> That would be something. Brave new world. :-)

What if they could splice in some dog gene therapy? That way we could
hear up to 40khz *and* lick our own balls.

[dsi1]

I don't really want to hear up to 40K. 2K would be OK with me - just as
long as I get to lick my balls I'm happy with pretty much anything. :-)

[Steve Daniels]

On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:14:01 -1000, against all advice, something
compelled dsi1 <ds...@eternal-september.invalid>, to say:

If you had the proper social skills, you could get someone else
to lick your balls.



--

Howdya like that... we started playing guitar to impress the chicks and wind
up talkin' fingernails with old men.

Ray Boyce - 9.27.09

[dsi1]

On 10/5/2011 1:19 PM, Steve Daniels wrote:
> On Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:14:01 -1000, against all advice, something
> compelled dsi1<ds...@eternal-september.invalid>, to say:
>
>> On 10/5/2011 12:55 PM, thomas wrote:
>> > On Oct 5, 6:12 pm, dsi1<d...@eternal-september.invalid> wrote:
>> >>
>> >> My guess is that in less than 20 years, nerve deafness will be cured by
>> >> gene therapy. We'll be able to hear like children i.e., up to 20K Hz.
>> >> That would be something. Brave new world. :-)
>> >
>> > What if they could splice in some dog gene therapy? That way we could
>> > hear up to 40khz *and* lick our own balls.
>> >
>>
>> I don't really want to hear up to 40K. 2K would be OK with me - just as
>> long as I get to lick my balls I'm happy with pretty much anything. :-)
>
>
> If you had the proper social skills, you could get someone else
> to lick your balls.

My problem is that I have trust issues.

[Steven Bornfeld]

I hear ya, man!

S

[Steven Bornfeld]

On 10/5/2011 1:58 PM, Paul wrote:
>
>
> They truly are heroes, all the people who have contributed
> to this technology. For me, this would be the real reason one
> should consider becoming a doctor or medical researcher: not
> necessarily just for the money, but for the chance to make a
> gigantic difference in someone's life...
>
>
>
>
>

I don't disagree. But it's tough to go into medicine or research
hoping you're going for the breakthrough. Most of the time it's keeping
your eyes and ears open and trying to make a lot of little differences
in peoples' lives.

S.

[dsi1]

I'm willing to place my money on the line and bet that people are
basically trustworthy but never the family gemstones. :-)

What I can't understand is how that video was able to get 5 million hits
in something like 5 days. Of course there's the obligatory viral video
spot on Good Morning America. My guess is that it has something to do
with pretty girls and tattoos. America is a sucker for pretty girls with
difficulties.

[Dar Shelton]

Hell yeah... a barely-legal Helen Keller , bikini-clad, in a
wheelchair, guitar slung across her back , with a machine gun in her arms...

(inspired by and dedicated to the memory of George Gleason)

[Steven Bornfeld]

NNUTS!

S.

[Dar Shelton]

Girls with NNUTS ?!....
this is getting too weird for me <g>