ABSTRACT
I have never liked being deaf and in May, 1995 I was fortunate to have a cochlea implant. Since having surgery I now feel that I have such an advantage. I can simply ‘switch off’ when noise becomes horrible and stressful, unlike hearing people, who unfortunately have to cope and bear its burden-unless you are able to purchase ear plugs! The aim of having surgery was to provide a mechanism which would ‘improve the quality of my life’, which I suppose means that it brings me closer to being like hearing people. The issue of ‘quality of life’ is interesting and implies the acceptance by the hearing community that deaf people have had a raw deal in their world, and although this is certainly the case, it is necessary to stress that in my view there is nothing ‘wrong’ in being deaf.
