I was diagnosed with a progressive hearing loss when I was about four years old and received my cochlear implants when I was eight and ten.
While I think that this movie is fantastic when it comes to raising awareness for the Deaf community as well as highlighting its pros and cons, it fails to reach when it comes to medical information. I LOVED the fact that they show how Ruben is ostracized after he receives the surgery, as well as explaining the reasoning from the Deaf perspective. However, the surgical and actual cochlear implant information is very, very misleading.
Number one, you may see reviews saying that healthcare does cover cochlear implants, it is more rare than you'd think because it isn't seen as a medically necessary procedure because deaf people can exist within society (in very limited and isolated ways, and their opportunities for success compared to hearing people is SIGNIFICANTLY lower, check the facts if you get mad at this).
Number two, the surgery that they give him is absolutely ridiculous. You can't just GET cochlear implants and sign up for a surgery online, it is an extensive process that requires many pre-appointments, follow-ups, bloodwork, eligibility checks, etc. Cochlear implants are for very specific cases and are not a cure-all, as they show in the movie (to some extent, although they do talk more in depth about it).
Lastly, and most disappointingly, the scene where the audiologist just tells Ruben he has to "learn and accept" that hearing isn't the same and that he just has to "get used to it" is complete BS. As someone who had hearing aids and natural hearing for a good portion of their childhood, I can confirm that after about a year they sound exactly the same, assuming you have a good audiologist and are doing the proper listening therapy exercises and such. They vastly oversimplified the process for mapping and programming, as he was there and was told he was set after two tweaks. I am at my audiologist for about four to six hours every time I go.
Overall, great, great movie, but the implant misinformation, especially the last thing I mentioned, really brought it down for me. Definitely a make or break moment and for me the latter. Just be aware of that when you're watching.
While I think that this movie is fantastic when it comes to raising awareness for the Deaf community as well as highlighting its pros and cons, it fails to reach when it comes to medical information. I LOVED the fact that they show how Ruben is ostracized after he receives the surgery, as well as explaining the reasoning from the Deaf perspective. However, the surgical and actual cochlear implant information is very, very misleading.
Number one, you may see reviews saying that healthcare does cover cochlear implants, it is more rare than you'd think because it isn't seen as a medically necessary procedure because deaf people can exist within society (in very limited and isolated ways, and their opportunities for success compared to hearing people is SIGNIFICANTLY lower, check the facts if you get mad at this).
Number two, the surgery that they give him is absolutely ridiculous. You can't just GET cochlear implants and sign up for a surgery online, it is an extensive process that requires many pre-appointments, follow-ups, bloodwork, eligibility checks, etc. Cochlear implants are for very specific cases and are not a cure-all, as they show in the movie (to some extent, although they do talk more in depth about it).
Lastly, and most disappointingly, the scene where the audiologist just tells Ruben he has to "learn and accept" that hearing isn't the same and that he just has to "get used to it" is complete BS. As someone who had hearing aids and natural hearing for a good portion of their childhood, I can confirm that after about a year they sound exactly the same, assuming you have a good audiologist and are doing the proper listening therapy exercises and such. They vastly oversimplified the process for mapping and programming, as he was there and was told he was set after two tweaks. I am at my audiologist for about four to six hours every time I go.
Overall, great, great movie, but the implant misinformation, especially the last thing I mentioned, really brought it down for me. Definitely a make or break moment and for me the latter. Just be aware of that when you're watching.