To Hear or Not to Hear

Sound and Fury is a documentary directed by Josh Aronson. The film is about the Artinian family, all of whom have different views on the deaf society. Peter Artinian is deaf and has been "blessed" with an all deaf family of a wife and three kids. However, when his daughter, Heather, asks for a cochlear implant, Peter is at a loss for words. Chris Artinian, on the other hand, finds out that one of his newborn baby twins is deaf. The news completely devastates him and his wife, but when he discovers that a cochlear implant would allow his son to hear, he jumps at the opportunity. In Chris' eyes, being deaf is a huge disability, but to Peter, one couldn't possibly wish for more.

It's hard to determine who has the "correct mindset" here. Chris and his wife, Mari, don't know what it's like to be deaf. Mari has had some experience with deaf people since both her parents were deaf. But once she grew up, she wanted to get away from the deaf community as soon as possible. In her eyes, being deaf was a huge burden. That is why, when she found out that her son was deaf, she wanted him to get a cochlear implant right away. Yet, to Mari's parents, she was making a huge mistake. Mari's mother was definitely upset with Mari's decision. It was like she had completely turned her back on her family and the deaf community. You see, for most deaf people, being deaf was a gift. They did not see it as a disability but as a lifestyle. They were perfectly capable of leading successful lives which was why Chris' brother, Peter, loved his all deaf family. To him, his life and family were perfect. He had a job in New York, all his children attended school, and his wife took care of everything at home. This was no different from the life of a hearing person. But when Heather, Peter's 5 year old daughter, wants to hear "alarms ring, telephones, and all sorts of thing", Peter is taken back. Like any father, he wants whatever is best for his children, and to him, staying deaf was the way to go. However, Peter's parents, both of whom can hear, are telling Peter that they should go through with the cochlear implant. He is frustrated with his parents because he believes he knows what is in Heather's best interest and refuses to be criticized for it. So the million dollar question is, "To hear or not to hear?"

Let's think about it. What exactly is a disability? According to the Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary, a disability is the condition of being disabled or the limitation in the ability to pursue an occupation because of a physical or mental impairment. Looking back at Peter, was he limited in the ability to pursue an occupation because of a physical or mental impairment? I wouldn't say so. He has a job and is happy with his life. Mari's parents are both happy as well and have not been limited in any way. But to Chris and Mari, they see their son as being disabled with a lot of limits to come. They find it very hard to relate to deaf people because they have not experienced life without any sound, but from what they can imagine, it must be a very closed and muted world. They want their son to live like they do because they believe that their hearing life is best. We can see that the mentalities of the hearing and deaf people are completely different .

At the end of the day, the same question still arises. Should the deaf be allowed to hear? Should Heather be given the cochlear implant she desires so much? I would personally have to say yes, she deserves to have one. Peter is afraid that he will lose her daughter in the hearing world and that she'll forget all about the deaf culture. I highly doubt that will happen. Heather has already learned sign language and is able to communicate thoroughly with deaf people. It will be very hard for her to forget as well since she learned it at the age of 5, a very optimum time for learning languages in children. In addition, Heather will be able to translate for her parents in the future if they ever encounter a situation where communication is difficult. I honestly see no harm in giving Heather the ability to hear. The fortunate news is Heather eventually receives a cochlear implant at the age of 9. Ever since, Heather has been prospering well in school and has become assimilated with speech. I'm happy that she got her implant, but I feel like they did it a tad late. It's still evident that Heather needs some sort of speech therapy since she has a heavy accent which can be hard to understand. However, the point is, Heather is happy.

All in all, we can see that everyone has different views on life. What we might consider to be a disability, someone else might not. It's not our job to preach what we believe is correct. It's our job to do what we must do to make our lives better and let others do what they think will make their lives better.