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Helping teens make sound decisions

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Janay and her mom, Debbie

hirteen-year-old Janay Naree Mitchell is excited about the possibility of talking on the phone without her mother’s assistance. She was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss at age 2, and over the past 11 years, her hearing has gotten worse, advancing to profound hearing loss today. But with consent from her mother and hearing specialists at Children’s, Janay plans to get a cochlear implant this month. The device sends coded electronic signals to the auditory nerve, and for some, the improved access to sound allows for independent phone use.

Getting a cochlear implant is not a small decision. The process involves careful consultation with a team of specialists, surgery, and time to learn how to use the device. But Betsy Kammerer, PhD, a psychologist in Otolaryngology and Communication Disorders, says she and her colleagues realized teens were often turning to sources other than clinicians for advice on whether to get a cochlear implant. “We tried getting teens to talk to other teens by email and in the regular ways, but it was not enough,” Kammerer says. “We know they need to talk with peers, and wanted to give them a tool to help them do that.”

So last summer, Kammerer and colleagues in Children’s Cochlear Implant Program worked with Boston University’s Hothouse Productions to create a video, called “A Sound Decision,” which helps teens decide if they want to get a cochlear implant. The video chronicles the experiences of four teens with varied communication abilities as they decide whether to get implants. While each story is unique, the common thread is that all four of the teens benefited from a cochlear implant. The power of the video, according to Kammerer, is that unlike a conversation, the video can be replayed to answer questions and it lets patients be a part of the decision-making process.

“The video validates that it’s okay for patients to have a voice in the decision,” says Terrell Clark, PhD, director of the Boston Center for Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children. “We think it stirs up thinking and helps teens make up their own minds.”

The Cochlear Implant team has been so happy with the outcome that they are working on a second video, called “A Sound Decision Too,” that will explore the experiences of deaf teens who are happy without cochlear implants.

For Janay Naree Mitchell, the video helped her decide what was right for her. Last month she shared it with her seventh grade classmates at the Horace Mann School for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing so they could understand why she chose to get a cochlear implant. The class asked lots of questions as Janay presented her own choice and the peer stories that helped her make the decision. “I told my class that it was my decision, that I wanted the cochlear implant, and the film really helped me make a good choice.”

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