Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

Drawing on interviews with families of children with cochlear implants, this paper suggests that Chinese families prioritize pragmatic language therapy and care over the initial debate regarding implantation while their strategies are constrained by financial limitations and temporal exigencies.

Paper long abstract

In China, cochlear implants are promoted as an effective medical technology to assist people with profound hearing loss in integrating into a hearing society. An increasing number of Chinese children with hearing loss have received cochlear implants in recent years due to favorable medical insurance policies. However, implantation is only the initial stage; a long-term process of language therapy is required for them to acquire hearing and speaking capabilities.

Drawing on interviews with these families, this paper argues that many Chinese families are obliged to navigate financial limitations and temporal exigencies to support their children. In contrast to the moral debate of ‘implantation or not’ within the Deaf community in Western societies, Chinese families focus more on pragmatic support: medical choices, rehabilitation arrangements, and daily care. In these cases, families face a pressure that is intertwined with morality and temporality—specifically, the urge to hear as soon as possible and to hear ‘better.’ This discussion implies that medical technology acts as an affective force, mobilizing families to align their actions with moral imperatives while navigating distinct medical and social timelines.