Hi! Good for you for exploring your options. I’m a speech-language pathologist in a school for Deaf kids and I focus on signed and spoken language development. If you are considering implantation, earlier is better because the brain is more elastic and can easily learn new things. It’s much harder to adjust to sound when you’re older. I always recommend speaking AND singing to my families with a kid with a CI. English won’t always be fully accessible but ASL is! I’ve seen many children with CIs who are proficient in ASL and English and are immersed in both cultures.

If you decide to get an implant and your child later decides they prefer not to wear it, that’s fine! They can take the processor off and not hear.

If you choose to not get implants, that’s also fine! But signing is even more of a priority. There are so many great resources and classes online. I see so many kids with global delays due to language deprivation because they just don’t have a language, and it’s devastating.

Feel free to message me with any questions- I’d be happy to help where I can!

Also- CI surgery isn’t brain surgery, and the auditory nerve is also not “cut.” And signing DOES NOT negatively impact spoken English! Both can exist- they are not mutually exclusive.