Cochlear implants : Why don ’ t more people use them ? By Fan - Gang Zeng

city along the Yangtze River in China, developed a fever. A dosage of cheap ototoxic antibiotic took away his hearing. The doctor told Hua’s family that the only way he could hear again was to get a miracle device called a “cochlear implant.” His family quickly discovered that this “miracle device” came with a hefty price of US$30,000, which was 10 times his parents’ combined annual income. But with their son’s future at stake, Hua’s parents pooled their life’s savings and borrowed from grandparents, friends, and employers to get him this miracle device. Today, at 10 years old, except for having an “atonal” accent, Hua is doing well as a fourth grader in a mainstream school. Hua often asks “why other families have a big TV and we don’t,” since he is too young to fully appreciate the fact that his family still owes half of the money for his implant.