We discussed our options for which brand of implant Ben will be getting. The choices include Cochlear's Nucleus 5, MED-EL's Sonata, and Advanced Bionic's Harmony. After lots of debating, we chose the Nucleus 5.
The Nucleus 5 has the slimmest processor available and has some wearing options perfect (hopefully) for a little guy.
He can wear the processor on his ear and the battery pack (the portion at the bottom of this picture) clipped to his shirt. My hope is this will make the whole contraption slightly less easier to loose.
When his ears get bigger, he can wear the battery and processor on his ear.
It even has a remote with a full-color display so we will be able to wirelessly monitor and manage Ben's hearing.
Part of our visit included a hearing test. I held Ben in a sound proof booth while an intern distracted him with a toy. Don plugged Ben's ear with a device through which he pumped in sound at various decibels. Ben's job was to turn to a moving toy each time he heard the sound.
It took a few tries, but Ben soon caught on.
Unfortunately, Ben wasn't responding as well as he previously had in his left (good) ear. We know Ben's hearing loss will progress at some point. That time may be now. We can adjust his hearing aids, do some more tests, and maybe someday implant the left ear as well. We aren't as disappointed as we thought we would be; The implant date is coming so fast.
Oh...did I forget to mention? DECEMBER 23! We are just waiting on insurance approval. Keep your fingers crossed!
7 comments:
Great news!! Keep us updates on Ben's surgery!!
That photo is great, look at those eyes!! I'm having my 2nd CI surgery on December 23rd :)
Congratulations on the surgery date!!!! What a great way to bring in the new year! Isaac has the Nucleas 5 on both of his ears now and we REALLY like them. You can even get these really cute processor covers in different colors and patterns. We will be thinking of you guys on the 23rd.....
savi phone
Good luck!!! I hope everything goes smoothly!
the implant is wonderfully small, and Isaac was able to even wear the bigger one on his ear with wig tape and no attachments without any real problems. The smaller ones are even better.
The surgery is hard as a parent, but the payoff is so incredibly wonderful.
This is the husband of Isaac, I see that my wife has already posted lol.
Oh my! Dec. 23rd is right around the corner! We'll be thinking of you all. I just love all his pictures! He's such a doll!
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