It's official:
DECEMBER 23!
Insurance approved and we are ready. Ben will have is pre-op next week and then we wait!
Yahoo!
DECEMBER 23!
Insurance approved and we are ready. Ben will have is pre-op next week and then we wait!
Yahoo!
The life of a Deaf boy hearing with Cochlear Implants and his little sister.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Sunday, November 29, 2009
First Thanksgiving
Ben's first Thanksgiving weekend was full of adventures.
wearing Grandpa's hat,
hanging out with the Grandmas,
sorting Mommy's Tupperware,
and finding Daddy outside.
Including.....
tasting and loving pumpkin pie,
wearing Grandpa's hat,
hanging out with the Grandmas,
helping Daddy with the new addition,
sorting Mommy's Tupperware,
and finding Daddy outside.
Ben also discovered what happens to rolls of toilet paper when they are put in the toilet, how fast Mommy moves when you shove moss in your mouth, and exactly what a dog's tongue tastes like.
Somehow I didn't manage to get pictures of those.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Choices
This past week we met up with Don at OHSU to talk about Ben's up coming implant. (For a brief review of what a cochlear implant is check out this earlier blog: MRI and CT.)
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.
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!
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!
Sunday, November 1, 2009
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