Elle is now 15 months old and has had hearing aids for almost a month. Have you seen any of those viral videos of babies hearing for the first time with hearing aids or cochlear implants? They are always so sweet and touching. Elle was not hearing for the first time when she got her hearing aids, but she was hearing differently (and improved) so I had my video camera ready. Here is a screen shot from that video.
She never cried. She just scowled. She gave her notorious stink eyes to everybody in the room. I should have known then that we were going to have a long road ahead of us.
SJ had hearing aids when she was two and they didn’t work for her at all because she had such profound hearing loss. She quickly progressed to cochlear implants. Elle’s hearing loss is not the same as SJ’s. They are both genetic and they both have the same parents, but Elle has mild hearing loss which she gets from me. She hears sounds and even speech, but she is missing out on some of the softer sounds like “s” “f” and “sh”. So the hearing aids help with picking up on the sounds that she is missing and making the ones she does hear more crisp and less muffled.
That means that all of the girls in our family of six have hearing loss and we all have hearing devices.
Elle and I have Phonak hearing aids and SJ has Cochlear Americas Cochlear Implant.
Unfortunately they all three take DIFFERENT batteries. Go figure. Making sure we have batteries charged, changed, or in stock is just one of the many hurdles we face having children with hearing loss. It does get easier with time, but having a baby or a toddler with hearing aids takes a lot of work!
Elle doesn’t seem to mind wearing them, but at the same time she does like to mess with them and rarely leaves them alone.
After a week of struggling to keep them on we went to Hanna Andersson in the mall to get some pilot caps. These hats aren’t made specifically for hearing loss, but the pilot cap is perfect for keeping the hearing aids on while the child is still training.
The problem is, Elle can still get the hearing aids off even when she wears the cap. So it may not be the ultimate solution, but it’s a significant help. She messes with the hearing aids a lot less, when she is wearing the pilot cap.
We have had some VERY scary close calls with lost hearing aids in the past month. I think I am going to look like I am 90 years old by the time Elle is trained to wear them. That is how stressful it is. I compare it to having a child that has to wear socks every waking hour, and each sock costs a thousand dollars. Now if you are anything like me your baby kicks off or takes off their socks all the time and they inventibly get lost. It’s annoying when it’s $2 socks, but with hearing aids it’s ulcer worthy.
Time marches on though and I know that we will get through this. Elle still isn’t really talking much yet and is considered delayed at this point. I am sure all of this effort will be worth it in the long run.
As I type this Elle is napping in the other room so she is not wearing her hearing aids, but she did manage to loose one (with the cap on) before she went to bed so I guess I’ll go search the house. AGAIN. Wish me luck. 
Hi Natalie!
I read your blog and it really touched my heart. I dont have kids with hearing loss, however, motherhood is challenging in nature. I admire your commitment with your kiddos. God bless you!!