bimodal baby

On Thursday I got a call that Lucas's earmolds were in, and they had a cancellation yesterday, so our baby is officially bimodal, sooner than anticipated. There haven't been any 'aha' moments yet, but I guess he needs time to "learn to listen" with this ear again. It will be interesting to see how he tests in the booth when we head back to CHOP in October.

He wasn't so sure about everything at the audiologist this morning. He kept wanting down off my lap, then he'd toddle over to the door and cry a very pouty cry. He just doesn't seem to like this audiologist. Oh well, we won't have to see her very much.

The HA matches the CI pretty well, although it's much smaller. We're also trying a skeleton earmold with Lucas's CI. It will help keep it on his ear much better. That is, if he leaves it in his ear. So far, he doesn't seem to like it OR the hearing aid. *SIGH*

the skeleton mold for his right ear

the earmold with his HA for the left ear

he's constantly touching it both devices, side-by-side

nope, not gonna wear it...

Why a hearing aid and a CI?

I've been asked a few times why we're getting Lucas a hearing aid for his unimplanted ear. Today I got the hearing aid evaluation summary from CHOP, with a perfect explanation, so I thought I would share...

His left ear is not currently a candidate for sequential bilateral cochlear implantation due to surgical concerns. While a left ear hearing aid is not expected to match the benefit Lucas receives from his CI, current research demonstrates children with CIs can benefit from amplification in their contralateral ear. Benefits include potential for improved localization abilities, access to natural sound, greater ease of listening, improved performance in background noise, better music appreciation, as well as stimulation of his left auditory pathway.

Wow... SOOO well said. Love it.

When I think of bimodal kiddos, three very successful ones come to mind right away: Christian, Ben and Alexander.

I would still rather Lucas become bilateral instead of bimodal, but if he receives even one of the benefits above, it will be worth it.