Hearing aids are a go

This was a very big week for us. Elin went in on Monday and got fitted for her hearing aids. She was fussy and annoyed with the initial ear tampering but her eyes just about popped out of her head when they were on and she could hear our voices more clearly. It was amazing to witness and we are so thankful to have them this early in her life.

(First time Elin hears our voices with her hearing aids in- it's incredible!)

The birth to 3 program for early intervention hearing loss in our state is incredible. We have been guided through this process so seamlessly it makes the whole experience not only tolerable but also enjoyable. We are able to share in Elin's small successes with professionals encouraging our excitement.

We have been assigned a Family Resource Counselor who works with families with children with hearing loss. She helps us pick an early intervention program and works as an advocate for us between our audiologist, the program, and the state. We are able to apply for funding to help pay for Elin's hearing aids and ear molds through this program as well.

The three early intervention programs are all unique and highly regarded in our community. We had a difficult time deciding between two of them. Seattle Children's has a program called Family Conversations that uses both aural rehabilitation and sign language to aid children with hearing loss in their auditory and speech development. The other program is called Listen and Talk and they focus mainly on each child's individual listening skills based on their audiograms (range of hearing) to help develop speech and language. Each program sends a specialist to our house once a week for the first 3 years of Elin's life to help her and us work within the constraints of her hearing loss. They also have parent groups and group meetings where families meet and the kids play and learn with other kids that have similar disabilities. It is amazing. Oh yeah by the way, it is no cost to us. It is funded through private fundraisers and state education monies.

Our dilemma was whether to go with a program that includes sign language as a back up way of communication for Elin or to solely focus on her listening skills so she could mainstream into school as a verbal/auditory student. We were concerned if we skipped sign language altogether we might be missing out on a skill set we desperately need down the road. BUT what we ultimately want for Elin is for her to be just like us and not have to rely on sign language at all.

So naturally I turned to the experts. My uncle Jim (the audiologist) helped define the positives and negatives of each program but ultimately he couldn't give me a definitive answer and directed me to speak to a colleague  She is the head of children's audiology at Atlanta children's hospital . She has worked in the field of aural rehabilitation and has first hand knowledge about the outcomes of such programs. Given what we know about Elin and  her particular hearing loss at this time she assured me that programs like Listen and Talk that focus solely on aural rehabilitation produce fabulous outcomes and kids easily mainstream into education. If Elin's hearing loss is progressive (meaning worsens) or any other factors/complication pop up as she grows we might need to rethink our choice. Thankfully we can change programs if need be anytime during her 0-3 years.

So that is what we have been up too. Elin has worn her hearing aids for 5 days. We put them in when she is awake and spend all our time talking, singing, and delighting in her reactions. She shouldn't wear them in the carseat in case she gets a hold of one and chews on it or throws it somewhere. Since she is still so little I have purchased a hat that ties under her chin securing the hearing aids under the earflaps. She spends a lot of time carted around in the carseat to and from her sister's activities so this will buy her a little more time with them in until she gets too big to be trusted alone with them.

(Our Aussie friend Belinda chatting with Elin day one of hearing aids)

We are so excited to see how these amazing tools will help her flourish. Hooray for technology!