which is better?

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frankiesmom

frankiesmom

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i mentioned in my other thread that we found out today that our baby has severe hearing loss in both ears. i spoke to the audiologist that will be fitting him for hearing aids today, and she said that they will try the hearing aids for 90 days and if those arent helping, they want to go ahead with the cochlear implants. my husband has reservations about the implants and wants to wait until he is old enough to decide, and i honestly have no idea what is best. i was surprised because the lady who did his sedated abr said that he had to have profound hearing loss for the implants, but i guess that wasnt so.
thanks!
 
Where are you? Profit motive at work here? Get a second and third opinion by a disinterested doctor.
 
i am in oklahoma.
i dont think it is an issue about money, it seems to be their standard way of doing things, and it was the same at the other clinic i have contacted. i am just trying to figure out what would be best beforehand, so we dont put him through an unnecessary procedure.
 
Never underestimate the influence of money in American health care. It is a for-profit system.

Yes, the medical profession has standard protocols and procedures. That doesn't mean that you have to follow a doctor's recommendation. I just turned down an MRI that a neuro wanted to do.

With a major decision like this, consulting another doctor is a good idea. This doctor will understand because it's a common practice.
 
it couldnt hurt..i am just wondering if the implant would make his hearing 100 percent or what? i am very unfamiliar with how they work and how hearing aids work but the lady we saw today said hearing aids should help a lot. i hope they do, because although i want to do everything to help my little one, it doesnt seem like a minor surgery to me, after looking at some stuff online.
 
Implants will not make your child hearing. It's my understanding that the child would be functionally hard of hearing, depending on the success of the implantation. I'll let someone with more knowledge expand on that.

Be aware that sometimes implants fail. I don't believe that you can get accurate information on the failure rate, though.

I'm looking at this from a lawyer's perspective, especially the financial aspect and the standard of care. Whether we like it or not, we are "consumers" of medical care in the U.S. It changes the situation a lot.
 
Be extremely careful. CIs can rock especially if a kid has maxed out on HAs. You know there is a reason why a lot of us weren't dx until we were toddlers, even thou we may have severe or profound losses. It's b/c even with severe and profound losses, there still may be residual hearing in the speech range.
If the hearing aids DO NOT work opt for the CIs.
I am not an audi, but there are a lot of severe losses that respond well to hearing aids. Every loss is different throu. There are even profound losses that respond well to aiding. Try hearing aids first, and monitor how well he does with aids. There is still time. Heck until recently, kids weren't implanted until they were two or three.
 
thanks for the advice, everyone. i do plan on proceeding with caution, definitely. i was under the impression that implants/hearing aids would basically make them able to hear almost perfectly..is that not the case? will he still need to learn sign language, or some other method of communicating? i have been reading my head off about all of this and there is so much conflicting information out there, i am not sure what to believe!
 
frankiesmom said:
thanks for the advice, everyone. i do plan on proceeding with caution, definitely. i was under the impression that implants/hearing aids would basically make them able to hear almost perfectly..is that not the case? will he still need to learn sign language, or some other method of communicating? i have been reading my head off about all of this and there is so much conflicting information out there, i am not sure what to believe!
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Do you know what caused his developmental delays and what his prognosis is?

That may have a big impact on his communication.
 
you are tried on communication to something wrong problem!
 
Bottesini said:
Do you know what caused his developmental delays and what his prognosis is?

That may have a big impact on his communication.
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we have absolutely no idea..they did say that the hearing issue and delay are completely separate, however. we have racked our brains, trying to think of anything that couldve made any of this happen..the doctor said that sometimes, it just happens. and i agree, that it will definitely have a big impact because right now, he cant even point or wave because he simply hasnt been able to learn. i am wondering what we will be able to do to teach him sign language, if necessary..the speech therapist comes out on the 19th, and we have an appointment with a speech pathologist next wednesday so hopefully they can give us an idea of what to do. i will say though, that this boy is HAPPY. for that, i am very glad!
 
frankiesmom said:
we have absolutely no idea..they did say that the hearing issue and delay are completely separate, however. we have racked our brains, trying to think of anything that couldve made any of this happen..the doctor said that sometimes, it just happens. and i agree, that it will definitely have a big impact because right now, he cant even point or wave because he simply hasnt been able to learn. i am wondering what we will be able to do to teach him sign language, if necessary..the speech therapist comes out on the 19th, and we have an appointment with a speech pathologist next wednesday so hopefully they can give us an idea of what to do. i will say though, that this boy is HAPPY. for that, i am very glad!
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Happiness counts for a lot, I agree. I would certainly try to hold out until I found out how he was going to progress in all areas to implant CI. Especially since you already are informed that they are separate issues.
 
With the question of sign vs "hearing" for a deaf kid?

Why not at least try both?

A CI may make able to speak and "hear" but it could also make him more socially stunted. And unhappy. It could also increase his development delays.

Signing by the token may not be for him.

Take communication with up most importance but as he is delayed look at communication choices as well
 
i was under the impression that implants/hearing aids would basically make them able to hear almost perfectly..is that not the case? will he still need to learn sign language, or some other method of communicating?
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Oh boy.....Again it varies tremedously. Yes, implants and hearing aids can make a lot of kids functionally hoh.....but that does NOT mean being able to hear perfectly. With technology we hear like deaf or hoh people. Even I don't, and I have a conductive loss. He will prolly be able to talk.....But, it's always a good thing to have ASL too. The world is NOT a soundbooth. A lot of kids are OK one, on one, but in the real world oral only doesn't work out too well. Adding ASL is another really good tool. He'll be able to function fully both with and without his hearing aids/CIs, and in noisy situtions and quiet one, on one situtions. Also, he'll be able to be bilingal...and take advantage of going to Deaf School (if he so choses)
In addition, kids with mental disabilty very often have spoken language issues.
It is actually very common for just learning disabled kids to speak late.
Oh, and I know they told you that the hearing may be seperate from the mental disabilty. That might not be true. He could have a syndrome or something. Even kids with mild multiple issues can often have genetic syndromes.
 
well, i was referred to a place called happy hands school today, and after reading their website, i am impressed! even though i have never been away from this little one a day in his life, i think that him being immersed in an environment that will teach him how to communicate would be for the best..they seem to teach almost everything, and they have good reviews. as much as i want to tuck him under my wing and never let him go, i want him to start trying to catch up as soon as he can..
i think genetic testing is the next step..his pediatrician is being very thorough. he also has an mri at the end of the month, i guess to check for anything that might be amiss in his brain?
also..thanks everyone, for my tedious questioning!! none of you will ever know how much you have helped me..this has been a stressful several weeks and the great answers i have received have made a huge difference!!
:wave: :wave:
 
well, i was referred to a place called happy hands school today, and after reading their website, i am impressed! even though i have never been away from this little one a day in his life, i think that him being immersed in an environment that will teach him how to communicate would be for the best..they seem to teach almost everything, and they have good reviews. as much as i want to tuck him under my wing and never let him go, i want him to start trying to catch up as soon as he can..
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YEAH!!!! Is it an ASL using school? You might have to supplement with private speech therapy. Sometimes the speech therapy at the smaller or the poorly funded public programs can be not that great. So you would have to supplement....
 
yep, they have that, something called coding? and oralism? i think..dont quote me on that..but they seem to have the full range of services..hes going to have speech therapy every week anyways, through his soon to be new therapy so that will be covered.
about the implant..it can be turned off? i thought it was sort of a replacement ear, for lack of better words.
 
frankiesmom said:
yep, they have that, something called coding? and oralism? i think..dont quote me on that..but they seem to have the full range of services..hes going to have speech therapy every week anyways, through his soon to be new therapy so that will be covered.
about the implant..it can be turned off? i thought it was sort of a replacement ear, for lack of better words.
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i think your talking about code switching(the skill of being of translate asl to english and english to asl)

That school sounds amazing take a placement

no a CI is NOT a replacement ear and yes it can be turned
 
Neither HAs or CI will give your child normal hearing. At best he will still have problems hearing in noisy environments. In Britain he would be unlikely to be considered for a CI without first undergoing a lengthy trial with HAs, especially if his hearing loss is severe rather than profound. Those of us with severe hearing loss can do extremely well with HAs. I suspect that there is some kind of financial incentive involved here which is encouraging your doctor in the direction of CIs, I understand that in the US it is easier to get funding for CIs than HAs, so I would advise proceeding down that route with caution and getting a second, and possibly third opinion, from an unbiased physician.

Your son may also be helped by the use of an fm system. These are usually used at school but can be extremely useful at home too. Receivers are attached to your HAs or CI and the person speaking to you wears a microphone which enables their voice to be heard directly in the HAs, thereby eliminating background noise, especially in noisy environments. It would be a good way of enabling your child to have increased access to speech.

Hope these comments are useful.
 
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