kat05

Is it common to have a practically deaf baby wear HAs before being implanted? I mean for the months until the surgery. Because this is what the doctor told us about my son, however while speaking with other parents, they asked me what's the point in HAs ("would you put eye-glasses to a blind person" they ask me), also leaving hints that the doctor had something to gain from us getting the HAs. Do they really help? I am a little puzzled since I have seen no difference in my son, at the noises he turns at. He has been wearing them since the beginning of NOvember, 2011.

Deafness

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Bottesini

Yes. There is always a trial to see what benefit they can gain.

Someone should be working with him to make sure he is getting the most out of them.

kat05

He does have speech therapy and I try to work with him all the time, at home. Is there any chance that he will not need an implant if there is such a great hearing loss? And he will be able to talk?

AlleyCat

Your son would just need the higher-powered HAs if he has a significant loss. I have a profound loss (115+ db loss) and still wear HAs. And, I speak very well, even though I've been deaf since birth. Many others here do too. Please do try the HAs first before you opt for surgery.

CSign

Kat- as Bott said there is always a trial period with HA's before an implant is discussed. It seems like he's/she's only worn them for a short tine, so chances are he is still acclimating to them. I think you need to determine if it's more important for your child to speak, or have the ability to communicate.

I don't know the degree of your Childs hearing, but he/she may or may not be able to develop speech. In my opinion, so long as your child has the ability to communicate that is the most important thing. Your child can achieve that through the use of sign, and you can still work on speech with him/her to give your child the opportunity to develop speech if it's in the cards.

Either way keep the HA's on your child, and give him/her some more time to adjust to these new sounds that he/she is being exposed to. Some people are quick to jump the gun with the CI. It definitely isn't something to take lightly.

kat05

THanks for your answers. I undertand tha communicating in general is the most important thing.
How long should one wait with HAs before deciding the implant? And how do we know that the HAs are successful so as to NOT decide an implant for a baby/toddler?

DeafCaroline

How old is he?

bbaseballboy123

I had to wear them from 2 to 3 ( i was implanted at age 3, they didn't allow implantation on babies under 3 in the mid 1990s) as a trail to make sure I was truly deaf. It was evidently that i was not hearing out of my hearing aids since I was not responding to any noise.

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Deaf and Smart. Business Major at RIT. Have Bi-lateral cochlear implants. But know ASL as well.

Working on a new project that will benefit deaf peeps

shel90

If you are worried about communication, learn ASL. That would be a great gift for your little one.

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kat05

He is almost 18 months old.

kat05

Yes Ihave started learning signing. I am just wondering about other options too.

Frisky Feline

baseballboy may have more experiences of telling you about CI.


I am more comfortable with HAs and ASL.

My hub got a CI at late 30's and has seriously issues about finanical that he cant afford to buy another CI when his CI was lost. Insurance does not provide very well for adult people than children. My hub can afford hearing aids but his natural hearing level is destroyed by fixing it for CI. He is very upset about it. If CI stuff are affordable then my hub would continue to use CI. He said he will never go for another surgery agian. ONE surgery for CI is suffieicent for him.

iowaboy

We were in your shoes a year ago. There is (at least) a two fold reason for the hearing aids in the months leading up to surgery.

First, if the hearing tests were inconclusive or contradictory, there is a chance that you'll notice a good response from the hearing aids. If this is the case, the center would probably talk to you about amplification with aids rather than CI. An ethical center will not implant an infant who is receiving benefits from hearing aids.

More likely though, your tests were conclusive and you've done your research and are headed towards CI with certainty. If this is the case, the aids are worn to supply any possible stimulation to the otic nerve. It was explained to us that continued stimulation, however slight, would help to preserve the functionality of the nerve in the months leading up to surgery.

I agree with the others here that you should strongly consider starting some kind of signed language. It is important to know (and you probably do) that the CI isn't a fix-it switch, but rather another communication tool. Our daughter is 2 and has been using her CIs for one year now with excellent results- she can hear and comprehend the slightest whispers. Her speech production has been an added bonus, and she continues to use sign.

We look forward to hearing about your progress!

kat05

Iowaboy , your progress seems very encouraging to us! I hope we have the same progress. I'll keep in touch...

kat05

Another question: how did you figure that your daughter needs a CI when she was one year old? I read contradictory information, it's useful they say to implant the earlier the better and on the other hand, leave time just in case the HAs can work... I am afraid that we could be leaving time pass...

iowaboy

Our state requires an OAE test at birth, which our daughter failed. We followed up at 3 months with an ABR, which suggested a profound hearing loss. Another ABR at 6 months was exactly the same, and a behavioral test at 9 months showed a deeper hearing loss. We aided her at 4 months, after the first ABR. She wore the aids without any problems. We didn't notice any behavioral responses with the aids on, and the behavioral test confirmed that the loss was most likely deeper than the hearing aids could help with.

Do you have ABR or behavioral results for your son?

We were lucky in that our CI center would not implant prior to 12 months old, and the hearing loss was identified early (at birth). We had a long hearing aid trial without putting the CI on hold. The center suggested a failed behavioral test and failed three months with aids before they would consider implantation with an infant.

kat05

We had ABR, ASSR, OAE for him when he was 16 months old. Earlier it did not cross our mind, he did not "look" deaf, I remember him turning at sounds etc. It's a mystery.
What is a behavioral test? I think we did not do such a thing. Also, what do you mean by "deeper loss"? A non functional otic nerve? My son has no difference at all with his HAs but maybe it's too early (?)

iowaboy

Oops, I meant ASSR by behavioral. Those aren't the same things at all. To me, the ASSR looked like a behavioral test because she was awake and given visual stimuli as a distraction. They were able to detect a more severe hearing loss with the ASSR, which I call deeper. Sorry, I don't mean to confuse anyone.

People called the nerve from the cochlea to the brain the otic nerve which isn't exactly correct- I think the right name is the cochlear nerve... but it needs to work for the CI to work. They said keeping the hearing aids on wasn't vital for this nerve, but it could in theory help this nerve to keep functioning by giving it stimulus from the aids, however slight it was.

kat05

The tests we done were all done while our baby was asleep.

iowaboy

It sounds like you have almost as much information as we had (if not as much) when we made our decision. We didn't notice any response with the aids, and part of her last set of tests was while wearing the aids. I'm still struggling with what it was called, ASSR... behavioral... I can't remember. She was awake and wore aids for some of it. The sounds in the booth were so loud that they brought my wife and I hearing protection so we could stay in with her.

When surgery day came... the surgery took a few hours and we went home the same day, a couple of hours later. We had both ears done at the same time. She was back to her normal self playing and eating that same night. It could not have gone more smoothly.

deafdyke

Don't panic. You do know that until very recently kids weren't even fitted with aids or identified until we were toddlers.
Heck my generation of implanted kids didn't get implanted until we were toddlers.

shel90

I never got implanted and I am doing good.

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Beach girl

Is your loss as severe as this baby's? I had the impression you use HAs, is that right? And that your loss has been progressive? Maybe I'm not remembering your situation correctly.

I'm not implanted either, and I'm doing well, but it's different for a late-deafened person vs. an infant with absolutely no hearing. It's not a comparable situation.

TXgolfer

I agree with another poster. Don't panic. Giving HAs a try first sounds like a good idea. If you have concerns as to whether the Dr has other motives I would suggest seeking a second opinion. Good luck to you!

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Sometimes at night, I see their faces. I feel the traces they've left on my soul

deafdyke

And I do have to add....if there's NO response with HAs.....don't feel bad about opting for implantation. I think a lot of the being against CIs nowadays has to do with the fact that it is very hard to tell exactly how well a baby can hear with hearing aids. There are deep profound/unaidable kids who cannot and do not get any benifit from HA (not even enviromental sounds) But, if it's clear and obvious that your kid doesn't benifit from HA......implant.
I do have to say that I think that a lot of the good CI users (meaning functionally HOH) may have a lot of advantages and variables that may not be present in your case. I know it's still pretty much a fact that benifit from CI varies a lot. It's changed from when kids could only get a handful of words with the CI, yes.....but say a kid who lost their hearing at 5 months or a kid who had really good access to therapy or a kid who had access to good oral school resources and so on. heck there are even kids who may have had some decent residual hearing, in which case for them it was like turning up the volumne.

Jazzberry

I know in my city, New York, some deaf people have complained that strangers think their CIs are bluetooth headsets for cell phones and they try to steal them. One man I know did get his CI stolen. Luckily it was still under warrenty which also covered theft and he was able to get it replaced. He will not wear it outdoors though because he doesn't want to have to replace it because of theft. And that is a shame because obviously he could benefit from hearing outdoors also, not just indoors.

I don't think that is a reason NOT to get them but it is something to keep in mind. Beause CIs are much larger than HAs are not worn with ear molds they are more noticeable and easier to steal.

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I was a mainstreamed "solitaire". I'm currently learning ASL. My hearing loss ranges from moderate to profound; my audiogram and speech discrimination are posted here.

Beach girl

I doubt that anyone is going to steal them off a baby! I'd sure hope not.

Later, as the child grows up and is out and about, I suppose it's a risk he should be made aware of. What a world we live in, when we have to worry about things like that...

Lissa

HA's are generally used for a while before CI's, in case the child is able to hear with them. I wore HA's from 1 year old until the age of 10 when hearing aids no longer worked for me. But while you're tryin decide on the implant or not stuff, give him language, teach him to sign!!

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lissa, 23, profound bilateral sensorineural hearing loss.
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overthepond

It is common for anyone who is on CI assessment to go through hearing aids trials, I for one had been deaf since birth, i had trialled 3 different hearing aids (all did not benefit me even my hearing loss had not changed all my life) Before getting a CI at 30, and I don't regret it.

It is possible for your child to hear but it may not be possible for him to hear like a hearing child. At the end of the day CI or not, the child is still deaf and may require accomodations. Paitence and lots of it is important aswell.

Bottesini

Surprise! The world is far worse than you think, and there has been more than on incident in the news of desparate parents begging for the return of a CI that was grabbed by teens who didn't know what it was.