Hear here – new aids soon for Keisha?
Posted in deaf_hoh, family, parenting on December 10th, 2009 by Daniel Johnson, Jr. – Comments
- Image by danieljohnsonjr via Flickr
“All I want for Christmas is new hearing aids.”
So said our 12-year old daughter Keisha last month as we began thinking about the holiday season here in 2009. Keisha’s had her current hearing aids for over four years, and they are showing their age and losing their effectiveness. In addition, she’s had a growth spurt has outgrown her current earmolds.
Background
A little bit of background might be helpful here. Keisha was born just before infants started being checked for hearing loss, so we didn’t find out that she had bilateral sensorineural hearing loss until she was about 3 years old. She currently wears Phonak BTE (behind-the-ear) aids in both ears, along with FM receivers. The FM receivers enable teachers to speak into a special microphone so that Keisha can hear over the rest of the room noise.
We’re still learning how to communicate and often have communication breakdowns associated with living with hearing loss. In addition to her aids, we use some sign language, lip reading, and handwritten notes. Keisha prefers to communicate orally, but her hearing loss has left her with the need to get speech therapy to make sounds she cannot hear.
Audiologist – Take 1
We received a referral from the insurance company to an audiologist, so that he could test Keisha’s hearing and make a recommendation for new aids and make new impressions of her ears so that new earmolds could be made.
Yesterday afternoon we met with the audiologist, and he noticed quite a buildup of wax in her ears. There was so much so that he couldn’t get a good reading when he measured the air pressure against her eardrums and didn’t get any response. He referred us to an ENT (Ear, Nose, and Throat specialist) in the same building and we made an appointment for this morning.
Otolarygologist (say that 3 times fast!)
The ENT appointment was pretty quick, because he just needed to remove the wax from Keisha’s inner ear, and more gently than with any tools the audiologist could have used. The suction tool is very similar to what dentists use. It was kinda gross to hear and see, but it was necessary. He actually pulled out a piece of cotton that had been up near Keisha’s eardrum.
LESSON LEARNED: Do NOT use cotton swabs in the inner ear. They only push the wax further into the inner ear.
We asked the ENT how Keisha could best keep her ears dry, especially since she puts her aids in after getting out of the shower. In the past, leftover moisture, when she puts her aids on, has led to an ear infection (“Swimmer’s Ear”). The ENT recommended a small capful of isopropyl alcohol in each ear when coming out of the shower to dry off the inner ear.
Audiologist, Take 2
Back at the audiologist’s office, Keisha went in for her hearing test. I liked watching the program he used, and we could see when Keisha pushed the button to indicate she’d heard a sound. After this, he tested the air pressure in her ears and got a satisfactory response; i.e., nothing was blocking them, no fluid was built up behind them, and her eardrums were not perforated.
How Keisha Hears
After this test, we went to a room, and he put Keisha’s audiograms up on a screen. We asked him to demonstrate what Keisha’s hearing was like. First, he played a woman speaking normally to give us a baseline. Then he played the audio through a filter to mimic Keisha’s hearing loss in her right ear. It was very muffled, and I could barely pick out some of the words. Then he played the same audio through a filter to mimic Keisha’s hearing loss in her left ear. I could barely make out any sound at all.
I looked at Keisha and felt like crying. This was the first time in my life that I’d been able to experience what her hearing loss is like. Even now, as I type this, I’m feeling emotional.
In Color or Black and White?
Keisha has described not being able to hear effectively as experiencing the world in black and white. When she’s able to use hearing aids effectively, she said it’s like she’s able to experience the world in every color. We can definitely tell a difference in her mood and personality. She definitely shines when she’s able to hear.
Waiting for the cost
We got a recommendation for the best hearing aids that will accomodate Keisha’s type of hearing loss. Now we’re waiting on the insurance to tell us how much all of this will cost us. We are certainly not in a position, given my unemployment, to pay for these out of pocket. I’m guessing that, with the cost of new ear molds and aids, it could be upwards of at least $3200 total. How much of that we’ll be expected to pay we’ll know for sure soon.
Conclusion
The most moving part of today was being able to experience, to a small extent, what life is like for our only daughter without her aids. I can understand more clearly how valuable and important having good hearing aids is to her. I’m a bit nervous about the potential cost, but I’m also hopeful that we’ll be able to raise the money somehow.
UPDATE!
We got word back from the insurance company. With the discount we’re getting on the aids, including audiological services and new ear molds for the aids, we anticipate the total cost to be about $4000. That’s a lot of money to come up with, for sure.
But then again, what if 400 people gave us $10? Or 200 people gave us $20? Not quite as overwhelming, necessarily. We’re going to look at other ways to get the money, but I thought I’d put this out here, since many of you have asked about how you can help.
Related articles by Daniel Johnson Jr and Zemanta
- Acoustically Emotional (journeyinsidemymind.com)
- Hard of Hearing Posts (journeyinsidemymind.com)
- How To Prevent Swimmer’s Ear (howcast.com)
- Strategies for Helping Those With Hearing Loss Enjoy Holiday Season Are Offered by HearUSA Audiologist (prweb.com)
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. We think this is a good deal. Not sure if we want to wait for it to be delivered or simply go buy it now at the brick and mortar store.
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