Hearing Aids

I would like to do a longer post or a couple on Aubrey's history of hearing tests/ENT visits and the process of getting her hearing aids, since we seem to be the only ones we know right now with Ds and hearing issues.

Aubrey got her aids on Wednesday morning and she was such a trooper for an early morning appointment.  She easily let us put them in and left them alone.  In case you forgot, we picked pink and the insides are clear with purple sparkles:)  The thought was that if she pulls them out, they would be easier to find than the tan or brown that would have matched skin/hair and blended a bit more.

They came with a strap that attaches to each aid and then to her shirt, so that if/when she pulls them out, they shouldn't get lost.  You would think that the straps would come in twenty different colors and styles too, but NOOOOO, you just get this bright orange!

We had a lot of problems with feedback or ringing since she got them.  Annoying only to those around her, but she didn't seem to mind at all:)  We went back today and they reset the aids to be less sensitive and that seemed to help.  I even left the strap off this afternoon after the adjustment and she was fine.  I am in sheer awe that she is leaving them alone, but maybe they are making a difference for her.  

They are set at half strength right now, and when we go back in three weeks, they will adjust them to her full need.  We haven't notice any drastic changes yet, for those wondering, but we are eager to see what comes in the next few weeks.   

We have an Auditory Impairment teacher who is coming once a week to help with speech and the hearing aids.  She even came to the appointment to get the aids with me to offer support and answer questions or ask them when I couldn't think of anything.  She is AWESOME and we feel so blessed to have another wonderful person join our team of teachers.

More to come...

*Edited--I just wanted to clarify:  We know that hearing problems are common with Ds, but we don't personally know anyone who has them already to glean information from in the same way that we know kids that have had heart surgery, feeding issues, orthotics, that we could learn from personally.  We are relying a lot on our teachers right now for all the tricks of keeping them on and using them.  That being said, parents usually have the best ideas and not always the teachers who don't spend 24/7/365 with these new accessories:)