My Personal Challenges in Dealing with My Son’s Hearing Loss

My son Connor was diagnosed with a mild bilateral hearing loss at birth. At the time of diagnosis, I went through the typical grieving process but Connor having a hearing loss really didn’t affect me because I myself have a mild bilateral hearing loss and I’ve managed just fine. However, I didn’t anticipate the personal challenges I would face as a parent with a child that has a hearing loss.

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0 comments - Posted by Jenn Kipling at 9:12 PM - Categories: Dec 2009 Newsletter | From Families to Families

Bilateral BAHAs

Our 14 year old son has bilateral atresia (no ear canals).  He wore a traditional bone conduction hearing aid for several years, and has used a BAHA for the past six years.   This past November he "went bilateral," getting a second BAHA.  You are welcome to check out his blog, where he describes his experiences going from one to two hearing aids: http://bahadude.wordpress.com.

0 comments - Posted by Teresa Kazemir at 9:20 AM - Categories: From Families to Families

Living with Hearing Loss in One Ear

I am 63 years old, and have a thirteen year old grandson who ishard of hearing.

I first noticed my hearing loss in 1990, when I was 44 years old. I was staying the night at a friend's house, and was irritated by the ticking of the alarm clock. However, when I rolled over in the bed, I couldn't hear the clock at all. Around the same time, I attended a CNIB workshopand was blindfolded so I could get some idea of what it would be liketo be blind. Once the blindfold went on, I became not only blind, but extremely hard of hearing! I hadn't realized how much I depended on visual clues to compensate for my hearing loss. Three years passed before I actually had my hearing checked.

Although the findings indicated I did indeed have a hearing loss in my right ear, I chose not to get a hearing aid. Over the years, I have learned some tricks to aid my hearing loss. I always try to walk and/ or sit so people are on my left side. Because my loss is mostly in the lower tones, I have the most difficulty hearing my husband. He also has a hearing loss, so we have some house rules. For example, don't talk to me if you can't see me, and call my name to get my attention before you talk to me. Also, because my hearing loss is only in one ear, and I have trouble locating where sound is coming from, tell me where you are! Crowds are difficult. When I am talking to a person in a noisy environment, I try to position myself so they talk into my good ear. Unfortunately, because people like to make eye contact, we end up turning in circles.

Because I don't wear a hearing aid, I have to inform people of my hearing loss. I am always pleasantly surprised at how accommodating people are. Everyone always knows someone who is also hard of hearing. Actually, most people my age (63) seem to be hard of hearing!

0 comments - Posted by Diane Goodman at 1:34 PM - Categories: Jun 2009 Newsletter | From Families to Families

Moulds, Moulds and More Moulds

I have a collection of hearing aid ear moulds 9 to be exact. As a new born Connor started wearing his aids at 3 months, from there it seemed like his ears revolved aroundhis moulds! About every 6 weeks we would get a new pair. This meant that off we’d trot to the audiologist every 4 weeks to get fitted and then back again in another two weeks to pick up the moulds. The frequency of getting fittedfor ear moulds slowed after Connor turned a year old. For the next year from 1 to 2 we’ve only had to go get fitted 3 times. Now some advise for parents enjoy the ear mould fittings in the first year when the babies are getting fitted they are generally calm and hold still. In my experience this last year Connor is constantly squirming and does not like to get fitted! I have been told that this is just a phase so my fingers are crossed hoping that Connor at 2 will be much like he was at 6 months when he gets fitted the next time

0 comments - Posted by Jenn Kipling at 1:33 PM - Categories: Jun 2009 Newsletter | From Families to Families

Taking A Back Seat

Our son Scott was born unexpectedly at 24 weeks gestation one rainy night in early 2004.  He was just over one pound and we were told immediately to expect the worst.  The first few days were critical for survival, but Scott had what it took to fight.  In his first few months he battled a life threatening blood infection, a massive chemical burn caused by a skin sterilizing agent, jaundice, bleeding in his brain requiring surgery, heart surgery, and constant breathing difficulty.  Any of these alone can be overwhelming for first time parents, but all at once, it is indescribable.  

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0 comments - Posted by Chris Mallinson at 11:48 PM - Categories: From Families to Families

How the Cochlear Implant Has Helped Me

My name is Rosalind Ho. Today I’m going to talk about how the cochlear implant helps me, its limitations, and the best way to communicate with a cochlear implant user.

Without the cochlear implant, I wouldn’t be able to hear at all. With the implant, as well as years of practice, I can now distinguish human speech. I can hear people as separate voices and not just sounds. Also, I can usually tell one person’s voice from another. Unless the background is very noisy, I can usually carry a conversation with a hearing person.

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0 comments - Posted by Rosalind Ho at 6:22 PM - Categories: From Families to Families | Feb 2009 Newsletter

Our Son Connor

One of our favourite hearing aid stories is when we discovered that our son Connor had a knack for taking things apart. As Connor was diagnosed at birth he’s been wearing his little blue aids since he was 3 months. He’s generally pretty good about keeping them in! However one day I came into our living room to discover that not only had he taken them out, but he had completely dismantled both of his hearing aids. He had removed the ear moulds from the aids as well as the batteries and removed the tubes from the moulds. Needless to say that I could not put them back together again and we had to make an appointment to get them fixed. So we figure Connor will likely be an engineer or something because he was only 13 months at this time!

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0 comments - Posted by Jenn Kipling at 7:06 PM - Categories: From Families to Families | Feb 2009 Newsletter