We have had quite the week....or maybe I should say Sophie has had quite the week. On Tuesday I took her to get her new hearing aids programmed. These are the first new pair of hearing aids she has had since being fitted with her original pair at 6 months of age. Our insurance announced that they are covering them at 85% this year, so it really worked out well. They can be pricey, these run $1600.00 each. When I found out about the coverage, I called her audiologist who said, yes, it is probably time, as technology has come far in 6 years. She gave me some options, and we selected what would be best for the classroom setting, a mid range model, as far as price and options goes.
As soon as Lisa put them on her and turned them on, she asked, "What is that?" and looked all around. Radora, one of her audiologists who wears hearing aids herself, was there to help her out. "It's the fan overhead, can you hear it now?"
Sophie: "Well, yeah kind of....but......everything is down, I don't like these at all, they are awful!"
Lisa and Radora then remind her very gently how yes, new hearing aids do sound so much different from what she is used to, she really needs to give them a good try for at least a couple of weeks, just wait till she is in school and can see how much better they are, etc. I stayed out of it, because I have learned that the information goes much further when it doesn't come from Mom.
By the time we left she was ok with them, but once we were in the car she freaked out again. She can't hear a thing, everything sounds "down". It's hard for her, with a 6 year olds vocabulary to describe it in terms that I can understand. So it goes, back and forth for the rest of the day, but by bedtime she seems to have accepted them.
The next morning, total anarchy. She hates them, they do NOT work, she must have her old pair back, she is not wearing these to school. I knew that arguing and insisting wasn't going to make things better, so I told her I would check them out fully, maybe they weren't working properly. I took both batteries out, we put them in the tester, of course they had full power as they were brand new. Put the batteries back in, I listened to them myself through the listening tube, they were fine. But, to help her out, I had her talk to me from several distances, all the while letting her know that wow, I can hear great through these. And to be fair, they even sound different to me than her old ones, so I can imagine what a jolt it is to her. I knew I had to give her some leeway, as Radora told me, "Mrs. Gould, I am a grown woman, and I HATE getting new hearing aids!" Radora has worn them since she was 2, so she has been through this experience many times.
I ended up walking her to her classroom; I had already informed Mrs Miller what was going on, so she was prepared. Another example of what a great teacher she is. She read the book Sophie had been given from the audiologists about hearing aids, then had Sophie come up and share all about it. Nothing like sympathy from your peers. All day I was wondering how she was doing, would she switch out to her school pair and use the FM, or give them a real try?
She came bounding off the bus that afternoon, I was braced for the worst. Instead I got this: "Mom, these hearing aids are the BEST, I didn't even have to use the FM system at all, I can hear everything with them!" Mrs. Miller had sent a note home saying she did great at school, nothing to worry about. I then emailed Lisa to cancel the appt I had made for Friday because Sophie had insisted there must be something wrong with them, and that "Miss Lisa was lying, they aren't better!"
We've had some rough patches since then, she still wants the car radio and the TV louder than where I think it should be, but that's ok for now. In a few weeks we will go back to see Lisa and Radora so Sophie can go into the booth. Then they will be able to fine tune her settings, and we will really have a true understanding of what she can and cannot hear with them.
And, as I reminded Terry, we get to go through this again in another 5-6 years, when she will be 12 going on 20...I can only imagine the drama then!
3 comments:
Glad to hear she was able to work through the initial change, that has to be really tough to adapt to so quickly.
Glad the new ones are working better after all. : )
I wonder if new hearing aids make you feel seasick like new glasses?
If it makes Sophie feel better, my Grammy finally had to get some new ones too. With the new ones this week, she didn't need me to tell her which gospel we read at church and she can hear me even if she isn't looking at my mouth!
Steph, I gather it's an even bigger adjustment than new glasses. I always remember feeling like I could see every leaf so clearly on the trees when leaving the drs with new glasses. I'm glad your Granny is enjoying hers, so many older folks....not to name names or anything....will not try them out, and they miss so much. Again, not naming names or anything.....
We saw the bike race this morning on our way to SPC. A sad day, the last PSR class, our 60 minute date each Sunday is now history.
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