Hearing Aid

We've had a couple of busy days .  Yesterday, Carter had a repeat of his hearing test.  We found out that he has no hearing in the right side (which is no surprise), and still a moderate hearing loss on the left.  We did find out that the BAHA hearing aid actually would work very well for him. We decided to not go with the actual BAHA, but a similar product that is literally about 5 times cheaper but works just as well. It's called a bone conduction hearing aid.  The problem with the traditional hearing aid is that it didn't seem to fit in his tiny ear very well.  This bone conduction hearing aid is a little device that will sit behind his left ear.  It is connected to a small microphone that will pick up the sound which will vibrate the little device and make Carter hear.  Obviously this is the very basic explanation of it because quite honestly I don't really get how it works.  The really cool thing about it is that it will give him normal hearing in the left ear and a mild hearing loss in the right even though he'll only wear it on one side.  Again, I really don't get how it works but it does so that's all that matters. The only negative (and honestly... it doesn't matter), is that he'll have to wear a headband to keep it on.  Here's a link that shows an example: Head Band .  Hopefully Carter will look a little happier with it on then that model.  So...to all of you sewing/crafting friends out there, you need to help me come up with some cute ideas for the little guy.  The band that he's getting is denim which could be cute except that it has white stripes on it too. That's just a little too much for me. We're already thinking that some hats would work.  Now, he won't have to wear the headband forever.  Just until he's five when he'll get a BAHA surgically implanted.  That's probably about the time that he'll get his prosthetic ear as well. Did I mention that he's getting his hearing aid on November 3rd?!  Yeah!!

We also had a visit with Opthalmology today.  It was just to check his right eye to be sure that it wasn't being compromised from being open all of the time.  The doc said that it looked wonderful.  He also said that he thinks it's a great idea to have the eyelid weight put in during his next surgery.  Hooray for that too!

I'm so happy to say that today was our last appointment at the children's hospital until January.  Keep your fingers crossed that we can keep Carter healthy through the Winter. We do have a sleep study tomorrow, but that's at the doc's office.  He has his follow-up for that on November 5th when we'll find out what the plan is for Carter's O2 needs. Then we are done until January...unless the doc wants another follow up after that. 

Carter's been such a stud lately.  He's smiling at EVERYTHING.  He's so aware of his surroundings and munching on his hands.  I love watching him grow.  It's exciting to think about what it will be like after he gets his hearing aid.  Here's a few pics that show off his little smile.  This kid cracks me up!