We have all seen it. The absolutely adorable videos on YouTube that show babies hearing for the first time. It tugs at your heart strings. Their faces light up, they smile, and they laugh and giggle. The parents typically say something like, "I love you, honey!", or "Mama loves you!" Then they are immediately overcome with emotion and break into tears.
I hate to break it to you, but stories like that don't always happen. I am not saying they never do (because clearly we have all seen it), but it is more likely to be much more subtle than that, especially for babies or those who have never really been exposed to sound before.
No matter the reaction, Activation Day is filled with excitement and anticipation. The cochlear implant surgery happens, and sure there might be some trepidation there, but you get home and then you wait. You take them home to recover and a few days later there is really no difference, except a scar behind the ear and you don't have to mess with putting in the hearing aid anymore.
Activation Day happens a few weeks post surgery, once everything is healed up nicely. It is the day that the device is actually turned on and programming begins. It is exciting because it marks day 1 that sound will actually be heard by the brain.
February 14, 2019. Our Activation Day just so happened to fall on Valentine's Day. I was so happy that this special day we would probably think about and celebrate each year coincided with the holiday dedicated to love. From this day forward, I think I will always consider it our Happy HEARt Day! (see what I did there?) We dressed Ike up and printed off little Valentine cards for our audiologist and speech therapist and drove to our appointment.
I had such a strange feeling as we headed there. It was the feeling that you get when you know your life will never be the same. I would relate it to the feeling parents get as they head to the hospital to have a baby. Although this time it was different. This time, not only would our lives be changed, but our child's would be.
When we got to our appointment, I really didn't know what to expect. We walked in and received a big backpack with a ton of little boxes and gadgets. Not only did we get our cochlear processor, but all the accessories that go with it. A LOT of accessories. Things like a water proof case, different magnets, back up batteries, chargers, a travel case, various retention devices (to help keep the processor on the ear), and something called a mini-microphone (helps transmit sound directly to the processor to hear things like individuals, tv, and music more clearly). I think the went over what everything did, but honestly I was too overwhelmed to take much in.
They got the processor out of the case and showed us how to put the battery on. The device started flashing a little yellow light. When we attached the magnet to the the implant on his head, the circuit completed from processor to internal electrode and the light flashed green. The audiologist began programing the processor to adjust the pitch and volume to Ike's individual hearing needs. This process is call "mapping" where the processor adjusts to the individual's hearing needs so they can hear soft sounds as well as loud sounds that are comfortable to them.
The Cochlear device currently has 22 channels (or electrodes) that help stimulate the auditory nerve so the brain can process sound. Each of these 22 channels need to be mapped. This process can take a while, so activation actually happens over a series of appointments. This first appointment, only about 1/4 of the channels were activated. They explained to me it is similar to turning lights on slowly so our eyes can adjust, rather than full blast which tends to hurt our eyes. At a second appointment a few days later, several more channels are activated, then a third appointment about a week later completes the full mapping.
For Ike, since he was still a baby, the mapping consisted of hooking the CI up to the audiologist's computer and playing beeps at various volumes and pitches. When Ike heard the beep, he would turn to see a small box light up with Minnie mouse inside. It was incredible how well he responded to this!
Once the appropriate channels are mapped, the audiologist turns on the implant and we see how well Ike would respond to speech. This is the point where the cameras start rolling trying to catch whatever reaction might happen. We had been warned that his response would probably not be like what we had seen in those YouTube videos, but you can't help but imagine it going like that. For Ike, his response was very subtle. In fact, I started speaking to him and he didn't really even respond. My husband started talking to him and he responded a bit better. Kind of frustrating LOL!
Looking back, this was most likely due to which channels on the CI had been activated. Remember, at this point in time, Ike could only actually hear about 1/4 of what he would in the near future. Also, there was the fact that with Ike's hearing loss, lower pitches (male voices) were easier to hear than higher pitches (female voices)... At least that is what I am going to keep telling myself.
All this to reiterate, if your kid does not have a YouTube moment, there are probably very logical reasons as to why, so don't fret. The initial response does not indicate the overall outcome of the implant. The real glory is in all the small achievements that are yet to come. Listening is not instant. Getting a CI activated is not like getting Lasik eye surgery where you can see clearly soon afterward. It is a slow process and a lot of work to learn (or re-learn) how to interpret sound.
After a long appointment, we piled everything into the car and headed home. A big backpack full of things and a device that would change our baby's life. When we got home, we put the CI on Ike. He was currently in the phase of army crawling and rolling to get to where he wanted to go. Every time he would roll, the magnet would fall off his head. This would literally happen ever few seconds (or so it seemed). I remember a wave of emotion coming over me and really just wanting to cry. Is this what it is going to be like? Following him around every second, putting this magnet back on his head? How am I going to be able to do this?
Turns out, just like anything new, there is an adjustment period. Very quickly though, we learned the best ways to keep the CI on, and of course babies don't roll around forever. As with any challenge, when you embrace it and stick to it, you adjust, you learn, and you find out that you actually really can do it.
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