Help, important question

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hinojoza0507

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hello again.. im not really sure how to start. My question is if CI don't work the same way for everyone? For example, my daughter whose almost 4 is doing great with signs and her speech is also improving. But ever since she was little she would vocalize and make sounds. Now my almost 2 yr old son also has a CI but he doesnt make a sound! Not even a babble , nothing. He's doing signs but he just doesnt want to make a sound. Is this expected? Another thing, he hates wearing his CI, me and the audiologist suggested having him wearing it for a whole week even though he wont stop crying and i absolutely hated it I felt like I was torturing him or something. But it didnt work he just doesnt like it. He even acts different, he wont play he wont eat by himself and he just wants me to carry him. I don't know what to think since I've never been deaf all I can say is that I havent made him wear it for like 2 weeks and today his home visit teacher is coming and she's gonna ask me like always "how long did he wear his implant this last 2 wks" .. it makes me uncomfortable that they kinda push me to put it on him when he doesnt like it. What should I do? By the way my daughter likes it shes fine with it .
 
How long has he been implanted? How many times has he been mapped? If he is consistently not wanting to wear it, it may be because he has a bad map and needs a new one.

And sorry if this sounds harsh, but he can simply not want it on because he knows you are not going to enforce it if he resists. It's weird to him, it's sounds he hasn't heard before, and he isn't used to it. He is 2, so he doesn't understand the importance of wearing it consistently. But you do! Getting an implant is the easy part. Everything that comes after is the hard part.

It's hard to do something you know he will be upset about, but once he gets used to it, it will be less of a problem. I know you don't like making him do something he doesn't want to, but you got the implant for a reason. Remember, it's brand new for him and he isn't necessarily going to like it until he can attach meaning to the sounds he hears.

My daughter was implanted at 20 months, and we also dealt with her taking off her headpiece often (except she thought it was a game). We didn't get mad, we just kept putting it back on. I put it on her in a way so that the cables wouldn't fall into her line of sight, and she would eventually forget it was there. Turn on is the worst for a child because they've gone the whole night with it off and have to get used to the strange sounds all over again.

I would have the map checked first, and once that is done, I would set a plan of action for maximizing his time with it on during the day. Try starting the morning with it turned off when you put it on. Once he is comfortable with it, turn it on to the lowest volume, and gradually work your way up in small increments until he is at the normal volume. That way it's not such a shock for him. He is going to take it off and cry because he knows that has worked in the past, but once he sees that you are serious about wearing it and that it is not negotiable, he'll follow your lead.
 
I'd like to add to make everything quiet when you first turn it on in the mornings. I got the CI while I was living alone, so I didn't realize the importance of this until my mom came to visit for a week. She'd do her mommy things in the morning (turning on the water, making coffee, making breakfast) making so much noise, and I was just like "PLEASE...... just stop." It takes about 10 minutes for my brain to get used to it, then it's no problem.

The brain is a strange little thing.
 
well thank you for your advice.. maybe it is the mapping what the problem is. He just got activated in March maybe thats why. I remember it wasnt so hard with my daughter maybe this is different to me I see that all children react differently.
 
I would think it's mapping...

I am nearly one year user, i experince surges every time i put my processor on in the mornings, it's ok for me since i know it will settle in few seconds, you little boy may be experincing this hence doesn't want to wear it. I would let him wear it without sound then granually increase the volume as he gets used to it just like what momtodeafchild had suggested.

Good luck.
 
To get around the surges, turn down sensitivity to 0 and then increase it gradually until it is at a comfortable level.

Excessive noise makes me nervous and manic, so I like to keep my sensitivity turned down until I'm ready to leave for the day.

You might also ask your daughter's audi to create a softer map that she can use specifically in the morning hours when noise is most bothersome to her.

I have a softer map on my processors and use it whenever I'm overly sensitive to sound or am having a migraine.

Hope this helps.
 
I agree with the top...I don't think you are torturing your son.

I really think it has to do with the mappings and stuff. he has lived without "sound" for two years (unless if he had tried HAs, but CI is way more powerful), so all of sudden he cannot make out the sounds, getting used to the sounds.

When I was first activated (I was bilateral HA user for many years), I could not believe all the sounds I was hearing...after a few hours, it gets overwhelming. Also certain sounds were WAY too high pitched or loud for my taste...so it took several mappings to have them adjusted.

Did your son ever have the NRT done? IF so, it would make sense to have the threshold levels much lower than the result of the NRT. Your son may be a little too sensitive to certain sounds, and he cannot "tell" you what they are. I am not a parent or have dealt with babies, but it does sound like he's trying to tell you that it's too much/too loud, so he doesn't like it. If you're having difficulty "leaving" it on..you can try to check out "Drew's Ears" blog...this boy had a nice cap and holds the CI in place and Drew doesn't really take them off.

As for the delay in spoken language - again, I'm not too sure...maybe after he gets used to the CI, he'll start to realize that he can make a sound. I've heard some deaf students learn to speak much later...it took longer time, but they can speak. That's all I can kind of give you about that. :)

Good luck!!
 
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