Second Sound Booth

Lily had her second hearing aid check in the sound booth today. There was no gain in the decibels she can hear. She responded at 80 dB like last time. Her audiologist turned her aids up as loud as they will go. No responses to environmental sounds tonight, just REALLY LOUD feedback. *sigh*

Update on Lily's Stinky Ear

I blogged before about Lily's ear smelling stinky after I take the hearing aids out. Thank you to those who responded. I took her to the doctor to make sure she didn't have a fungus infection in her ear. The doctor said her ears look good, no infection. We also got to see the audiologist that day to make some new ear mold impressions. I discussed the stinky ear with her and we came to the conclusion that her ears do have a little smell because sweat is trapped in there all day, but that I also probably have a sensitive nose. I guess her ears smell "normal" for babies who wear hearing aids. She suggested I take them out at nap time to give her ears some more time to air out. I was only taking the hearing aids out for bath time and bed time, not nap time. The smell isn't as bad since I've been taking the aids out at nap time, but there is still a faint smell. I guess it's just something we have to get used to.

Pilot Caps

Lily has reached the age where everything she gets a hold of goes in her mouth, including her hearing aids. She pulls her hats off and her hearing aids out. At the suggestion of two moms who have experienced hearing aids on a baby (thanks Jenny and Tammy!) we are trying Hanna Andersson pilot caps. These hats are made of thin organic cotton and tie under the chin. They have been wonderful! The hearing aids stay in Lily's ears and out of her mouth!

Here are some pictures of hats that don't tie under the chin. They didn't work as well.

Here are some pictures of the Hanna Andersson pilot caps. Love them!

Lily's First Sound Booth

Yesterday Lily had her first sound booth check to find out if she is hearing anything with her hearing aids. It's hard to tell with babies as young as Lily is, but we think she responded to sound at 80 dB. Not really great, but it's something. When we found out she was deaf, she was responding at 95 dB...so that's a 15 dB gain. Still no where near the speech banana (40 to 60 dB). Her audiologist turned her hearing aids up in hopes that we might see some more responses to environmental sounds (sounds in her everyday life). After her appointment we went to eat at Genji's Japanese Steakhouse. They bang a drum really loudly when it is someone's birthday. There was a birthday at the table next to us and the staff walked RIGHT by Lily, banging on that drum. No response. She didn't turn to the sound or even stop sucking her bottle. She did, however, notice the fire on the grill every time. She is still very much getting her information about this world visually.

OtoFerm Acoustic Seal Creme

The feedback from the hearing aids is driving me crazy! Lily's hearing aids were buzzing all through church this morning. I kept going to the nursery so we wouldn't distract anyone. We've had these molds for 6 days. Has anyone every heard of OtoFerm Acoustic Seal Creme? I've read that it helps cut down on the feedback. If anyone has used it or heard of it I would love to hear from you. Here are a couple of cute pictures from this morning. Somehow she managed to get her foot stuck in the toy on her bouncy seat. I love her so much!

Growing So Fast

It seems like as soon as Lily gets new ear molds for her hearing aids, they're too small and we need new ones. When the molds get too small it's easy for Lily to take them out. Here she is with her right hearing aid in her hand. She had just taken it out.
We just got new molds on Monday and I'm calling the audiologist today to schedule an appointment to have new molds made. How can she grow so much in just 5 days? It's amazing! I can tell when they're getting too small because they squeal and buzz more. I can also hear my voice in her hearing aids when I'm close to her. I don't hear any of that when the molds are brand new.

I still don't notice a change in behavior when Lily has her hearing aids on. However, Lily's daddy says she gets quiet for a few minutes right after he puts her hearing aids on in the morning. So maybe...? She doesn't react to loud clapping, banging, or shouting right behind her ears. It'll be interesting to find out what she is hearing or not hearing at her next sound booth appointment in March.

Hearing Aids

Lily started wearing hearing aids on Monday (2/2/08). I wasn't really expecting her to respond to any sound, but a part of me was still hoping she would hearing SOMETHING. It's been almost a week, and she doesn't seem to hear a thing. Two of our cats got in a fight this morning and I yelled quite loudly at them. Lily was asleep on my chest with both hearing aids in. . . she didn't even blink. It's going to be a long 3 to 6 months of hearing aid trial, knowing they don't seem to be helping her to hear. She's had her hearing aids for less than a week and her ear molds are already too small. This causes LOTS of annoying buzzing coming from the hearing aids. It doesn't bother Lily though.