It was right after her second birthday she was fitted with her first pair of phonak hearing aids. She loves her hearing aids. In the morning, if we do not put them in right away, she will ask for her "ears." The hearing aids help amplify the sounds she can hear. But because of her severe to profound hearing loss, there are some sounds she is just not picking up. Most of them are in the high frequency range. Here is a demo of what hearing loss sounds like.
It appeared this fall during a typical audiological and ENT appointment, that Ladybug's hearing was becoming progressively worse. Her doctor at UNC wanted for us to come back in three months. It was at this latest appointment her doctor informed us, he would recommend a cochlear implant for her right ear.
We are in the process of taking this information and doing some research on children who have one cochlear implant along with one hearing aid. If Ladybug had an implant, she would be hearing naturally with amplification in one ear and unnaturally but with the sound field she is missing in the other. We want to make the best decision for her. We understand that making the decision sooner then later, will only benefit her, if we feel that it's the right thing for her at this time.
Any advise from parents of children who have had both a cochlear implant and a hearing aid would be greatly appreciated.
