Why We Chose For Charlotte To Hear
You don't know what you don't know, until you need to know it.
When our precious third child was born in 2013, Charlotte Elisabeth, David and I had no clue about the world of hearing loss. We didn't know why people were deaf or how they got that way. We didn't know there was no such thing as "legally deaf," like there is "legally blind." Or what a rift in the community there is between being "deaf" and "Deaf." Why some people say "hearing impaired" and others say "hard of hearing."
There seems to be so much identity wrapped into this new world, and none of it is ours. But it is all part of who Charlotte was born to be. As a parent, we know our child's identity and self confidence starts with our choices from the moment the children is born. That's a big responsibility every person that becomes a parent has on their shoulders. Gulp.
“Blindness separates us from things but deafness separates us from people. ”
After a hard and somewhat scary process to gain understanding of the audiology steps needed to get Charlotte properly identified as profoundly deaf on her left side and moderate to severe hearing loss on her right, David and I needed to begin making choices on behalf of Charlotte and the future we hoped for her.
With 90% of all deaf, hard of hearing and hearing impaired children being born to hearing and speaking parents, our family is not alone in this new hearing journey. But it was hard to find others like us in the beginning.
For Charlotte, once we learned from the pediatric audiology group at VCU Hospitals that babies with hearing loss can begin wearing hearing aids at 3 months to help brain stimulation and development, David and I didn't hesitate another second to get hearing aids on Charlotte. She was 8 months old by the time we learned this, but she began wearing them immediately.
It was wild to watch how she reacted wearing the little pink loaner hearing aids. She was one of those babies who rolled everywhere. This video was right before she got hearing aids. You can see Charlotte responding to my voice, but only because she could see me talking to her. She had some verbal reply, but very little. I remember saying to David, as we discussed what was the right next step for Charlotte, "I just wish she'd tell me she can't hear anything."
Charlotte only looked to the right, the ear by which she had some hearing from.... Until she got her Cochlear Implant at 12 months, activated at 14 months old.
I am so very thankful my husband David and I decided to give Charlotte the gift of hearing through technology. We always say she is our "little bionic superhero."
The decision to implant your child with a cochlear implant is not simple. There is still very conflicted information on the internet and typically the parent left with the choice to make for their child has never known anyone with a cochlear implant.
As we built a relationship with our audiology department and audio verbal speech therapist, Alison King, we began speaking with with a couple parents who had been through the same process and now had a child who could hear and speak. Having the hope that Charlotte could one day contribute thoughts and ideas with her family and peers made all the upfront hard work, countless speech and audiology appointments and ultimately surgery worth every minute and dollar.
Now we are those people who talk to families considering a cochlear implant for their child. We offer what we know, which is the path to hearing through technology. Thank you Dr. Daniel Coelho for being a rockstar in the world of hearing health and for being our amazing friend.
If you or someone you know is on this hearing journey, please know you aren't alone. AG Bell has a lot of information regarding the path to listening and spoken language for your child, if that's what you feel is right for their future. We'd highly recommend it!
Lotsa love,
Leah
