Say What?

One of the blogs I love to read is called "Say What?" The writer is a mom who's child has special needs, including deafness. Her writing, stories, and photos are great. Plus, she provides really good info, like this:

http://saywhatmunchkins.blogspot.com/2012/06/writing-frenzy-hearing-aid-grants.html

This is a link to a blog post about grants to help pay for hearing aids, and a video on putting in a kid's hearing aids. Just had to share it.

Playing chess with the audiologist

After the Berkeley Low Vision Clinic appointment, we spent several days with the Denizons of Chaos (I'll write more about that next time), then drove to Palo Alto for an audiology appointment. Queen Teen was resigned to it, and happily distracted by three energetic girls, one loud boy and a giant house to explore. Once we reached our hotel room in Mountain View, her mood quickly changed. The sparkle in her eyes vanished, replaced by a nervous scowl. The hotel was nice (thank you Hotels.com) and we had cable TV, something we don't get at home, but nothing could negate the misery she felt thinking about the next day: audiology.

Of all the appointments she has, from neurology to dentistry to genetics to orthopedics, audiology is the worst. She likes the doctor fine, but the tedium of the tests and the reality that she does indeed need hearing aids ("No I don't," she insists, even after the hearing exam clearly shows she can't hear a blessed thing.) depresses her more than her best friend moving away.

She did her best during the test, and I told her how proud I was of her. Dutifully she put the block in the box when she heard the tone, but she also put a block in after guessing the interval between testing tones. The doctor mixed up the timing to avoid that, so it was obvious Queen Teen barely heard anything. And during the vocabulary test she got frustrated when she couldn't identify what any of the words were. I made sure she could see the pictures, and she identified them by looking, but when asked to point to the "baseball" or "ice cream", she just looked at me and said, "I can't find it."

Queen Teen is a candidate for Cochlear Implants, but there's a lot to think about before we go that route, primarily, Queen Teen's mental health. She refuses to wear hearing aids and denies that she can't hear. She cries at appointments and has a panic attack before we leave the car. If I can't get her to a dentist to have her teeth cleaned without her freaking out, how the hell will she tolerate major surgery and implants? We're concerned that she's losing language processing ability because that part of her brain is no longer being activated; hearing aids can help with that.

Before we left, the doctor took an impression of Queen Teen's ears for new ear molds to go with her new hearing aids. That's when Queen Teen started to cry, and she even tried to hit the doctor. I soothed her the best I could, then the doctor quickly made the impressions and we were out of there. We had planned to stop and visit another friend, but we were both worn out so we decided to get a head start before rush hour traffic began. That's the only plus to Queen Teen's hearing decreasing so much: the hearing tests take a lot less time.

A Phone Call From Audiology

Two days ago, we got a phone call from our audiologist at Stanford. She hadn't talked to us in a while and wanted to know how things were going with Queen Teen. I gave her the run-down: Queen Teen refused to wear her hearing aids; when she did wear them the inside of her ears turned pink and she complained they bothered her; on those rare occasions she did manage to wear them, they didn't seem to help her hear any better.

"Do you think her hearing has changed?" Dr. Audiologist asked.

"It's worse. She can't hear conversations at all, and even with her movie turned up full power, I don't think she's hearing it very well."

"I'd really like to see her. She should come back for a hearing test again, and I'd like to look at her hearing aids. They probably aren't the right kind for her and I'd like to try a different type. Plus, we should get her ear molds made with a different type of material."

"I thought we were done because she wouldn't wear the aids."

"No, not at all! We can't give up on her hearing. There might still be something that can help her."

I wanted to crawl through the phone and hug her. Just to hear those wonderful words: there might be something that can help her. Lately, we've been hearing a lot of talk that sounds an awful lot like giving up. There are no more tests to run. No more treatments to try. No leg braces or therapies that will help her hypotonia. The doctors look at her and seem to say, sorry, there's nothing we can do. Go home and wait and see. Maybe in the future.


But here was a doctor who called because she wanted to see how Queen Teen was doing and when I told her that Queen Teen's hearing was worse she expressed that she wanted to keep on trying. We can't give up.

The doctor asked if we had considered cochlear implants and I said I wasn't opposed to it but would need more info to decide if it was something that could really benefit Queen Teen. She agreed and told me the process of evaluation Queen Teen would need to undergo before any of us could make that decision. But it was an option. She told me there was a newer type of hearing aid that was more powerful and that worked better with FM systems than the model we have now. And she said there are actually other types of materials to make ear molds. The receptionist at the clinic would call me the next day to make an appointment.

Which she did. I know Queen Teen won't be thrilled about going to the audiologist in April, but I am. And I know there's no guarantee even our wonderful Dr. Audiologist will be able to help Queen Teen hear, but I know this woman won't quit until she's exhausted every single option. That gives me hope, something we've been lacking around here lately.

Thank you for calling, Dr. Audiologist.

Sometimes, whether you have a good day or not depends on how you look at it.

Yesterday, I drove Queen Teen back to Stanford Audiology in Palo Alto. Neither of us was pleased about this. What fun! Sit in the car for three hours, sit in a doctor's office for two, then sit in a car again for another three hours, if we're lucky, because if we hit traffic between Novato and Windsor that will add another hour to the commute. Can't frickin wait.

I woke up at 6 am and rushed around to get myself ready while guzzling enough decaf to shake the cobwebs out of my brain. (Yes, I know it's easier with caffeinated coffee but caffeine makes me more agro than I normally am.) Then I woke up Queen Teen and spent the next hour and a half dragging her from bed to kitchen table to bathroom to bedroom to car. She decided she didn't want to go, and didn't know what she wanted to wear, and didn't want just one pony-tale in her hair, she wanted two, and her socks felt funny and her sunglasses were dirty and she needed books to read in the car but she couldn't decided which books to bring and why did we have to go to Stanford anyway?

It was a very good thing I didn't have caffeine because it was 8:30 before we got on the road and I was so annoyed with being stuck in the car with grumpy teen I probably would have run over the first squirrel who decided it would be fun to play chicken with my car wheel. As I filled up the gas tank (another joy inducing venture), I took a deep breath. This has to stop, I thought. It's going to be a very long day with a lot of driving and if you're this unhappy before leaving town it will be an unbearable day. As I drove the van onto the freeway heading south, I took another deep breath and decided to make the best of it. We can have a good day or a bad day. It's really up to me.

I decided to have a good day.

After a few minutes I felt calmer, not exactly pleased to go to Stanford, but not dreading it as much. And Queen Teen seemed to pick up on my improving mood as well because she started to chatter about how sunny it was and weren't the trees "pretty." We listened to Laurie Berkner and sang along to our favorite songs, although Queen Teen decided that I needed more practice singing. We arrived in Palo Alto with enough time to have lunch at the Stanford mall and then take a stroll. The shops are starting to put up there decorations and there was already a Santa display with Santa Clause greeting children. Queen Teen decided not to say hello, but she grinned when she saw Santa.

The appointment was quick. The doctor checked her ear molds and cast new ones, then checked the settings on the hearing aids themselves. She also fixed the battery door which kept popping open, and worked on the FM system. A lot done in only an hour and half. Queen Teen was relieved there were no long, BORING hearing tests this time. We'll do that when we go back next month to pick up her new ear molds.

We did hit rush hour traffic past Novato, but it wasn't as terrible as it could have been. I stopped at Borders Books in Santa Rosa for a break and so Queen Teen could pick out a few books to replace the ones she's thrown out. After another hour of driving, during which Queen Teen sang Christmas carols, we were home at 6:30, weary and hungry, but not miserable.

As I kissed Queen Teen goodnight, she said, "I had fun with you today. Except for the boring car ride. But it was okay."

"Me too, sweetie," I said.

Trouble with hearing aids

For the last few weeks we've been having a lot of trouble with Queen Teen's hearing aids. Her new ear molds were tight and very hard to insert into her ears. I thought it was because they were new, but when Queen Teen complained of pain, and those complaints didn't go away after a couple of days (she always whines about how her hearing aids "bug" her) I noticed her left ear was looking irritated. Is this an allergic reaction? She continued to use her hearing aids with frequent breaks, but her left ear became even more raw. Plus, I noticed a lot of feedback.

I contacted the audiologist who said the molds might be too big. How can ear molds be made too big if their cast from an exact mold of the inside of her ears? I pulled off her new ear molds and replaced them with her old, too small ear molds, which solved the pain problem, but not the feedback. The audiologist told me to check her ears for wax, which I did, but her ears looked clear. So I checked her ear molds (the old ones) and found a little wax in the tube. The problem was it was deep inside the tube, too far for the cleaning tool to reach.

Here's a trick I discovered. After digging around in my sewing basket for something longer, but not pointed, I found my threader, which is long enough, but thin and flexible so it won't puncture the tubing. With careful swipes, I was able to dislodge and pull out the ear wax.

Unfortunately that didn't fix the feedback problem, so between improperly fitting ear molds and high pitched whining feedback, we have to go back to Stanford.

Did I mention Stanford it three hours away? And that it eats up an entire day and a half of our extremely busy lives?

Oh well. What can you do? Queen Teen is back to hating her hearing aids and is depressed she has to use them. They are uncomfortable and not working properly. Even with them on, she is having trouble hearing me, which makes me wish we both knew more sign language.

I'd better make that appointment.

The Audiology Marathon

Queen Teen had an audiology appointment Wed. morning at Stanford. I decided to make it a fun trip and leave on Tuesday, giving us an extra day to play, plus a stay in a motel that night. On our way to Palo Alto that day, we stopped in Santa Rosa to have lunch with Rick, then we drove to San Francisco where we took a break at my school, San Francisco State University. I gave her a tour of the campus and showed her where my class is.

"Now you know where I am every Saturday," I said.

"Cool," she replied, looking around the classroom with a satisfied grin. "I think it's funny all of us are going to school."

But the highlight of the day was when I introduced her to one of my teachers. Queen Teen was shy at first, but warmed up quickly, especially when she discovered that my teacher ALSO wears hearing aids.

"See," my teacher said, pulling her hair back from her ears. "I have them too."

Queen Teen's eyes widened. "I didn't know other people had hearing aids!"

"I told you there were other people in the world," I said.

She looked at me and then pointed to herself. Her eyes sparkled and she sat up taller in her chair. "There are other people different like me!" Her declaration sounded like the words of a scientist who'd just discovered intelligent life on Mars.

My teacher and Queen Teen talked about sign language and hearing aids, and as I listened to Queen Teen's animated chatter I realized what a relief this discovery must be for her. Not only are there people "different" like her, but there are adults who have jobs and are capable. This woman has hearing aids, but she's my TEACHER. What a mind-blower that must be to a teen girl who thinks she's the only "weird" girl on the planet.

We continued our trip to Palo Alto and landed at the Stanford Mall. I love this mall; it's so beautiful and polite. The shoppers and workers smile. Sculptural fountains cascade into streams of clear water which run through the heart of the shopping center, framed by ferns and exotic plants. The shops are filled with beautiful clothing and jewelry I can never hope to afford, but we both love to explore. Queen Teen fell in love with a Betsy Johnson handbag (shiny purple and decorated with sparkling red and gold flowers. $300!). We discovered a tea shop and sampled the most delicious Jasmine tea I've ever smelled. The Stanford Mall is so far from my own reality, visiting it is like taking a trip to Monaco.

Tuesday was fun and relaxing, which was an excellent balance to Wednesday. NOT fun and extremely boring.

Her appointment was at 10:00 am and we were seen right away by her audiologist, Anne. Queen Teen really likes her, but she doesn't like the tedium of having her hearing checked. It took an hour and a half to test Queen Teen's hearing. She dropped blocks in a box when she heard the tone, and pointed to a picture when she heard Anne say the word. After that came programming the hearing aids and then trouble shooting the FM system. The device has had intermittent problems and Anne worked hard to figure out what was causing the device to stop connecting to the hearing aids. Of course the FM worked perfectly, just like when you take your car to the shop because it keeps making a horrible sound when you idle at a sign stop, but the car works flawlessly for the mechanic. Anne say FM devices are notorious for intermittent problems, so she wants me to keep track of when and where we are when the device stops working. What's in the environment can effect the signal, especially motion detector lights and wireless networks (seeing as we have five computers hooked up to a wireless network in the house, I'm thinking that might be a big problem).

After two hours, Queen Teen slumped in her chair, looking dazed and declaring, "I'm so bored!" An hour after that Queen Teen was just dazed. She'd stopped hearing anything, her system shutting down from fatigue and stress. At 1:00 we stumbled out of the basement where Audiology is tucked away, hungry for food and fresh air. We had a nice lunch and I grabbed one more cup of tea, then we hopped on the freeway heading home, hoping to stay ahead of Bay Area rush hour traffic. We made it to Novato before finding the stop and go traffic which we sat in all the way to Santa Rosa.

I decided she needed to have fun on Wednesday too, so we stopped at Border's books. She bought two new books and two new coloring books, then we had a snack at the cafe. There was another hour of driving before we got home at 6:30.

The hearing test showed that Queen Teen's hearing is reduced in her right ear, but her hearing fluctuates so much it isn't evidence that her hearing overall is worsening. Anne programmed the hearing aids to allow for volume control to give us an option for those days when Queen Teen seems to be having a harder time than usual understanding speech. We go back to audiology in six months.

I am impressed with how hard Queen Teen worked during the hearing test and her patience overall. Three hours would have been a strain for anyone, let alone a fourteen year old girl with a neurologic disorder. When I told her how proud I was of her, she smiled and said, "Yeah, but it was too boring."

Two Doctor's Appointments in One Day is Too Much

On Monday Queen Teen had a genetics appointment AND an audiology appointment at Stanford. Great for saving on gasoline and travel, lousy for stress reduction. To make it more fun, I booked a motel room the night before, just ten minutes from Stanford, which was a good idea, because it took FOUR HOURS for us to get to Palo Alto (it usually takes 2.5) Gotta love that Summer-time traffic.

Queen Teen likes the novelty of motels, especially the fact they have TV (we don't). In the morning we watched too many hours of Nickelodian and were almost late for our 10:00 am appointment. Another way I tried to reduce the stress was by inviting her dad to the appointment. She loves spending time with her dad and doesn't get to see him more than every couple of months (he lives in Davis).

Unfortunately, despite arriving the night before and staying in the fun motel room with cartoons, plus her dad meeting us, it wasn't enough to mitigate the stress of a marathon day of doctors, especially because there was lab work.

The genetics appointment went well, even though we didn't see the doctor we had made the appointment with. Our doctor was no longer seeing patients at that clinic, but the new doctor was very kind to Queen Teen and answered our questions the best he could. He reordered the lab tests the previous doctor had wanted but had never been done (loooong story) and he wrote the prescription for the amino-acids which MAY help decrease the degeneration of whatever condition Queen Teen has. Hopefully the blood tests will reveal a clue to explain what is happening and if anything can be done.

Then it was time for blood work. Queen Teen HATES blood work. I'm afraid she's been too traumatized over all these years of tests and doctors and hospital stays, so I try to limit blood work to only very important and/or necessary procedures. Queen Teen decided she didn't care if these tests were important, she wasn't getting stuck with no needle.

I hate putting her through blood work and I know I'm setting her up for a lifetime of PTSD every time she sees a needle. But sometimes it must be done. I'm used to the drama, but I knew her dad wasn't. While we were waiting our turn for the a blood draw, I said him, "Don't be surprised by how hard she fights. Just wrap your arms around her tightly, but keep them away from her face. She may bite."

"Oh, I don't think it will be that bad," he said.

I looked straight into his eyes. "Yes, it will. Also, wrap your legs around hers so she can't kick the Tech."

He nodded and started to look nervous.

"It will be alright. She'll get mad and scream, but the tech's here are used to screaming children and are quick. Just hold on tight so she can't jerk her arm when they draw her blood."

When the tech called Queen Teen's name, Queen Teen gripped the arms of her wheelchair tightly and said, "No."

I took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, sweety, but this is important. Let's go."

Her dad and I wheeled her in to the lab and then her dad lifted her out of the chair. Queen Teen immediately began to fight, kicking and screaming and headbutting. Luckily he remembered to keep his arm away from her face so she couldn't bite him.

The techs at Stanford are highly trained, but it took an extra tech to draw her blood. In less than a minute it was done. Queen Teen's dad put her back in her chair and wheeled her away, back through the waiting room where unfortunately five young children had just listened to her blood curdling screams. Sorry.

Queen Teen was cheerful again the moment we left the building, and by the time we had lunch she was laughing with her dad. We strolled around the Stanford mall and looked at the flowers and window displays, then her dad said goodbye. Queen Teen and I went back to Stanford, luckily to a different building far away from the lab.

Our audiologist is wonderful; knowledgeable, dedicated, and great with kids. Queen Teen smiled when she saw our doctor. We were there to pick up the FM system for Queen Teen's hearing aids, which should be a big help in noisy, crowded places, especially when I'm behind Queen Teen pushing her in the wheelchair. At first, Queen Teen didn't respond to the direct input of my voice through the FM system. She seemed confused by it. The doctor played with the FM for a bit to make sure it was working, but even though the device worked perfectly, Queen Teen still didn't seem to hear or understand what I was saying. The doctor believed that Queen Teen needed to practice hearing with the device so that her brain could process the new sounds. And she was right. I kept the FM on while we were in the car and after a few minutes Queen Teen was able to hear me very well. We had a real conversation in the car, something we haven't been able to do in three years.

That night, we stayed with friends in South San Francisco. I had tickets for King Tut on wednesday, so we decided to stay in The City and make it a vacation. On tuesday we were visiting friends. That monday night, Queen Teen almost feel asleep while eating her dinner and went to bed early. It had been a long, exhausting day for both of us. We had the next two days for a little fun.

Does Anyone Know the Patron Saint of Hearing Aids?

image from Peran.org


A funny thing happened last week. Queen Teen, who has forever denounced her hearing aids as evil incarnate, started to count the days on her calender until she got her new hearing aids. She pointed at March 31st on her calender and said with a smile on her face, "This is when I get my new hearing aids."

"Um... yeah. That's the day," I replied.

"That's cool," she said.

Cool? Cool? When did wearing hearing aids become cool? It made me want to double check that this was indeed my child and not a changeling left by aliens from the planet Happiness. But no, this is my girl, my own Queen Teen, and somehow she's decided that new hearing aids will be "great!"

March 31st arrived and we drove to Stanford in Palo Alto to see the audiologist, a young Asian woman who has a knack with tricky kids. For over an hour she tested Queen Teen's hearing, with me helping by facilitating games (drop a block in the box when you hear the beep.) One test was followed by another, and then another, all looking for different aspects of Queen Teen's hearing, and an hour later Queen Teen was starting to glaze over. Her eyes drooped and she stopped paying attention to the sounds coming from the headphones. Unfortunately, we weren't done. The doctor and I prompted and encouraged Queen Teen and somehow she found the energy to keep trying for several more minutes.

The tests showed that her hearing was improved from the last time we were there (2 months ago) but was worse than the first time we came (a year ago). It does appear that Queen Teen's hearing is fading, but what it all means is still under debate. Will she lose all of her hearing, or will it reach a plateau? And why is she losing her hearing at all? Just chock it up to another part of the mystery that is Queen Teen.

The doctor put in Queen Teen's hearing aids and adjusted them so that low, soft tones would be louder. She didn't increase any of the other tones because Queen Teen is very sensitive to noise. Immediately I saw a difference. Queen Teen and I chatted about her hearing aids and her hearing and I didn't have to yell. She was alert and responsive and smiling. When we left the office, she kept the hearing aids in and I only took them out when we went to the motel and she complained they were bugging her (3 hours later!).

I decided to get a motel room and spend the night to lessen the stress on both of us (thank you student loans!). It's a 3 1/2 hour trip to Palo Alto from where we live, close enough to drive there and back in one day, but too far to drive there and back comfortably. Instead we ate dinner in our room, watched a movie, slept in late the next day and then had lunch in San Francisco, spending some quality mother/daughter time together. And she kept her hearing aids on the whole time.

So, if anyone can tell me the who the Patron Saint of Hearing Aids is, I'll be very grateful. I need light a candle and say THANK YOU.

Did You Know That Ears Grow as Fast as Feet?

Or so it seems.

Queen Teen had another audiology appointment last week so she and I drove down to Palo Alto the night before and stayed in an inexpensive hotel (yes, there actually are inexpensive hotels in Palo Alto. Well... sort of). I decided to go down the night before the appointment to try and make it fun for Queen Teen. We had McDonalds for dinner in our cozy hotel room and watched TV, which was a novelty since we don't have TV at home. Then in the morning we went for a walk in the sunshine at the Stanford Mall and watched the shops open and the people wake up with their early morning Lattes. Queen Teen especially liked all the Springtime flowers that fill every section of the shopping center, the yellow pansies and exotic orchids, iris and daffodil, cherry blossoms and jasmine, and the dormant roses just starting to stir. She also loved all the fountains and made a wish in one that looked like a water fall, complete with bronze salmon. I bought her a cute doll that was on sale at a children's furniture store (she loves looking at the baby cribs), and then it was time for audiology.

Her smile vanished.

During the appointment, the audiologist rechecked her hearing to see if there were any changes. Queen Teen was a trooper and did as the doctor asked, but every time she had to respond to a tone, she would say, "Oh brother." It started to get funny. Beep... Oh brother... beep.... Oh brother... beep... At least she was consistent, which made the testing easier.

Then the doctor checked the ear molds of her hearing aids and that's when we discovered they were too small. VERY TOO SMALL. They didn't even reach the inner cartilage of her ear! I was surprised she had outgrown them so quickly (it had only been about 8 months), because before it had taken a couple of years for them to become too small. The doctor told me that at this age (13), Queen Teen will probably outgrow them every six months. I think her ears are growing as fast as her feet, probably faster than the rest of her body, which seems to need new clothes every five months.

The doctor made new ear molds and thankfully Queen Teen was cooperative and even giggled. "That feels funny." I told her the doctor was putting frosting in her ear and she laughed.

There does seem to be a reduction in Queen Teen's hearing, but it is too soon to tell for sure. It's common for there to be fluctuations in hearing tests, so we'll need to wait and see what the next few tests show before we can say for certain that her hearing is getting worse. However, the doctor agreed with me that Queen Teen needs to learn sign language, simply because if her hearing loss is related to neuropathy, which is a neurological disorder, rather than a simple hearing problem, then she will have fluctuations in her hearing daily and hearing aids won't be able to make up for that.

Anyone know a good place to learn Sign Language quickly? I need a crash course. I took it in college, but that was 16 years ago!

Hearing Aid Battle, Round 2

Over the holiday break, Queen Teen's teacher sent home the hearing aids again, and since QT was spending the entire break at home with me, there was no ready excuse to avoid the fight. So, one day I decided to face the battle full charge ahead.

"Hey sweet, you need to wear your hearing aids for a bit."

"Why?" QT said with a scowl.

"Because your teacher wants you to keep practicing."

"Why?" She crossed her arms.

"Because the more you wear them the sooner you get used to them. They won't bug you so much."

"Why?" Now her head was buried in her chest.

"Your hearing aids help you hear better."

She looked up at me with narrowed eyes. "No they don't."

"Yeah, they really do. I can tell the difference when you don't wear them. I don't have to yell so much."

"They bug me."

I was trying very hard to keep my voice calm, yet firm. But my frustration was growing.

"Just wear them for a couple of hours and then you can take a break."

"I don't want to."

"I want you to, though. And so do your teachers."

She started to cry. "They bug me!"

"What do you mean they bug you, honey?"

"They bother my ears."

"How so?"

"I don't know."

I looked at her ears, examining the inside curves for any sign of rubbing or irritation. "I don't see anything. Can you show me where it bugs you?"

She shrugged.

"Wear them for a little while and then you can take them out if they bug you too much."

She cried harder while I gently put the hearing aids in her ears. As soon as I was done, she shouted, "I don't like them!"

I hugged her and said, "I know. I'm sorry. I'm proud of you for trying." And then I left the room to let her collect herself.

A few minutes later I checked on her. She'd stopped crying, but her hearing aids were practically hanging out of her ears only attached by the ear molds.

"Honey, you have to keep them on."

"They bug me!"

I pushed the mechanical part behind her ears again. "Just for a little while."

I thought distraction might help. "Want to color?"

"No." She turned her back on me.

"Watch a movie?"

She shook her head.

I sighed and left the room again, only to discover a few minutes later that she'd pulled her hearing aids out from behind her ears to dangle like cream colored antenna.

This went on for almost an hour, and then I took them out. I tried again the next day, and the next, but it was always the same.

It is so hard to find the balance in this fight. She needs hearing aids, but she HATES them. I understand she's used to not hearing, so everything sounds weird when she wears the aids. I also know they really could be bothering her. Maybe they itch, or rub. Just because I can't see anything doesn't mean the irritation isn't there. But then when I add in the teen-age, fight mom at all cost, stubborn part of the equation it throws all the excuses out the door. So what is the answer then? Is she just being stubborn, or really having trouble, or all of the above?

She'll wear them at school, so I guess that will have to do for now. Except that her teacher sends them home on the weekends.

Get ready for Round 3.

The Hearing Aids are BACK

Queen Teen's hearing aids were finally repaired and for the last two weeks her teachers have been encouraging her to wear them. So far I've been lucky; the hearing aids are only at school. From what I hear, Queen Teen has been VERY unhappy about wearing them and I dread the coming battle when her teachers finally send them home.

I get email messages from Queen Teen's teachers on her progress. First day there was a lot of crying, but after 45 minutes she was distracted enough by the computer to stop crying and keep them in for a few hours. The next day, more crying, but by the third day crying had been replaced by profound sighs and rolling of eyes. She was adjusting to them quickly and her teachers were pleased.

Then came Thanksgiving break. One full week without her hearing aids.

The teachers sent them home, but I chickened out. And besides, Queen Teen was spending several days with her dad for Thanksgiving and I didn't want to send the hearing aids when he doesn't know how to use them, and what if they got lost somewhere and it would be terrible if they were broken again... I thought of at least ten reasons not to make her wear them over the holiday. But really, I dreaded the fight. The last time I made her wear them at home she cried hysterically for over an hour. Although it was true she was going to be gone and sending the hearing aids to her dad's wasn't a good idea, she could've worn them for the few days she was home with me.

School started again this week and her teachers insisted she wear her hearing aids in class. I got a note from her teacher this morning saying Queen Teen has worn them all morning and everyone can see a huge improvement in Queen Teen's abilities. She can actually hear what's going on. However, Queen Teen hasn't given up complaining about them now and then.

She told me they "itch," "bug me," and "don't do any good." "It don't help me hear no better. It just makes everything sound weird." I believe her, but the fact that they appear to help means she has to keep wearing them. We'll all keep an eye on her ears for signs of irritation, and the teacher of the hearing impaired is bringing some kind of ointment to help them feel more comfortable.

For now, she'll continue to wear them only at school. But in a few weeks it will be Winter break. Two weeks when Queen Teen will be home with me, not at her dad's, and that means we'll have plenty of time to battle over the hearing aids.

Joy