Hearing aids

When you have cleft lip/palate, they automatically put in ear tubes along with one of the surgeries. Cl/cp kids tend to have multiple ear infections and all over too much fluid behind their ear drum. Amanda never got ear tubes. When she came home, she was working on a duel ear infection and as a result of two years of ear infections, she has two permanently ruptured ear drums. Amazingly, she has never had an ear infection here. So, two permanently ruptured ear drums = automatic hearing aids until she gets older to repair the problem.

All that to say, Amanda finally got her hearing aids. They were put in her ears and she just sat there very still for a minute. It was like a whole world suddenly opened up to her. She cried just walking into the audiologists office and had moments of panic and moments of peace like the moment when she could finally hear. On the ride home, a bird tweeted and she turned her head with a little surprised look as if to say "what was that?" Yesterday, she took them out once. I told her that was fine, but then she needed to come inside. She quickly decided (saying "ears, ears!") that outside with hearing aids on was a better option. She has kept them in all morning today without complaints. A blessing to be sure since getting a kid to wear these things sometimes takes time and a lot of bribery. We tell her how pretty they are (which is the reason for pink and purple) and how wonderful her ears look with them on. She has a giraffe clip that attaches to the hearing aids in the event that she takes them off. Less chance of losing them...It will be interesting to see how her speech changes for the better. Yay for prayers answered.