On May 9, we took our little angel to get her hearing aids.
I had no idea what to expect, feeling both excited and apprehensive. Then, after building up all my energy to go to the appointment, we nearly were turned away because of a paperwork mistake made by our insurance company.
They fixed the problem, let us in to the appointment, and when they did, I was thrilled! Apparently I’d progressed from my initial sentiments of avoidance and sadness about the whole thing – the Wallaces were ready for our new little electronic friends.
After being offered everything from hot-pink to zebra-print, I had ordered simple flesh toned hearing aids and was quite curious to get my first peek at them. (Lyla is free to get the color of her choice when she’s old enough to care.)
When the doc unveiled the finished product, I was happy with the result – small and simple. Next came a surprise – we got more than just hearing aids. It turns out that hearing aids come with a bag full of “accessories” – batteries, cases, decorative stickers (yep, you read that right), de-humidifying chemicals, lots of rules, etc. I immediately felt overwhelmed. There is so much to do and remember and maintain.
The scariest accessory of all was the fluorescent orange string/clip device that clips the hearing aids to Lyla’s shirt so they won’t get lost if they fall off. My first reaction was “NO WAY. I’ve gotten used to the idea of hearing aids, but that’s where I draw the line. No more paraphernalia attached to her head will be allowed!”
Well, two days later, I was singing a different tune. Our curious daughter quickly discovered that these little (and expensive) electronics make fantastic chew toys. In about 2 seconds she could snag a hearing aid out of her ear, slobber all over it, and drop it discreetly on the floor. Fluorescent orange strings and clips seemed less offensive to me, suddenly. That little accessory was the singular hero that maintained my sanity in those first few weeks. And, even better news – I found an improved string/clip thingy online that is beige (thank goodness) and also provides a bit of waterproofing (slobberproofing) for the aids!
