All's well...

Ben's implant is a complete success!

Well, almost. Except for the fiesty recipient, everyone's very happy.

But before I get going, a few basics on the implant and how it works... a series of three microphones in the "over-the-ear" part pick up sound in the room. The mics are connected to a speech processor that converts useful sound into electrical impulses. Those impulses are transmitted over a short wire to a receiver at the back of the head. The receiver is magnetized to part of the implant. The receiver then sends the impulses across the magnetic connection, down another wire & into the series of 22 electrodes that were implanted directly into the cochlea, stimulating the auditory nerve directly. It looks a bit like this...


The device is actually powered by batteries, either in a small power pack that connects behind the ear, or a belt pack with a thin connecting wire that's hidden under his shirt. Imagine... all this stuff, this motley collection of plastic, metal & wires is going to change our boy's life.

So, after being introduced to all of the "gear" in person, we wanted him to get used to just wearing it, not even turned on yet. So, we stuck it on Ben. And he freaked. We really had to struggle to get him to simply wear the device. After several minutes of reassurance, the audiologist hooked the device up to her PC, powered it up and began testing the individual electrodes via the processor's software. (That's just one of the amazing this about this technology... it's designed to last his entire life, and it's completely upgradeable via any future improvements in the microphones, processing and software.)


Ben's only four years old, so he couldn't tell us whether it was working or not. We relied on his behavioral responses to let us know when the impulses were at a level he could hear - a hand rising to his ear, a tilt of the head, etc. By all accounts, the device is working!

When the device has been calibrated appropriately, we turned it on. Ben stopped what he was doing, looked at his mom and began to sob. He was hearing things he'd never heard before. His entire frame of reference for the world was turned on its head, and it really shook him up. He clung to mom for a while and cried - softly, unusually so, as if he knew that his normal screaming and crying would interfere with the new sounds he was both scared of and fascinated with. He quieted down when we turned it off. We tried to have him wear it again at different times throughout the rest of the day, but it was a struggle. He fought us really hard, signing that he didn't want to be like Stratten (the boy in his preschool class with an implant), that he didn't want to hear. We know from his reaction that it's not about pain, but rather being uncomfortable with his new "surroundings."

So, physiologically, medically, a big success. We knew it would be rough on him - getting him accustomed to hearing aids took months - but he'll come around. He's been a scrapper his whole life - from the womb, through the NICU and previous surgeries, he's a real fighter, a real stubborn kid. (I've no idea where that comes from.) His prognosis is great and we're all excited and very grateful for our modern-day miracle boy.

Thanks to all of you who shared thoughts and prayers with us!