Frustration

Nolan has been wearing his hearing aids for a full 12 months, so one would expect that he would be quite used to them and would leave them in his ears for more than 20 minutes at a time. The pilot cap has lost its power to keep the aids in, because Nolan can rip it off in 3 seconds flat. If it is triple knotted, he will pull his ears out from behind the edges of the cap and rip his aids out.

I've thought about trying these caps, but they are $30 per hat and I have a feeling they would be no match for Nolan's excellent fine motor skills. So we are now at an impasse: Nolan pulls his aids out, we replace them, he pulls them out... repeat ad infinitum.

Some might suggest we get to the bottom of why he is pulling them out. We simply have no clue, as we know his hearing level has recently returned to previous levels and the aids are properly set. Perhaps the constant noise level provided by our three year old bothers him? Or he hears "well enough" (from his point of view) without them?

We are getting new earmolds on Thursday, so perhaps that will help keep those aids snugly in his ears. In the meantime, his time spent in aids is decreasing as we fervently try to keep them in as long as possible. At least he keeps them in during speech therapy.

Aside from super glue or some other permanent measure of adhesion, any suggestions are welcome (and don't think I haven't thought about the super glue)!

Another Great Use for Pilot Caps

When you need a full-body bib, nothing else will do!

Note to self: In the future, avoid cakes with black frosting at all costs!

Happy Birthday, Matthew- I can't believe you're THREE years old!

Don't Make Me Get the Hat Out, Boy!

And I thought our pilot cap days were over- ha!

Nolan won't leave his right aid in his ear. He constantly pulls it out, hands it to me, and then walks away to continue playing. A few minutes later the left one will come out, but he really doesn't want the right one put back in. I did a listening check and the aids are OK, so I can only hope its a phase he's going through. I really hope he isn't losing more hearing! I doubt it, since he can still hear us with his aids off (we're still audible, but not really intelligible to him with his aids off). He does have a cold, so that could be part of his problem.

You've Got Mail!

Today we received a wonderful present from our friend Mari! What could be inside????





Cool new hats! Pilot caps are awesome. So are nice friends!

An Attempt at Being Crafty...

It's an elephant, if you can't tell. I've never used waste canvas before and my stitches are horrible! Oh, well- I may get better with time. I think the next "craft" will be using iron on decals- much easier and I certainly can't mess that up! Or can I???

Ear Gear vs. Pilot Caps

In the never ending search for items which will keep hearing aids on my almost-5 month old son's head AND will keep them free of drool and rice cereal, I decided to order some Ear Gear. Now, for a comparison between the efficacy of Ear Gear and Pilot Caps:

Ear Gear:

Pros:

• Comes in a variety of cool colors, so you can change the look of the aids over time.



• Covers the actual hearing aid, reducing moisture and dirt damage. This could become important as Nolan learns how to turn his hearing aids into a tasty snack.



• Reduces the chance that small parts might fall off of the hearing aid (again because it covers the aid).


• The cord prevents the hearing aids from becoming lost, if they fall from the child's ears.
• Acoustically transparent.

Cons:

• Costs $25 for one set.


• The cord is too long for a small infant, leaving a lot of "dangle" room.


• The extra cloth over the hearing aid adds bulk, and pushes a baby's ears out (see squashed ear in the picture above). This also makes the aids more prone to falling off (though the handy-dandy cord will keep them from getting lost).

Pilot Caps:

Pros:

• Cost $8 each; $7 each if you buy 2 at a time.


• Keeps older brother from noticing and playing with hearing aids.


• Don't add bulk to the actual hearing aid.
• Covers the entire ear to prevent contamination with dirt and moisture.
• Keeps hearing aids from flopping off when rolling around on the floor.
• The are "so freakin' adorable!"

Cons:

• If a hearing aid does fall off, you might not notice it until you remove the cap.
• If a hearing aid does fall off, there is nothing to keep it attached to the baby.
• People ask why you won't take your kid's hat off.
• Harder to turn the hearing aid on/off if Nolan has fallen asleep- there is a big chance I'll wake him up by untying the pilot cap!

Conclusion:

Pilot caps are definitely better for a smaller baby- they keep the aids on well for a baby who is too young to remove his or her own aids. Ear Gear are probably better for older babies and children, who might remove/mouth aids or get them dirty. Ear Gear makes the aids too big for a baby's small ears and the cord is too long. This wouldn't be a problem with a toddler/child with bigger ears. Pilot caps would begin to lose effectiveness when the kid could just reach underneath the hat to remove the hearing aids. Let's hope Nolan's ears grow enough for the Ear Gear before he learns any new tricks!

I Love Pilot Caps

Oh, to extoll the virtues of pilot caps! I received Nolan's in the mail on Thursday, and it has made hearing aid life much easier! Despite the use of toupee tape, the hearing aids would still flop off when Nolan rolled over. Plus, toupee tape didn't stop my curious toddler from investigating the hearing aids! Now I have fewer worries that rice cereal will get flung into an aid and ruin a rather expensive device.

Plus, this cap matches his eyes! The only negative: his head is growing so fast I'm going to have to order the next size soon.