There is a reason why you have two ears. Sound attacks your head from all sides and it helps to be able to hear from your right as well as your left. Rowan had a cochlear implant put in his left ear and we opted to go forward with the right ear as well. He had the surgery over a week ago and everything went really well, much like the first. He had a huge bandage on his head again, but it didn’t take too long for him to rebound and get back to his normal busy self. In a few weeks, assuming that he heals normally, he will start wearing the device on the right as well. Like before, it will slowly be turned up in order for him to adjust to the increased input, though it won’t be nearly as dramatic because he can already hear at full volume in his left ear.
I’ve had many ask about his progress and he is doing very well. Of course he isn’t quite up to speed with the rest of his peers in terms of language development, but he is catching up. He can identify sounds and link them to ideas. He can also imitate sounds and the number increases almost daily. He likes to “moo”, “baa”, “woof woof” and “meow” among other sounds, all in connection with pictures of the correct animals. He is learning our names; he even pointed to Davin in a picture when asked. It is truly an amazing process; I have always been fascinated with early language acquisition and it has been an interesting experience to watch Rowan work on pre-language skills. It certainly has its challenges but ultimately I am so grateful for all that we have been given to help Rowan. Bilateral implantees are not very common; Rowan’s surgeon, who is a well known child cochlear implant surgeon, has never done a bilateral implant on a child Rowan’s age. Most who receive the second implant are older. Often insurance is a barrier and we feel so blessed that we had insurance willing to cover both procedures within a few months of each other.
I’ve had many ask about his progress and he is doing very well. Of course he isn’t quite up to speed with the rest of his peers in terms of language development, but he is catching up. He can identify sounds and link them to ideas. He can also imitate sounds and the number increases almost daily. He likes to “moo”, “baa”, “woof woof” and “meow” among other sounds, all in connection with pictures of the correct animals. He is learning our names; he even pointed to Davin in a picture when asked. It is truly an amazing process; I have always been fascinated with early language acquisition and it has been an interesting experience to watch Rowan work on pre-language skills. It certainly has its challenges but ultimately I am so grateful for all that we have been given to help Rowan. Bilateral implantees are not very common; Rowan’s surgeon, who is a well known child cochlear implant surgeon, has never done a bilateral implant on a child Rowan’s age. Most who receive the second implant are older. Often insurance is a barrier and we feel so blessed that we had insurance willing to cover both procedures within a few months of each other.
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