When I found out My Son Was Born Deaf, I felt completely unprepared. However, after 6 years and a lot of hard work, it feels like we are finally finding our groove. Join me as I share a behind the scenes look at day-to-day life with a deaf child.
Life is Busy
When Jude was first born, the demanding schedule of his appointments consumed me. After only 6 months, I left my career and became his full-time caregiver. Our days consisted of appointments, ASL classes, and play dates with our deaf friends. Jude also attended private speech therapy multiple times a week in addition to bi-monthly home visits with a Speech Language Pathologist.
Although the appointments felt constant in the early days, regular speech therapy and Audiology visits proved to be a contributing factor in Jude’s success. By the age of 3, Jude was excelling in all areas and graduated from his speech therapy programs. Things seemed to slow down for a while until December 2020, when Jude underwent surgery for his first Cochlear Implant. After the incision healed, Jude’s CI was activated and he returned to private speech therapy for 12 months. Although we are back to a slower period in life, we know a future CI surgery and all that comes with the healing process is inevitable for Jude.
Things are Loud
Despite his profound hearing loss, Jude’s speech is on par with that of his hearing peers. In fact, we’re often faced with the challenge of getting him to stop talking! Rest assured, this is a common behavior among deaf children as it takes their brain less energy to talk than it does to process the sound they are hearing. Although the constant talking can feel overwhelming at times, I certainly enjoy the imaginative conversations Jude initiates!
Volume control has also proven to be an area Jude struggles with. It doesn’t matter if it’s the middle of the night or someone is sleeping, Jude will not hesitate to speak at an inappropriately loud level.
The Adventures of Hearing Devices
Don’t Eat Your Hearing Aids
The biggest challenge from day one has been the never-ending battle to keep Jude’s “ears” in. As an infant, I tried everything on the market to keep his hands away from his ears. Pilots caps, wig tape, headbands. You name it I bought it, each offering only a temporary solution. Jude continued to keep me on my toes when at 12 months he entered a “my hearing aid is a teether” phase. Let’s just say navigating a broken sound tube while vacationing in California was not something I was prepared for! Fortunately, as Jude approached his toddler years, we overcame those challenging behaviors and wearing hearing aids became his normal.
Despite his demonstrated responsibility, Jude does occasionally forget he must keep his devices dry. Although they are water resistant, moisture or an excessive amount of water can cause damage. Jude recently decided to test this water resistance theory (and my patience) when he “lost” his processor in his laundry basket. After several days, I finally got around to folding said laundry and discovered the missing processor. I’m happy to report it can withstand the rinse cycle as long as you also run it through the dryer and allow it to fully charge!
Where is Your Cochlear?
When he isn’t breaking his devices, Jude is especially skilled at losing them. Surprisingly, there has only been one incident of losing a hearing aid. The processor for his CI however, is a different story. Jude runs, jumps, and acts crazy as most young boys do. As a result, the processor frequently falls off and disappears. Needless to say, I have become quite skilled at locating a black, magnetic disk among the chaos of my home.
Daily Care and Accommodations
When Jude’s “ears” are not lost or broken, daily care has become an ordinary part of his routine. He independently puts his devices away to charge before bed and places them on correctly each morning. He also knows how to replace hearing aid batteries and advocates for himself when he can’t hear something at home or school.
Additional modifications we have made to accommodate Jude’s loss include a color changing alarm clock, wearing a special microphone to hear in loud settings, and utilizing Bluetooth technology so sounds from electronics can stream directly into his ears.
Reflecting on the Diagnosis
Looking back, I admire the strength I exhibited during some of my hardest motherhood moments. In a time where I could have acted in fear or denied the diagnoses altogether, I chose to listen to the doctors and act accordingly. As a result, my son has the ability to tune into the sounds of the world with a device that fits in the palm of his hand. He can speak. He can choose to immerse himself in deaf culture and communicate by utilizing sound and spoken language. Above all, I’m glad I gave Jude the choice to be himself in life, however he decides that will look for his future.
