cochlear implants: beginning the journey

After a year of audiology testing and speech therapy, we have been advised and agree that Nathan will need cochlear implants. We are now starting our cochlear candidacy process, a process that will take several months. Our desire is that Nathan would be implanted in mid to late November but there are so many things to be done, that may not be likely. Please pray that he would be able to go through the process quickly so we could meet our desired time. The sooner Nathan can have his procedure, the better for him. He is classified as having severe loss, which FDA requires a child to be two before they can be implanted with severe loss. His high pitches and low pitches are in the profound loss area of hearing but it just happens the area the FDA looks at are Nathan's best areas. A very positive thing for Nathan is that his auditory nerve is being stimulated right now with the sounds he can hear. This is not always the case with children with such a great hearing loss. On Wednesday, Nathan will go to Children's Hospital for an MRI and CT Scan of his inner ear. His doctors will need to determine if his anatomy is correct in his inner ear for the implant. Since Nathan is so young, he will be put under general anesthesia and have an iv, just like with a normal surgery. Please pray for him on Wednesday. I will continue to keep an update as we go through the steps of the process. We are also beginning to look at our options for which brand implant we would like for Nathan. One of our concerns early on is that he would not be able to appreciate music, something that is so important to Preston and I. With the advancements in technology we discovered through our reading that the implant companies are working hard to make music enjoyment a priority for their implants. One of the ones we looked at even has a music setting and provide lots of activities to do with your child for music listening therapy. These implants are also designed to be upgraded, so Nathan will be able to gain the benefit of all the new technologies that become available.