Keeping the CI on the Ear
From day 1 of activation, we’ve been wrestling with different ways to keep the implant on C-Note’s ear. I think it should be illegal for any audi to allow a child to exit the office without providing some way of affixing the implant to some area of a child’s person or clothing.
When I consider that the technology on my daughter’s head is worth more than my two cars combined, I look at the world a little differently. Toilets, rain showers, and even open beverages become threats. One quick twist of the head can result in the implant being thrown from C-Note’s ear like a cowboy from an over sized bull. The end result can be a missing (or worse, wet) implant. I’ll never forget the shock of telling my girl to wash her hands after potty, only to look back at her and see her bent over the toilet, face forward, trying to listen to the sound of the pee-pee flushing away. The processor was just dangling haphazardly over the toilet bowl, swinging helplessly by the thin wire from the magnetic coil on her head and a makeshift shoestring attachment we placed on the battery pack.
What seems to work best is placing some double sided wig tape between the processor and the ear cartilage. Apparently, wig tape is not the same as toupee tape, which can hold onto the ear much stronger and take a little more effort to remove. What we do next is attach one end of a shoestring looking cord to the battery pack and clip the other end to our daughter’s collar.
Med-el offers a rubber loop, called a Huggie, that is supposed to hold the implant to the ear. The company sent us one to try out for free, but it doesn’t work very well for girls without big ear lobes.
Last week, we took our girl to ballet class for the first time in months and was very impressed with how the tape/shoestring combination worked. C-Note tumbled on a mat and ran around the dance floor a lot, and the implant stayed in place like a champ. The only downsides to this approach are that the clip tends to pic the dancewear and the sticky tape can also stick to long hair instantly and be kind of tricky to remove if you are not careful.
"Hi. I'm Carina. What's your name?"
That's usually the first thing you hear when C-Note sees you. Her favorite past times are meeting new friends, hosting real and imaginary parties, and drawing pictures of everyone and everything, yourself included.
As C-Note's father, I stand in complete amazement of this young lady, who God has chosen to complete our family. As an adopted child with a hearing impairment, she experiences levels of joy that surpasses many who do not face similar challenges. A spunky kind of girl, she has also been affectionately nicknamed Wiggly, Jumping Jelly Bean, Wii Girl, and of course, our precious C-Note.