Kemper is now a full time walkin' talkin' boy. We never thought we would get here, but we are loving every minute of it! So now that he's a "big boy", we have been thinking of moving K's C.I. processors, that we keep pinned to his clothes near his shoulders, on his ears. We planned on doing this sooner, but he was primarily crawling up until about 15 months, making it almost impossible to keep the processors on his ears. He is doing pretty well at localizing to sounds, but we think that he could do even better with them on his ears. Only problem is that we are not quite sure how to go about it. There are many different aids but what do you think would work best for an active 16 month old boy? What does your child use? Here are some options that I have found, but I'd love to hear other's opinions on them...
These may help them from getting lost, but how can we keep them on his ears?
Thees cables allow him to wear the processors on his ears, but the battery portion still remains pinned to his clothing.
May work better for hearing aids, but I hear they are an option?
Great idea but I'm not sure we like the idea of headbands on boys ;)
Any others?
Nucleus 5 users:
Have you tried the new rechargable batteries?
Do you like them?
How many hours are you getting out of them?
How many hours are you getting out of them?
Are they worth buying?
9 comments:
Obviously, I don't have much experience with keeping CI's on babies. I have tried a few of these, though, so I thought I'd give my input.
Ear Gear- While they're great for for keeping out moisture, they don't keep the processor physically attached to the head- it only keeps them from getting completely lost. It also prevents you from being able to use a lot of the other gadgets that keep the processor on the head (SnugFit, Huggies)
Huggies- I used them with hearing aids, and they worked pretty well. You have to measure the ear really well to get the right size, and often times the size that kept it on my ears also slightly squished my ears and made them stick out. This was probably partly do to my attached earlobes :P
-Cochlear sells something called Mic Lock Tubing, similar to the huggies, except instead of being a circle with two bands that go around the CI, it is a long tube with one band at the end. You trim the tube to the appropriate length, and then slide it over the end of the earhook. I'm probably making it sound a lot more complicated than it actually is...It's really simple and is less bulky than the Huggies.
Snugfit- The part that goes around the bottom part of tends to gradually drift off the ear and will eventually be sticking out if you don't constantly correct it. It's better than not using anything to help it stay on at all.
I'm not buying the compact rechargeables since 6 hours of battery life doesn't seem like a good bargain for the smaller size. If K has a less powerful map (the battery life can be estimated with the compact rechargeables on the computer at every mapping), then it might be worth it. They are quite small.
Also, you might want to try toupe tape, sticking it to the side of the processor that touches the head (as opposed to the ear). It's what I've found works the best, and the biggest problem is the multiple strands that get ripped out of my thick, curly hair as I try to pull it off. I don't think K will have that problem!
We moved Aiden (who has the Nucleus Freedom) to the full BTE (behind the ear) around 16 months. Before that, we were using the baby worn set up where you pin the battery pack to the shirt. This didn't work well for him because he didn't like the wires touching his neck, but I've known many families this works wonderful for.
For both ways though, I have to say the Snugfits are AMAZING (for the Freedom's anyway). We still use them today and have backups always ready. I LOVE them because you can "mold" it to fit around their earlobe so it holds on nicely.
In the beginning of going full BTE we used a lot of Topstick tape (found at Sally's), to help keep them on his ears. I'd cut it to fit the top and bottom part of the CI. Only thing is, once the CI comes off, you have to change the tape as it loses the stickiness, so it can become a pain. We also used Critter Clips as a safety net in case one would fall off. It attaches to each CI and then clips to the back of their shirt. We use these when we're out or if Aiden is at school. I have a link on my blog for them.
Best of luck! I felt once we moved to full BTE that he seemed so grown up! lol.
We use toupee tape on our son's Nucleus 5. It works the best and lasts all day. We actually attach the tape to the side of the head (behind the ear) firt and then place the processor on top of the tape. it just seems to hold better that way. I have found the strongest toupee tape at wig stores.
We use the rechargeables and get about 14 hours. We have not tried the compact rechargeables. As PinkLam said, they really do not give that much time. Our audi estimated 8 hours with our son's map so we have not purchased them yet.
We use the snugfit on George's Freedom and then also use It Stays, a roll-on adhesive made for stockings. We made it through several hours at Rollie-Pollies this way so I call it a success. The It Stays just washes off with a damp wash cloth at night and is easy to reapply if needed. I do love the snugfits too though.
We moved Peas up to ear level when he was 2 and never looked back. We use toupee tape and it works great on his Med-El's. We also use a critter clip. I don't feel like the Huggies are secure enough and much prefer tape.
We ditched the babyworn set-up with the freedoms right from the start when Ava was 9-10 months old and went full out BTE with toupee tape. We now have the N5's and it stays on the ear even better, especially with the compact rechargeables. The compacts in my opinion are completely worth it! The N5 with the compact rechargeable doesn't even go the length of her earlobe (only about halfway down) and it is so LIGHT and THIN and SHORT we love it!!! We get 10hours on the compact and a couple days with the reg length. But honestly ever since we got the compacts we never use the long ones. We charge them at night. Ava wakes up at 8ish, then naps from 1-4 and then down for the night at 8 and the compacts last the whole day. We use the critter clip for the park, outings etc.
Good Luck - I'm anxious to find out what you end up doing. :-)
Lucas has been wearing the full BTE setup since about 18 months, with (top stick) toupee tape. We love it, and wouldn't have it any other way! He asks for more tape when it loses its stickiness. Good luck!
I feel the Snug Fit it is your best bet. They mold well to your ear and now it seems that Cochlear has the clear version and a version with colors to match their processors. They also come in three different sizes, which is nice for tiny ears! I have seen the Mic Lock tubing work well too, but I prefer the snug fits.
We used the snug fit with Allison when she was younger, we also used the tape, but Allison hated it. At about age 6, we got her ear molds( the same kind as they have for hearin aids). She loves them.....she is able to run, swing, hang upside down without having to worry about her CI's coming off.
Just a thought as he gets older.
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