Mr. Processor, meet your public.
Behind her ear is the processor part. That's the brains of the operation. There's a few buttons, but right now they are disabled except for the on/off button. Mainly so she won't accidentally push a button and jack things up. But also so the parents won't push a button and jack things up.
There are also two microphones up there. And my understanding of the two mics...one for the things you want to hear. And one to filter out the noise you don't want to hear. This is the biggest change in the Nucleus 6 versus the 5. Being able to change depending on the wearers environment and filter out unwanted noise and sounds. Think about going from your quiet car to a windy sidewalk and then into a noisy restaurant. All things we don't think about, but makes hearing way more difficult for EK.
The part that seems to magically stick to her head is the coil. And it's not magic, it's a magnet. In her head. All jokes aside, yes, she's a 18-lb magnet now. Without that piece "stuck" on her head, she can't hear.
The cord is the coil cable. In layman's terms, it's what allows the coil and the processor to talk to one another. And apparently it breaks easy. Maybe they should cover it with Teflon or something.
The flesh colored part is called a Snugfit. This is the part where we say "Praise Jesus for snugfits!!" We were so worried it wouldn't stay on her tiny ear because it is bigger and heavier than her hearing aids. But with the help of the tiniest snugfit they make, it's hanging out on that tiny ear like they were made for each other!
The brown cord you see coming off the processor is our insurance policy. In case the snugfit fails us, little bit decides she no longer wants to wear it or even knocks it off accidentally, the cord is attached to her shirt with the little owl clip and keeps it from hitting the ground and shattering. Or even worse, losing it. Hopefully. She wore a clip with her hearing aid. And yes, even with that clip, we lost one. But this clip uses a silicone band to hang on tight to her CI and I'm hoping it serves it's purpose well. I found these on an Etsy site called The Bebop Shop and we LOVE them! In fact, I just ordered two more for backups. And cause a girl needs to have options.
On her head, it looks like little more than a big hearing aid. You can barely see the coil because it's under her hair. The most noticed thing is her flashing green light that tells me it's on, working and connected. Orange means "Houston, we have a problem", which other than a dead battery, we haven't had to deal with yet. The kids at church get a kick out of her lights...."Uhhh, Mrs. Jana, Ellie Kate's ear is flashing."
And the inside...well, I won't show you the bloody pictures of the inside of her head, but this is what's in there.
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| Photo courtesy of Cochlear America website. |
Pretty cool, huh??
I moved her up to program 4 about a week ago, which is the final program until we go back to the audiologist to be turned up more. She paused and looked at me, as if to say, "What did you just do??" but then went right on playing.
Her tears when we first put it on have continued to diminish. They are definitely still there. But much better than the hysterics of two weeks ago.
Maybe they will learn to be lifelong friends after all...
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| First time trying a PB&J, which is both brother's meal of choice. Every day. She's not sold yet. |
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