Care for what supports you and gives you the sense of calmness

2023-03-28

"Fixing" the ideal

When, after giving birth to my little girl, I got to know she’s deaf my life lapsed. I couldn’t face up to this, I didn’t believe the final diagnosis, I didn’t want to listen to anything that the doctor was saying to me.

We repeated examinations several times. I actually hoped that some mistake have been made or at least that I misheard this. I wanted to ‘fix’ my child, to help her! I wanted Hela to start hearing!

I started to desperately look for a solution. The whole family was searching for information on the Internet. We encountered suggestions such as giving my daughter stem cells which was considered as the way to reintroduce her hearing. At that time I was ready to try anything just to ‘heal’ my child.

A lot of stereotypes

When the emotions subsided and I partially faced up this situation Hela got her first hearing aids. I was ashamed of that. I saw other people looking at my child and I didn’t want them to do this. I saw curiosity and sympathy in their eyes.

After confirming the diagnosis several times and when it became evident that our daughter is deaf we decided to implant a cochlear implant. Doctors gave us hope that thanks to this surgery Hela will be able to start hearing and learning to speak. It became evident, though, that she will have to wear a big audio processor for the rest of her life.

The audio processor is an external part of the cochlear implant system which processes sounds coming from the surroundings and sends them to the acoustic nerve. The audio processor has to be connected with the implant with a magnet which is surgically placed under the head’s skin, above the ear.

At that time I thought of this processor as being a big hearing aid which I sometimes saw older people with. I couldn’t imagine that my little girl would wear something like this! I was totally broken.

Invisible novelties for privileged

At that time, RONDO single-element processors were a novelty and they already differed significantly from hearing aids. What I thought was – if my child has to wear an implant and a processor I would like them to be as small as possible, to be as invisible as possible, to become invisible to other people!

Now I know this wasn’t about Hela, but about me. It was me who didn’t accept the situation and it was me who had something to work through.

To read more about acceptance go here: https://smartear.eu/en/blog/a-deaf-child-in-a-hearing-family-1646644735

However, an obstacle appeared. Nobody wanted to give a little child a single-element processor, because it was a novelty intended to be used by adults.

Thankfullness and transparency

Now, after all these years, I finally and fully accepted processors used by my daughter and I am very thankful that we can have them! I am thankful, because Hela can hear! I don’t care about the type of the processor anymore: whether it is a Rondo or a Sonnet.

Now my daughter is 10 and somehow it all worked out so that she now has two single-element processors, RONDO 3! It was them which reminded me of this story from 9 years ago. They reminded me of my strenuous need for having processors which can be ‘hidden’.

Single-element processors have their assets and drawbacks.

Calm and Safety

From my experience I know how important it is to bind them down!

From my experience I know how important it is to choose the right cover.

That is why in our store you can buy silicone protective cases which, just like a phone cover, protects the processor against being scratched or damaged as a result of its falling down. To the case, there can be attached various hooks which are clipped to clothes with a clip and attached to hair with a hairpin or a special hairpin for short hair.

Taking into account the value of the processors (one processor costs about 50 thousands zlotys!) I consider insuring them and buying accessories which will help to use them safely as a must.

You can buy a case for the following single-element processors (the so called all-in-one processors):

Color matters! That’s why we offer cases in four soft colours.

The case perfectly abuts the processor and makes it fully secure. It is designed in a way which makes in keep the processor at the right temperature and can be combined with other items that help people with hearing loss, such as a hook that can be attached to hair or clothes.

Read more about our cases here: https://smartear.eu/en/menu/silicone-covers-663

And what I want to add is that, as the Hela’s mom, I feel calmer, because I know that the equipment that allows my daughter to function in the world of hearing people is safe.