Briggs Hearing Update...

You all should now be in the know about Briggs hearing but in case you're not, here is a brief recap... Briggs failed his newborn hearing screening at the hospital. We had it tested again at his Pediatrician's office and he failed again. We were referred to Boys Town Hospital (they are a nationally recognized hospital for hearing) where Briggs was diagnosed with Bilateral Profound Hearing Loss. Briggs will be getting cochlear implants between 10 months of age and 1 year as long as he's a candidate. If you haven't heard of the implants, google it... they are AMAZING! The cochlear implant is a complex electronic device that can compensate for non-functioning parts of the inner ear. The implant procedure involves surgery to insert the device under the skin behind the ear. Electrodes are attached, providing a direct pathway to the cochlea within the inner ear. When the implant detects sound, impulses are sent through the auditory nerve to the brain, creating an effect similar to hearing. While the implant does not completely restore hearing, most recipients find that they are able to receive significant auditory clues, enabling them to speak and understand oral communication. They make a non hearing person hear - BUT the individual has to work very hard for 2-5 years at least to benefit from the implants. As with anything everyone has different outcomes. Babies benefit from the implants significantly more because they learn to hear sounds naturally as opposed to an adolescent, teenager or adult who has to "learn" all the noises around them. Briggs was fitted for a hearing aid and we have to watch to see if he responds to noises with it. He will wear that until his implant surgery. We found out through some basic genetic testing that Nick and I both carry a recessive gene which caused his hearing loss. The genetic condition is called Connexin 26 and is the most common condition of hearing loss in babies. Our kids have a 25% chance of getting a flawed gene from Nick and I which causes the hearing loss. Connexin 26 is the best case scenario for the cause of his hearing loss so we are comforted by that. We have come a VERY long way in only 3 months! Our next round of appointments is August 27th. We start with the "device orientation" - where we look at the different brands of implants and choose which one we want to go with, then we have the "expectations discussion" - which tells Nick and I what is expected of us following his surgery. Briggs will need ALOT of speech therapy. Then we meet with his pediatric ENT to check the fluid in his ears and then we meet with his audiologist. September 10th we go back for the genetics appointment. We know the basics but this appointment will give us all the details. This has been an emotional roller coaster. Lot's of tears but Briggs is an amazing little guy and we have no doubts that he will do great with all of this! I created this blog so that I could send you all updates as we continue through this journey. I will post after appointments and keep you all up to date on Briggs and Elli.