New Hearing Aids . . .

Waiting in the audiologist's office.

Okay, so I didn't do as well as I'd hoped when I said I'd try to update the blog again the day Marc received his new hearing aids. I apologize (AGAIN!). I really don't understand how the time gets by me so quickly these days! 

Well, as you can guess, Marc DID get his new hearing aids on August 29th, and he's been adapting to them VERY well. We are thrilled! The day he received them was not quite as dramatic as I'd thought. But the audiologist explained that the old hearing aids he'd worn for so long basically blasted all sound into his head. So when he received the new ones, that are far more advanced and help him hear sounds at their real level, he didn't think sounds were loud enough. It took his brain several days to help sort out the sounds, but now he can sit and watch a movie with the sound at a normal level, and not have to have it turned up so loud that it hurts other people's ears. 

Listening to the audiologist explain what
he will hear with the new hearing aids.

The only thing we're still trying to figure out is the level of magnet strength to have him use. The manufacturer of the Sophono devices sent along 5 different magnets - each with their own strength. #1 was the weakest and fell off his head almost immediately. #5 is the strongest, but the audiologist really stressed that we shouldn't use that strength for more than just an hour or so at a time because it could end up causing "pressure sores" on his head.

When we left the audiologist's office a few weeks ago, Marc was wearing the #3 magnet on both sides. He seemed to do okay with it at first. But over the next few days, as he started back into a full school schedule, and started doing more activities outside, we found that the #3 magnet was just not holding well enough either. We have since moved up to the #4 magnets, and they seem to be doing fine so far. We go back to the audiologist for a followup visit on Thursday of this week. Hopefully she will help us get this all worked out. We do, after all, have a VERY active 9-year-old  who needs to hear! : )

                                     
One more thing I wanted to share with you. Last Friday night Bruce and I were able to get away and have a Date Night together. That hasn't happened in many months (due to Bruce's traveling schedule), so we were thrilled to take advantage of the time away. But while we were gone, Marc accidentally broke one of his new hearing aids. It was no one's fault. It was completely an accident. But the battery compartment for one of the hearing aids snapped off. 

When I found out about it I felt as if I'd been socked in the stomach. My first thoughts were "Oh no! We haven't even paid for these yet!" "We're still working out the whole hospital bill!" "We have NO idea how much these will cost to repair." "What will we do???"

Okay, I know... that doesn't sound like someone who is trusting the Lord much, does it? Well, I'm just being honest here. Those are some of the thoughts I had as I tried to come to grips with the fact that one of our son's new hearing devices was no longer "new". 

I am SO grateful for my loving husband and the levelheadedness he possessed at that time. He tried to see the bright spot in the situation (mainly that Marc had come to him right away and told him what had happened...not trying to hide the incident or claim he didn't know what had happened), and reminded me that we couldn't do anything about it right then, so I shouldn't worry about it. 

I'm also grateful for a God Who knows our hearts and cares deeply about everything that goes on in our lives. He spoke to me that day through His Word. The first verse that came to my mind was "My God will supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:19) He reminded me once again that HE is in control and HE will handle this.

This morning Marc's audiologist called to assure me that this will be covered under the warranty that came with the devices. She might even be able to replace it for us Thursday when we go in to see her. You can imagine my relieve when she told me that. But quite honestly, the Holy Spirit had already relieved the anxiety I'd had before by assuring me that my God will meet our needs . . . whatever they might be. I'm SO grateful for that reminder!