60db

AJ had his first cochlear implant audiogram today. He tested at 60db. Yes. I said 60db. I have the paper to prove it. We've never seen marks on this chart that far up. NEVER. Before he was implanted, he tested at 110-120db...or should I say to the max our audiology clinic's equipment can test. Thats a jump of 50-60 db in 11 days. Here is is an audiogram chart so you can see where the levels of certain sounds. The "yellow banana" is called the speech banana. This is where speech sounds are heard. Althought, if you talk with a strong voice, or yell, your voice could be louder than in the speech banana range (or at least at the bottom).



He did well in the booth. Slow, subtle reactions. Not great head turns, but enough to give his audi the information she needed to give him another MAP (program his processor at a new level and create more programs for us to continue turning him up). For the first time EVER, I did not have to wear earplugs in the booth. In the past, AJ's SLP and myself have always worn earplugs to protect our own hearing from the ridiculously loud levels needed previously. Amazing. He was extremely vocal in the booth, which he's NEVER been. EVER. Amazing.

After testing we sat down to review paperwork and go over the rechargable battery pack. Yep, we got another box. Oh, that's right, I didn't post a picture of AJ's loot. This is what we came home with on activation day. Now we have one more to add. The brief case is very James Bond-ish, but Melanie is right, it is not very user friendly. I'll be moving everything to another "bin" soon.




He did remarkably well today, considering he had speech beforehand. We left, stopped to get some items from the store, and came back for his audiogram. His audi programmed his processor and then tested to make sure it wasn't too loud. He had IMMEDIATE responses to her voice, banging on the metal cabinet, and her clapping. I'm getting really good at noticing his reactions to sound. "Eye shift, blink, looked left, right." While playing on the floor with his SLP he decided to prove another OT skill. He pushed a button sideways to make the pop-up giraffe come up. Check that one off the list. I don't know what the technical skill is called, but I'll call it "pushing the button to the side vs. just pushing it down." He crashed in the car and is still sleeping. I don't care. My little man did wonderful today and deserves a nice long nap. So what if we're eating ice cream and still up at 10pm? Who cares. Today? Not me.

{Just as I typed that I heard a clear "Ooooooo" come from his bedroom}

60db jump in 11 days, I'll take that. Yes, siree.