Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Dad's Cochlear Implant "Hook-up" Appointment

On Tuesday, 3/2 I drove Mom & Dad to the House Ear Institute for his cochlear implant "hook-up" appt. It was interesting being on the "watching" end instead of the "new hearer" end. Here are a few photos.

Here, Dad is hooked up to the computer. He is signaling with his hand as he hears the tones in the sound processor. Doctor Mills programmed the processor for about an hour before Daddy could actually hear voices, etc.
Dad & Mom holding hands-so sweet!
She & I both starting crying when he answered the doctor's questions correctly.
Dad & Mom learning how to use the remote control.
(His model is newer than mine!)

Doctor Dawna Mills is the audiologist who painstakingly programs the processor at each of 4 appts. By the end, he will have 4 custom-built programs just for his needs.
Like father, like daughter. Dawna is so great to work with!
Mom & Dad had not yet looked at the EAR, so they posed by it just like I did.
We ate our picnic lunch on the 5th floor patio overlooking LA and the Hollywood sign. The hospital at the right is where we both had our surgeries.
Here you can see the processor hanging on his ear.
The round part is a magnet that is "talking" to the magnet inside his head!
Amazing technology!

2 comments:

ShackelMom said...

This is so great! Amazing! So glad you were able to witness the whole thing!

Anonymous said...

Thanks for posting the pictures! I'm so happy that it is working so well for Grandpa so far!

Erin