Inaara is deaf.
That is a really hard truth to wrap my head around. 4 months ago, Inaara could hear. She would tell me her little brother was crying when he woke up from a nap before I heard him. It’s really hard as parents to see our children suffer. Inaara is completely fine. Either she thinks we are all deaf, or she has completely adapted to this new normal in her life. For us, we mourn the losses.
We have been mapping her cochlear implants every 4 weeks. Activation day of her implants was nothing like you see on tik tok. Let me warn you. Your child will cry, but will not react the way you expect. Inaara has never heard her name with cochlear implants, she has never responded with them so it’s all new to her. Like a newborn responding to their name for the first time. We went back 4 weeks later and it was night and day. All of a sudden she was responding to her name, mimicking what we were saying, speaking in full sentences, and learning words she had never heard. It was truly a miracle.
We have received some negativity when it comes to cochlear implants. People say that we put devices in her brain and we are trying to “fix her”. The misconception to this is we are not trying to “fix her”. We are trying to give her the best opportunities in life. Hearing and spoken language are learned by age 6. Then it becomes increasingly difficult. She can sign for the rest of her life. Our whole family picked up on basic ASL within a matter of a few days. We cannot get these crucial years back for her, and we can’t miss this opportunity. If she chooses that cochlear implants are not the way and she wants to communicate in sign, she can remove the external processor and is completely deaf. She has whatever option she wants. But we have to give her the opportunities in this lifetime and make these tough decisions as parents.
I am by no means an expert in cochlear implants or dealing with children who are deaf. I am a mom that is learning to do what is best for her child. I will definitely make many mistakes. But, if you want to talk or if you have any questions or need a community – I am always here – please reach out to me.
xx
