The forgotten birthday

It's been three years since activation day. We had our ups and downs in this hearing journey. But it's been very interesting. Rhianna never fails to amaze me with her verbal abilities and her never ending chatter.Her listening skills are pretty awesome too.

We actually forgot her hearing birthday until the day arrived. Luckily, we had planned to take her to watch the Hi5 show the next day.Yes, the Hi5 people were here for three days live show. Rhianna saw the advertisements and went crazy.She loooves Hi5 and she'd spend hours watching their dvd if I'd let her. So we thought why not...let's get those tickets and dance with Hi5.

So she was on her best behaviour the whole week,doing her homework , reading her books and ticking off the calender in anticipation of the big day. It was very funny.

The show was fun and interactive and the children loved it. Rhianna enjoyed the dance and the songs immensely and didn't have any problem with the sound system whatsoever which amazed me. I guess in the end, watching the show was a pretty good way of celebrating her hearing birthday.
The avid fan got to watch her favourite group performing on stage. Mom and dad got to giggle at the amazed look on her face and got to marvel over and over again at the life changing technology called cochlear implant.

Five in the air..let's do it together 

Before the show 

She loves the shirt 

Discover How to Protect Your Family’s Hearing Health

Most people are vastly familiar with the concept that healthy lifestyles have a positive and long-term impact on overall health.  Eating nutritious foods and getting an adequate amount of exercise can lead to healthy bodies that are resilient and able to stand against many health concerns, illnesses, and diseases.  Hearing health is not something that most people think about on a regular basis.  However, with a few things in mind, parents can take positive steps to protect their hearing and the hearing of their children.

The Benefits of Protecting Your Hearing

 Planning ahead and taking assertive action to lead a clean and healthy lifestyle can help to significantly promote excellent hearing health.  These actions will teach children how to maintain a good lifestyle and it is always better to prevent something then have to fight against it.

Protect Your Hearing from Loud Noises

There are numerous steps a person can take around the house and at work to protect his or her hearing.  Committing to these actions and teaching children and teens in the family about the importance of these actions will result in long-term benefits that will lead to a safer and healthier lifestyle.  Keeping televisions, radios, and cell phones turned down to a moderate level is one of the most important things a person can do to protect his or her hearing.  

In addition to turning down media and electronic devices within the home, lawn and garden equipment and machinery also should be monitored.  The sheer volume of electric saws, drills, lawn mowers, weed eaters, and other similar equipment that is found around many homes can have a very damaging effect on people who use these devices.   Wearing ear plugs when using machinery or lawn and garden equipment that produces loud noises will be a great way to maintain control over excellent hearing health.

Protect Your Body and Your Hearing

Smoking is one habit that is well-known for having damaging effects on a person’s body.  Smoking can also lead to damaged hearing ability.  When a person smokes, toxins are released into the body and this can negatively affect a person’s ability to hear.  When a person smokes and is around high-pitched noises on a regular basis, the individual is drastically increasing his or her chances of losing their hearing in the future.

Eating a healthy diet also can play a big part in maintaining good hearing health.  Poor diets can lead to diseases such as diabetes.  Diabetes commonly affects a person’s ability to hear.  Overall nutritious diets, adequate amounts of sleep, and proper amounts of exercise can play a big part in a person maintaining and protecting his or her hearing ability.  A smart decision to make along with maintaining a healthy diet would be to make an appointment with your doctor especially if you feel you have been losing hearing overtime.  Your audiologist will be able to test your hearing and find what your baseline hearing levels are.  With these results they will be able to provide you with tips on how to protect your hearing or based on the severity of your hearing, prescribe the use of hearing aids.  Hearing aids will be able to help restore some of the hearing you had lost before. 

Take Assertive Action as Soon as Hearing Loss Symptoms are Suspected

The Mayo Clinic web article on hearing loss symptoms informs people of possible symptoms to look out for if they suspect damaged hearing.  Like any illness or health concern, the sooner a person sees a medical professional if a problem is suspected, the better the chances of correcting or treating the symptoms will be.  Viewing the symptoms listed can help people to remain aware of things that can suggest hearing problems.

Taking action as soon as symptoms are noticed or suspected will increase a person’s chances of overcoming the problem.  A medical professional can offer advice and treatment to help correct or supplement a person’s hearing in many situations.

* An article sent by John O'Connor

Thanks John!

When she's 17..

According to Miss R ,when she's 17 she'll be doing the followings :

1.Go to college ( where she'll party all the time ..(yikes!) ).

2.Work as a chef 

3.Drive a car ( a honda)

4.Buy herself a cellphone.

The future chef decorating a cake

The finished product - done Rhianna's way

Well..honestly,I'm not in a hurry to see her reach 17.Anyway,She said she'll still stay with mommy forever...funny girl.

Jekyll n Hyde

I'm a speech language pathologist who works with special needs children in early intervention program.People often say that Rhianna is lucky to have a mom who is an SLP.I think my profession is both a blessing AND a curse to Rhianna.

When her father is always happy with her overall progress, I often find other areas to work on.

Rhianna is doing great in kindergarten. She finished top 5 students in the 5 year old class last semester.Her academic skills is on par with her hearing peers and in some subjects,even better.So of course we are happy but I'm still worried about her social skill.

She tends to be a bit shy with new friends and she often needs plenty of warm up time.If the social situation gets too stressful for her,she will just observe and not participate or she will just play alone.

People (her father included) told me to let her be.She will develop better skills in good time.
At moments like this..inside,I will be like Dr. Jekyll and Mr.Hyde.As a mother I agree (that's Dr.Jekyll). I should accept her and give her time and enough support to develop her confidence level.
As a therapist, I itch to intervene.In the end Mr Hyde wins.

So we are trying a few things like joining more after school activities, planning more play dates and role playing different social situation.
So, no rest for the weary...my poor child.

Things that I should do..

1.Smile more and frown less.
2.Work less and play more (according to Rhianna)
3.Eat more cupcakes (according to Rhianna)
4.Take more walks
5.Kiss and cuddle my child more (Rhianna disagrees on this)
6.Laugh more
7.Worry less

That's all we could think of for now.We'll post photos of our recent road trip soon.Have a good day everyone!