You've probably noticed the new accessory she's been sporting in some of the recent photos - we finally got her hearing aid a few weeks ago! Since she has a functional inner ear, it's just a matter of getting the sound waves to her inner ear so she can hear - which is where the BAHA comes in. While BAHA stands for Bone Anchored Hearing Aid, she isn't old enough for an anchor, so it clips on to this soft band.

Sound goes in the BAHA and the sound processor converts it to vibrations which travel from where it rests on her skull to her inner ear. This unit is actually a loner from the audiologist until her real one comes in - thus the reason it has DEMO on the side. But there's no reason to make her wait for surround sound! ;)

She doesn't seem to mind it at all and she definitely showed a reaction to it when the audiologist first turned it on! Like most hearing aids, it does tend to feedback if you get it close to something, so we have to adjust where it sits quite a bit since she spends most of her day on the ground or in chairs. Thankfully, it will work as long as it is resting on her skull somewhere on the left side.

Of course, we soon noticed that she intentionally makes it squeal by reaching up and touching it. Not sure if she finds the sound comforting or she just likes making music. But as much as she does it, I wouldn't be surprised if she ends up wanting to be an electronica DJ... ;)

Still waiting for the new unit, but I did order her a fun band to try out! The BAHA units clip on to a circular piece / button that is sewn onto the band, so I found a company in Oklahoma that sells bands and an aftermarket button that connects to the unit. So far, it seems to work great!

This time next year she will probably have lots of options for accessorizing her outfits with coordinating BAHA bands! :)