That's where I'll be tomorrow

Today is the official start of my grueling battle to get my son some hearing. I am told this is going to be an epic bloody ordeal. Isn't that terrible? That $6,500 is the difference between a kid growing up with normal development, speech and sound? To communicate? Shouldn't this be a given? Where not talking millions of dollars per kid here. Greedy assholes. Anyway,

This is what I've done and learned so far (for a child under 5).

First you have to find out what the need is. Get a CT scan and talk to an ENT that does cochlear and BAHA implants. Can they repair the outer and middle ear (three ossicles, namely, the malleus, the incus and the stapes)? If not, a BAHA soft band is probably the best way to go. Have an Audiologist check the Auditory Nerve with a full sedated ABR test (not just a simple ABR like what they do with a newborn screening). Nerves are good? Great! Now get ready for some fightin'.

Talk to your insurance and see how they cover BAHAs, NOT hearing aids, BAHAs. A BAHA is an implant and shouldn't be considered a simple hearing aid. Put on a smile and talk and talk and ask to speak to supervisors until you get someone who can understand that it's NOT a hearing aid. Have you gotten the answer you wanted? Good. Now be prepared to gnaw your own knee caps off because you've probably just wasted your time. Most (read ALL) companies/clinics that sell BAHA soft bands won't file with any insurance anyway. So whether your insurance covers it doesn't really matter. You're still going to have to come up with about $5,000. So what do you do? Beg. And the Let Them Hear Foundation is your single most important friend at this point!

This is where I am today. I have called Let Them Hear and they suggested that since my son qualifies for and already receives (as yours should too) Early Childhood Intervention (ECI) that they may pay for the rest of the BAHA soft band. The Board of Education wrote laws to protect children with disibilities, the Federal IDEA act (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) . Go to the Let Then Hear Foundation web site, under Patient Services click on Idea.LetThemHear.org where you will have to register and maybe even pay a membership. From there you're on your own because every ones situation is so different things start to branch off but I can tell you that if your kid is in the school system you'll click on IEP (Individualized Educational Program) or if he/she is too young for school you'll need to click on IFSP (Individualized Family Service Plan). That's where I'll be tomorrow.