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Finding my baby’s lost hearing aid

lost hearing aid

photo courtesy: maxandhishearingaids.com

What’s as small as a paperclip, as pricey as a computer, and as easily lost as the remote control? A hearing aid, of course. Finding my baby’s lost hearing aid was an adventure.

Losing a child’s hearing aid creates a special kind of panic. Those tiny bits of technology support her language development. Whenever one of my daughter’s hearing aids (or ear molds) go missing, I check the usual places: under the bed, behind the couch, in the toy box. I get down at my little one’s eyeline and search. They usually turn up within a minute or two.

Lost hearing technology

But sometimes the tiny technology goes missing where you’d least expect. The search feels like an all-out scavenger hunt.

“Sometimes the tiny technology goes missing where you’d least expect.”

When my daughter was three months old and freshly aided, one of her hearing aids went missing on the way to the park. I’d strolled a few blocks from the house when I noticed it missing. It wasn’t on her lap or in the hood of her sweatshirt. It wasn’t on the ground. Suddenly a few blocks seemed like an impossible search grid.

The Search

I made a panicked call to my mom. Some neighborhood kids playing in a yard nearby must have overheard me. They walked over and offered to help. “What does it look like?” one of them asked. Her little Phonak Sky-VP hearing aid is a silver color and smaller than a pack of gum. “We’ll find it,” they said. The search was on.

My mom and stepdad showed up. There were now six of us searching for my baby’s lost hearing aid. It was both heartwarming and embarrassing. After 10 minutes or so of scouring the ground together, I called off the search. “Thanks for helping, but it’ll be okay,” I told everyone. The neighborhood kids went back to their yard. I unstrapped my daughter from the stroller and carried her inside.

… and Found!

Lo and behold, there it was. It was lying on the floor, just inside the front door. It was a forehead-slapping moment. She’d taken it off before we’d even left for the park. Overcome with joy, I ran back down the sidewalk toward the neighbors who’d helped me. “Here it is! I found it!” I told them. “Awesome!” they said, laughing.
I told them my silly error and thanked them a few more times.

Read more: Tips for keeping a baby’s hearing aids in their ears

The initial panic of the loss was replaced by joy and gratitude. I never expected complete strangers to want to help search for my daughter’s hearing technology.

Have you found a lost hearing aid in an unlikely spot? 

Author Details
Morgan Snook is a writer from the Pennsylvania Wilds region. She enjoys being outdoors with her husband and two beautiful daughters. Her youngest daughter has mild-to-moderately severe bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, probably genetic. She wears Phonak Sky hearing aids, which she got at three months old.