We had great news the other day during our visit to the Hospital for Sick Children. Madelyn will be a candidate for the Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA). The surgeon has tentatively scheduled the surgery in April for her. She would be about 13 months at that time. We hadn't expected that she would be eligible until she was 18 months, which even then is a far cry from the 4-6 years old that is common in the U.S.

The way the BAHA works, is a titanium post is implanted into the skull, and the aid clips onto it. The aid translates the sound, and oscillates the bone, which in turn stimulates the inner ear to process the sound. The above picture have been shamelessly stolen from the web to give an idea about exactly how small this thing is.

At the end of the day, her hearing is expected to be at normal levels, and when she gets older 6-8 years, we look at the reconstructive options.