What Is That Blinking Light On His Head?

This is actually a question that we got asked at Costco last week :>

As most of you know, there is a little red blinking light on Aiden's ear level microphone that lets us know that the implant is indeed picking up sound - and apparently makes other people very curious! When people have asked about Aiden's implant, I think I have told every person a different story. I have never known quite what to say before (Do I just call it a fancy hearing aid? Do I go into a lot of detail? Am I talking over or under people's heads?) - but I think I've figured it out! Here's what I'm going to tell anyone else who asks me, "what's that blinking light on his head?" (or words to that effect...)

"It's called a Cochlear Implant. It is like a hearing aid. But, whereas a hearing aid is an entirely external thing, part of this device is actually implanted in his head. Plus, a hearing aid's job is just to amplify sound. A Cochlear Implant goes much further - it actually picks sound up with a microphone (the blinking light part), translates that sound into electrical impulses (using this processor on his back), and sends that information to his brain (through this magnet on his head) which then interpret those impulses and understands them as sounds. It's really pretty amazing."

I hope that helps those of you who have wrote me and said that you also didn't know what to tell people.

Or, you could just follow what Aiden's 3.5 year old brother Noah tells people. Last time we were at Aiden's Pediatrican's office (Hi Dr. Dempsey!!), Noah and Aiden were playing in a little house that it is the waiting room with another girl who was probably 9 years old. She asked Noah what was on Aiden's head. I was just about to jump in and offer an explanation when Noah (as confidently as anything) said simply, "It's a Cochlear Implant, it helps him hear." Seriously!!!!! I didn't even know he KNEW the words Cochlear Implant - let alone be able to use them in a sentance that answered the little girl's question perfectly. I guess I could learn a thing or two from him...