Adapting for background noise

If you have read any of our blogs before, you will know that Kenzie loves fairs, theme parks and anything with adrenaline involved. However, as he’s getting older and becoming more familiar with sounds, and adapting to his environments with cochlear implants, he’s starting to struggle with the noise volumes at these places. Kenzie still loves to do all these things, but I need to try and take him at quieter times when there are less people and the noise level is not so high.

This evening we went to one of our local beaches where there was a fun fair and fireworks displays. We went down early evening while the fair was quiet so he could enjoy a couple of rides, but then we spent our time on the beach away from the big crowds.

He loves fireworks, and the loud bangs don’t phase him at all. What he doesn't like so much is the large crowds of people that come with it. So we try to find ourselves a quiet spot to watch them from.

Kenzie has always loved music and kid’s discos and loves to dance. However, recently he has also found these environments quite uncomfortable and says, "It's too loud, Mummy, I don't like it." I always give him the choice. I would never stop him enjoying these things, so I still take him as much as I can to give him the opportunity to see what it's like, and if he wants to leave, we go and do something different instead.

Kenzie has even stopped his weekly dance classes that he loved so much as he says the music is too loud for him. As a mum, this is heart-breaking to watch as he doesn't get to enjoy the things he loves so much anymore. I’m constantly trying to find new things we can do together instead so he doesn't miss out, or find those quieter times and spots at events.

This change came gradually. To begin with, it was only subtle changes in his behaviour in these kinds of environments, where he wouldn't be so confident in hitting the dance floor and was wanting to stay very close to me all of a sudden. I would constantly ask if he was OK, and he would just be quiet and not his usual smiley self. As time went on, he started to tell me it was a bit loud, so we would change seats away from a speaker or move to a quieter area until he felt comfortable. I always give him the option of wanting to go or stay as I would never want him to feel uncomfortable.

Although this has been a change for Kenzie and me, I would still never want him to miss out. We have just had to learn to adapt and go with whatever makes him comfortable at the time, and we still get to have the best adventures and create the most amazing memories together every day, no matter what we're doing.