By Jessica Easthope
Think of all of the insignificant sounds of an elementary school classroom. Normally they fade into the background, but for Jaxon and Jace Hili, they’re amplified.
In September Jaxon started 4th grade and Jace 2nd grade with their new hearing aids. at first it was impossible to drone out the noise –
“The first day I got them it was hard,” Jaxon said. “I wasn’t used to them, and when you’re not used to them you can feel a little nauseous. Jace didn’t feel nauseous but I felt nauseous when I was wearing them.”
“Sometimes it’s really loud but then I go like this [adjusts earpiece] and that makes the hearing aids normal,” Jace said.
“If the person behind you might be whispering or if someone’s clicking a pen, all of those sounds are magnified and that can be very distracting especially for a child who has always heard a lot of things,” said Maura Hili, Jaxon and Jace’s mother.
Maura, is the Home Academy Association President and a lunch mom at St. Francis of Assisi.
The year that it took from the time they were diagnosed with progressive hearing loss to when the aids finally touched their ears was a battle.
“Catching it later on sometimes I think to myself like that mom guilt what was I thinking,” Muara said. “How did I not know to pursue this further?”
But this year Jaxon, Jace, and Maura have a lot less to worry about because their teachers wear a microphone bluetooth connected to their hearing aids.
Melissa D’angelo, Jace’s teacher says at first he was resistant to the device and it took them both a little while to learn, but that’s when she put her teaching aside and relied on her faith.
“I would try and do things that would make him feel special and be fun,” D’angelo said. “I would whisper something to make sure he had it on, I know that he wants to learn he has that in him,” D’angelo said. However, I can help to do that. Sure I could have had an easier time not using it but it’s made me become a better teacher and a better person.”
Maura says all of their teachers go above and beyond for her boys.
Principal Elizabeth Reilly is new to her role, but came in making sure the Hilis would be supported in and out of the classroom, no student was getting left behind on her watch.
“Every teacher is on board, even last year when they didn’t have the diagnosis knowing the teachers, I know, they did what they needed even if it wasn’t formally on paper because that’s just the kind of faculty that we have,” Reilly said.
“I’ve changed formats of classrooms and I’ve changed personnel in classrooms to accommodate the needs. We fought for more services for her children. You know it’s very rewarding but to know the Healy family is to love them, and it would be impossible not to fight for them.”
Since getting used to their hearing aids and the microphones, Jaxon and Jace’s performance and participation have improved dramatically.
Maura can’t believe at one point she thought she might have to pull the boys out of Catholic school.
“I could take my children elsewhere where they might get an extra service,” Maura said. “Everyone’s going to learn how to read and write, add and subtract, but what else are we gonna learn? Are we gonna learn how to be kind? Are we gonna learn how to love others in ourselves and that’s hard stuff to teach? I think we get that here.”
But she knows now this is where they’re meant to be. Maura said not only do the teachers at St. Francis of Assisi use the devices happily to help her boys. They charge and maintain them and pass them back and forth seamlessly every single day.
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