I am super excited writing this post. Tonight I met my friend Jane for an impromptu picnic dinner in the park and she brought along a sun hat I purchased for Harry that she was trying to make pockets to put the processors in.
The design so exceeded my expectations.
To be truthful I was doubtful it would work as putting pockets on the outside of a sun hat and hoping the magnets would sit underneath when you couldn’t see if they were in place or not, was a tall order. The hat was just a regular Toshi design ( found in most boutique kids wear and baby wear stores) but I bought a medium size so that it wasn’t too tight – I was thinking the headband would need to go underneath.
So Jane has added some pockets to the outside of the hat above the rim to house the processors . Then as on the headband design , there are small slots to feed the coil and magnet through inside the hat. You have to move the magnets into place with the hat over the top but I am now pretty good at knowing where they sit on Harry’s head after 6 months of putting them on several times a day. I used the flashing lights of the processor to tell me the magnets were in place then tightened the hat with its drawstring. The hat also has a neck tie to ensure it doesn’t blow off. Tonight Harry rode and crawled around the park for over an hour with the hat on and was clearly hearing my calls as the microphones were on the outside of the hat rather than having fabric block some of the sound.
WOW
It is incredible because I was wondering how Harry was going to cope through Summer with a headband and a hat. Certainly that option would be sweaty and hot and possibly unbearable.
But this is a revelation. My only concern is if something does happen to the hat we lose the CI’s but I have now stocked up on labels that read
“Harry’s Cochlear Implants. If found please phone ….”
What I actually wanted the sew-in labels to say was
“If you find these they are no use to you. It means Harry cannot hear anything and at $90,000 a pair we really can’t lose them. So please phone…….. to return them”
I am sure that I will take as good care of the hat as I do the headband and I am sure Harry will treat it the same way as well. He knows it gives him access to sound and only once has he thrown his headband off in disgust….but that my friends in another story!!!!!!
PS. For those interested in headbands we have tweaked the design so no press studs are required. This will make them easier to make en- mass which I am still trying to do. Stay posted for more updates and I have photos if anyone is interested.
Harry's Ears 
Myself and my wife have an amazing little boy who was born profoundly deaf and has been bilaterally implanted for 3 months. It is just amazing how much he has come on so much in a short time. As it’s getting colder we were wondering how he will wear a hat and be able to full use out of his processors. Your modified sun hat is fantastic. Do you make and send them for parents in the UK ?
Hi there, Malc, Thanks for contacting me about the hats. Unfortunately we never made any commercially in the end . I have found that Harry hears pretty well with the N6 process under a winter hat. Sorry i couldn’t be of more help.