Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Audiology clinic

Randy visited the audiology clinic at our children's hospital. He had to get a hearing evaluation. This is the third evaluation for him. Before leaving the NICU, he was given a newborn hearing screening. It is not uncommon for preemies to have hearing loss stemming from their extreme prematurity and even some of the interventions that were used to save their lives.

Randy failed his initial screening in his right ear. I had to take him back to get an evaluation about a month after he was released form the NICU. This time he passed with flying colors, and I was told to bring him back when he turned 1.

Well we went today. They first tested how his eardrum moved; the right one moved great, the left one did not move very well. She said that it could mean that he has fluid behind that drum. Then, they put these probes in his ear and sent different sounds at different levels and pitches. They then looked for responses such as him looking in that direction or a change in his behavior in reaction to the sound. The room has these light up Disney characters in the corners. The lady kept saying things like "You see piglet? You see Minnie?" I wanted to tell her, "didn't I tell you he can't see far? And he doesn't know who Minnie or piglet is!"

The results were fair. The right ear is within normal range; the left ear tested slight hearing loss. She said it could be from fluid in the ear. She's not sure. I have to bring him back in 4 months.

Personally, I'm not convinced there is hearing loss. I think that he just does not process as quickly as they were expecting, and did not react to the sounds in the way they anticipated. I believe it is more developmental than hearing. Time will tell.

So....I leave there kind of frustrated. I kept thinking about the serenity prayer:
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.

2 comments:

  1. That is kind of frusterating. Can they do anything about the fluid in his ears if there is any? I didn't know who piglet was or any of those charcters at his age either I'm sure.

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  2. They sent the report to his pediatrician. I was told to call him if I had not heard from him in a week. They may leave it alone and see if it drains on its own as the weather inproves, or he may treat with antibiotics.

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