Hearing Aids

Yesterday was Brian's 9 month hearing test. He was test3e in the booth instead of an ABR like we are used to. They tried the booth at 6 months, but developmentally, he just wasn't ready. Yesterday, he sat like a pro for the test. Both audiologists were really impressed by his disposition and concentration during the test.

It turns out that Brian's hear has gotten worse since his last test. Before he has always tested the mild loss range. Yesterday, he scored in the moderate range. Some of his hearing is still in normal range, but the higher tones specifically, are not. To be considered "normal" a child needs to be able to hear something by the time it reaches 20 decibels. For some of the tones, Brian was not hearing them until 40 decibels.

Our normal audiologist, Kathryn, was out on maternity leave, so we worked with another audiologist named Molly. She assisted on Brian's 6 month booth test, so we were familiar with her. The poor girl broke out in hives as she told me this news. The bottom line is, that for a child with this type of hearing loss, hearing aids are necessary.

Molly suggested that we retest in one month, just to be absolutely sure that this was not a developmental issue and that is truly is moderate hearing loss. She didn't think this was the case though since Brian did so well with the test. So, our next test is scheduled for Cinco de Mayo. I don't think there's a Saint for that? Patty Flores, anything? Or maybe there's a Saint for hearing problems? Ellen? St. Patrick sure helped us the last time, so maybe we'll find a Saint for this :)

I was also concerned about the fact that Brian still is not saying "dada" (usually the first word), so I requested a speech evaluation. Molly recommended an "Aural Rehab Evaluation," which will take Brian's hearing loss into consideration, while evaluating his current speech abilities. We are waiting on a call to schedule this.

On a side note, Brian's cold seems worse today. He was coughing a lot more over night and sounds hoarse to me today. So, we'll be seeing the pediatrician at 11:15. Our first "sick" visit.