Can you hear me now?

by Rumour Miller on May 18, 2010

Pin It

Back in the fall we attended a screening program for preschoolers through public health. It was voluntary, we didn’t really know what it was about but it sounded informative, so we signed Piper up. As part of the screening they checked Piper’s fine motor skills, speech and language as well as her hearing. On the day of the screening, it was found during the hearing test that she had fluid in her ear (which really came as no surprise since she has had ear infection after ear infection!). As well they also noticed that she was missing some tones in her left ear.

They put a head set on her and then had her raise either her right or left hand when she heard a noise in either her right or left ear. She didn’t catch all the tones in her left ear. I had suspected that she might have been having problems as a result of the ear infections and fluid in her ears (that seemed to plague her). So we followed up with our paediatrician. He found no infection.
A few months later, the public health nurse called us back for a follow up. Piper went at the beginning of March and was showing no signs of ear infection and no fluid on her ears but was still missing tones in her left ear. As such, we were referred to an audiologist.
We had that appointment yesterday and it was confirmed that Piper has some hearing loss in her left ear. I am very sad as this can affect her greatly in a class environment. She is not able to hear well out of her left ear and this is especially so if there is any background noise going on.
The next step is a referral to a specialist to decide what or how she should be treated. We will also continue to follow up with the audiologist. I am hoping that this is not something that is permanent for her and, if it is, that it does not get any worse.
I know that in the grand scheme of things, this is not the end of the world and we are blessed beyond measure… but this is my baby and I only want the absolute best for her.
Follow Me on Pinterest

{ 3 comments }

Piccinigirl May 18, 2010 at 2:20 pm

oh of course, you don't want anything to be Not quite right. I am sure you want to just hug and kiss it away.

you are doing all the right things and i'll keep her in my thoughts for good news. No permanent damage.

I hate that even as moms, we can't fix every thing with a kiss. HUGS to you.

Jen May 18, 2010 at 5:05 pm

I know that this is not how you expected this to turn out, and you don't have to feel bad for feeling bad for this. The silver lining to this is you have caught this SO early that any complications she may have in the classroom are going to be minimal because you can be sure to notify the school/teacher of the best seating arrangement for her.

CAGB May 19, 2010 at 8:15 pm

Hi! Semi-lurker, occasional commenter. :o) I am sorry you're going through that. Lame. I will tell you, though, I have hearing loss in my right ear and am missing half of the tones in my left ear. (Also from recurrent ear infections.) And, the tones are more interesting than anything else. I've never had a problem, unless I have a professor, friend, whatever that speaks in those tones (and sometimes certain music is hard to hear, which is fascinating). And I've gotten good at lipreading in the social/classroom-type situation. Piper will totally get the hang of it. My parents didn't do anything differently for me at all. It just all balances out. Luckily I am already a front-of-the-class sort of person. Of course, it's ok to be nervous and disappointed. But, Piper will be just fine. :o) Happy Wednesday.

Previous post:

Next post: