Hearing Test

Today we went to have Warner's hearing checked. His hearing teacher and Kindergarten teacher have noticed he doesn't always appear to be hearing them, and he was well over due for his yearly check. I have sat through many hearing tests. Many. I don't even know if Mary ever had one until the mandatory one in school, but Warner's thankfully started the day after he was born.

Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) is the newborn screening test and because it is TN state law I was able to work with him from literally day 1 of his life and prepare for early intervention. With every hearing test I can't help but to back track in my mind the worry of my newborn being taken away for routine tests but not returning in routine time. I was worried. It was his feeding time past time actually. Paul was gone home to pick up Mary to bring her to meet her baby brother.

I called frantically to tell Paul Warner had been gone a long time and they said he wasn't passing the newborn hearing test. Everyone in that hospital said not to worry probably fluid. Even the pediatrician told me that after his 2 week check up. He said it was very rare for a child to be born with hearing loss and my pregnancy had zero complications. But I had to wait 4 whole weeks to have another more specific test run the Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR). Turns out Paul wasn't at this one either.

I'm not complaining, but this is my life. He was in the hospital but not in the room (as he was when I found out Mary was a girl-in the hospital but not in the room thanks to med school). He was on call that day in his gen surgery residency. All these monitors were stickied all to Warner's head chest and body to monitor his brain response to sounds. Paul did come in briefly and then had to leave. That was the test that told us Warner was moderately to severely hearing impaired.

I can't even describe what was going on in my head, my body only 4 weeks after his birth, my heart. The poster on the door said if your child can't hear he can't speak. I left that office pretty much a wreck. I had to pick up Mary age 3 at the time and sweet and cute as can be from the daycare. I found out also that my in laws were at my house waiting in my driveway and that my husband wouldn't be home that night. When I walked in the door to the day care the director said I looked as if I didn't get the news I wanted to hear. I took a minute at the daycare to go into Darlene Nichol's office and cry. It was not a good day. Not a good day to be alone with guests when I just wanted to be alone. To sort out the information digest it for at least 24 hours before having to announce it to anyone or explain it. The newborn test was a yes or no hearing test. It didn't tell the extent or type of loss.

We hadn't really told anyone for a few weeks to be sure after the second test. I can't say I was comforted that night or even shown any empathy as a new mom receiving this kind of news. But that is in the past. Then we tested about every month. We did the Tympanometry: Tympanograms which we also did today. They also do a bone conduction test which today they did it too (it bypasses the inner ear and conducts sound through the bone) His hearing was normal with this test.

This means his hearing impairment has something to do with his middle ear which is conductive hearing loss not neurological. We did Conditioned Play Audiometry as he grew into a toddler. We got his hearing aids at age 6 months. It took 6 months of red tape to finally get them and I was so thankful because research said I had 6 months to get those aids on him before seeing delays. We did the Pure Tone Audiometry test with high and low beeps to test frequencies. We did Visual Reinforcement Audiometry (VRA)which is like play, and he still does this today. I know that every tympanogram will remind me of his first when he sat in my lap and we found he had ear infection after ear infection until tubes thank God.

Every test I prayed, my family prayed, my friends. Every test was a little bit better and a little better. He went from only being to hear at 79-80 decibels which is a yell to 60db. The audiologists also thought at first his hearing loss was neurological which is not a good type of loss because it is nerve related and sound is distorted when made louder and can affect speech much more. Then the next test was around 50 db which is better. They assured me this may be a mistake. The geneticist even told me neurological hearing loss usually gets worse not better.

Good thing today we know for sure his loss is conductive not neurological. Today his test showed him hearing at 35 decibals without his hearing aids on both ears. The best results we have ever gotten. The audiologist was through the school system and was so nice and positive and reassuring. I wonder what the next test will show and the next. The audiologist commented that many children his age take speech and don't have hearing loss. She commented how much on target he is for his age. She mentioned how much early intervention he has had and how it shows. She said how lucky with his conductive loss the sound increase makes everything exactly as we hear it. I feel my prayers have been answered. And while I know I have not always received the support I needed or the comfort or the understanding you may give a new mom with a child that has been diagnosed with hearing loss I survived it all.

I did receive such support through TN Early intervention. Deidra Love was like family and came from 4 weeks old to 3 years old to our home and his daycare. His speech therapists and audiologists have taught me so much and been so comforting and forthcoming with good tips and information. Because of Deidra, I was his advocate, his mom, his knight in shining armor. She helped me to be that. And I can say that because I was there. It's his story and mine. And every test that I drag Mary to and go to just the 3 of us is part of our story. I get to tell Paul after every test that there was improvement. That there was no negative change. That he is more ontarget now than ever. 5 years of hearing tests. All kinds of hearing tests and every one will bring me back to this moment in this picture. Every test.