Today, this very afternoon, we found out from the hearing specialist that Phoenix's hearing is NORMAL.
No fluid.
No conductive hearing loss.
PERFECT readings in both ears.
Check that off the list and now, all we have to do now is play 'catch-up' with his speech. Even with falling to the bottom of his Kindergarten class, he's come so far this last year.
So, so far.
He talks in complete sentences & you can understand most of what he says.
He starts conversations & volunteers answers.
He's got the craziest imagination (are those things hereditary??) and he tells some insane stories.
He still has some struggles to overcome; "Jay" sounds like "Shay" & 'bread' comes out as 'bled'; sometimes sentences grow extra words that don't belong; he still needs a lot of prompting & reminding to complete tasks but I have hope we can get through this part of the process much faster now that we know, beyond a doubt, that he is hearing what we say accurately.
We go back to Sac State for another semester this Fall and a CAPD evaluation was part of the game plan when we had our wrap-up session before summer break. He just finished his extended year program for speech with the school district and he's set to start first grade on August 16.
Holy moly, this has been a long, strange, horrifying trip but I think I'm better for it.
There's still so much more to come before we're done & the whole process now has to be repeated with Paxton. He's eligible for clinics at Sac State as soon as he turns three and I think that might be our starting point for him. His delay isn't as bad as Phoenix's and may be more of a learned behavior than an actual impairment but we'll cross that bridge when we get to it.
Right now, I'm just doing a happy dance.
Showing posts with label hearing tests. Show all posts
Showing posts with label hearing tests. Show all posts
Friday, July 27, 2012
Wednesday, April 25, 2012
The Second Battle
When you have one child with a certain set of problems, you become hyper-aware when a second develops the same set of problems...
Thursday, April 5, 2012
Can you hear me now??
The epic battle to find out what's behind Phoenix's speech delay continues. Maybe we're starting a new chapter here, maybe we're finishing one. Honestly, I can't tell anymore & until we reach the end of this, I don't think it matters where we are in the story. I always seem to have more questions than I do answers but I suppose it's better to have more questions than none at all.
Monday we had our first appointment with the hearing specialist. Phoenix took another hearing test & this time, he got to use a special set of "headphones" that let him listen through his bones. It was placed like the external part of a cochlear implant and bypassed his ear, sending sound straight to the vestibulocochlear nerve. He thought it was pretty cool & for what I could see, it seemed like what he was hearing was way different than what he normally does. He seemed to flinch away from the sounds & kept putting his hand to the headphones, like he was trying to muffle the sounds coming out of it.
The results? Conductive hearing loss and fluid in both ears. The hearing specialist, Catherine, said the fluid is most likely to due chronic ear infections. As his mom, I can assure you he has never shown the symptoms I associate with a ear infection. He's never complained that his ears hurt or felt 'full'; never has an ear gotten red or swollen but he has had the most disgusting ear wax & drainage problem, for as long as I can remember. THAT was a sign, she said.
He's on antibiotics & a nasal spray for 10 days (eight now, I think) and he has a follow up on the April 23rd to see if the meds helped clear out the fluid. If they don't, we get to look at other ways to clear it out like tubes. YAY. I'm still in shock. It's really taken almost four years to figure out the boy has fluid in his ears?? It seems SO SIMPLE. I'm just stunned this wasn't found before now and it's not for a lack of trying. I can't even count how many hearing text the boy has had...
We follow up the pediatrician the day after we follow up with the hearing specialist; I'm interested in what he has to say, especially after he refused to give Paxton a hearing test & referred me to ALTA Regional. I'm going to tell him I've got the number for a new pediatrician and if I don't get some answer & REAL HELP for my kids, I will be switching doctors.
In the mean time, Phoenix's going to Sacramento State twice a week until the beginning of May. He came home on Tuesday very excited and with 'prizes', his first time getting to work with his Graduate student, Tasha, for a whole session. He's doing great in school right now & when he goes back next week, he gets to be a Star of the Week! We've been working on his Star Poster which is a poster he get to color & write all his favorite things on. He is so excited! I am too, let's be honest; even while we continue to struggle with this, he continues to make progress, however slow. Progress is progress.
Monday we had our first appointment with the hearing specialist. Phoenix took another hearing test & this time, he got to use a special set of "headphones" that let him listen through his bones. It was placed like the external part of a cochlear implant and bypassed his ear, sending sound straight to the vestibulocochlear nerve. He thought it was pretty cool & for what I could see, it seemed like what he was hearing was way different than what he normally does. He seemed to flinch away from the sounds & kept putting his hand to the headphones, like he was trying to muffle the sounds coming out of it.
The results? Conductive hearing loss and fluid in both ears. The hearing specialist, Catherine, said the fluid is most likely to due chronic ear infections. As his mom, I can assure you he has never shown the symptoms I associate with a ear infection. He's never complained that his ears hurt or felt 'full'; never has an ear gotten red or swollen but he has had the most disgusting ear wax & drainage problem, for as long as I can remember. THAT was a sign, she said.
He's on antibiotics & a nasal spray for 10 days (eight now, I think) and he has a follow up on the April 23rd to see if the meds helped clear out the fluid. If they don't, we get to look at other ways to clear it out like tubes. YAY. I'm still in shock. It's really taken almost four years to figure out the boy has fluid in his ears?? It seems SO SIMPLE. I'm just stunned this wasn't found before now and it's not for a lack of trying. I can't even count how many hearing text the boy has had...
We follow up the pediatrician the day after we follow up with the hearing specialist; I'm interested in what he has to say, especially after he refused to give Paxton a hearing test & referred me to ALTA Regional. I'm going to tell him I've got the number for a new pediatrician and if I don't get some answer & REAL HELP for my kids, I will be switching doctors.
In the mean time, Phoenix's going to Sacramento State twice a week until the beginning of May. He came home on Tuesday very excited and with 'prizes', his first time getting to work with his Graduate student, Tasha, for a whole session. He's doing great in school right now & when he goes back next week, he gets to be a Star of the Week! We've been working on his Star Poster which is a poster he get to color & write all his favorite things on. He is so excited! I am too, let's be honest; even while we continue to struggle with this, he continues to make progress, however slow. Progress is progress.
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