We had the follow up ABR hearing test with the ENT specialist today. Remember Ava scored 30 on her last audiology exam (normal is 10-15)....where they observed her physical response to bilateral sounds. Today the test was administered while she slept, with electrodes on her forehead that monitored the brain's response to different sounds. Very fascinating. Well, she scored a 30 again today. The optimist in me recognized that at least she is physically responding to the sounds that she does here. However, it does appear that she has a mild hearing loss which will be corrected with......hearing aides. Oh, well. Won't she look cute with hearing aides.
The reason it is important to correct it early on, according to my dear speech pathologist friend (Wink, Cammie) is that the better she can hear the better she will be able to communicate. That is a very good point my friend.
On the other hand, how will I ever keep track of hearing aides amongst all the piles of homework papers and mismatched socks and piles of laundry and hungry children and unmade beds?! Sigh. Such is the life of a mother.
And for better news....She weighs 27 pounds!!! Can that even be possible?! (She was 18.5 just 3 months ago). If I did my calculations correctly, she has gained 46% of her body weight!!! Now I know why my back and arms have been so sore lately.
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
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Posted by liesel at 9:58 PM
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6 comments:
Five more pounds and Seb and her will be the same. Thats crazy! About the hearing aids.. I heard dogs like to eat them, because when the battery is low it makes a real high pitch sound that attract dogs. Maybe I'm wrong though, don't quote me on it. Make sure you order pink ones, if she's gotta wear them, they might as well be cute ones.
I'm an interpreter for kids who are deaf/hard of hearing, AND mom to Angela who has DS and a moderate bilateral hearing loss. Thought you might be interested in this post I made last month: http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/2008/04/busted.html
The thing about dogs eating the aids isn't true, however, as you'll read in my post, dogs DO eat aids when little girls offer them up for breakfast! LOL The trick to not loosing aids is to get these little clips so when Ava decides she's had enough of them, she can't throw them very far. There are several different types made. There are also these little thingies called "huggies" which is a silicone ring to help the aid stay on the ear. These are great if her ears are really tiny. Then...here's the final trick. Lets assume she WEARS her aids without a problem (at her age, this is highly unlikely, but hey, one can hope.) So she wears her aids, and at night you take them off and put them in EXACTLY the same spot (a safe shelf up high?) every night. The battery case needs to be opened up at night so they need to be where nobody is going to mess with them. Ok..that's a lot for a blog comment. Feel free to email me if you have any questions about how to get her to wear them, care, etc.
Here's another post you or someone else might find helpful http://gardenofeagan.blogspot.com/2008/05/angelas-new-aids.html
Wow! I knew she was getting big!
27 pounds!! I feel like I'm watching a miracle unfold before my eyes as I read your blog. And her hearing aids will open up a whole new world for her. She will hear sounds she's never heard before... another miracle. Ava is blossoming into the healthy perfect little girl God intended her to be. :)
Charissa,
I'm so glad you had the ABR test done and now know how to help Ava.
From experience, yes, HA's can be a pain (especially if the earmolds aren't fitting just right and start to squeal..yuck!)but, once she has access to those sounds, her speech can start to blossom, and that's a miracle! Hugs to you as you confront all of Ava's needs head on with such grace...I think doing an amazing job!
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