Last week at our visit, it wasn't all good news. This time the doctor was concerned about the lack of speech development in Quinnie. She then referred us to have Quinn's hearing tested to make sure that it was not hindering her development.
So yesterday, we had an audiology appointment. She first put something in both of her ears which I later was told does not actually assess hearing itself, but assesses how sound is bounces off of her eardrums. Then we went into a booth that had speakers on a couple of different sides with sponge bob or minnie mouse lights. The doctor would then have different types of sounds coming from the speakers to see if Quinn would turn her head toward the sound. After all of this, we sat down to talk about the results.
Great news - she is hearing within "normal" range! Bad news - sound wasn't "bouncing" off her eardrums properly which means that she has middle ear fluid. Supposedly, this can cause temporary hearing loss. The problem about this - we don't know how long it has been there. That is - has it been there since her one ear infection in March or did she just develop it with the cold that she currently has? So, the doctor will send her report to Quinn's pediatrican and we will go from there.
Possible remedies that I investigated -
- Observation - watch and wait and have this test done again in 3 to 6 months.
- Antibiotic that should speed up the length of time it may take to go away on its own.
- Ear tubes :(
I know that in the scope of things, this is not a "big deal." However, I can't help but feel like "what am I doing wrong?"
I'm in a similar boat except that Kaylie had her hearing tested as you described at 6 months of age because of her NICU stay (more specifically, due to the antibiotics she was on). Her hearing then was fine, but she had fluid in one of her ears. Then, after each ear infection she had, the pediatrician would say that the infection was gone but the fluid was still there. As a result, I am pretty convinced that antibiotics don't impact whether there is fluid in the ear. Long story short, we decided to get ear tubes and it has been a painless process for all of us (minus keeping the ear plugs in at bath time). I highly recommend them!
ReplyDeleteAs far as the speech goes, Kaylie talks a lot but still says hardly any real words, so we are getting her hearing tested again and then will likely see a speech therapist. But, from what I hear, speech therapists work wonders.
So, long story short, you're doing nothing wrong. I think this is more common than you think :) hang in there!
Aww... I know that feeling, and how deep it runs. But you are a great mom, and everything will be ok :)
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