My son...

[Jen]

Hi All-
I am not sure how to word this exactly...My son was just tested under sedation and came back with a profound hearing loss. We had him at his audiologist a few days prior and did some booth testing (as long as he could sit still :o) he is 3) she was able to get results behaviorly at 70-75db. He was originally tested when he was 5 months old. His test results were 60db in one ear and 65 in the other. He was fitted for hearing aids when he was 4 months old. I know in my heart that my husband and I have tried to either get services or do what ever necessary to provide what he needs. The trouble we have is that our son has spoken words and he does so clearly in some cases. He does have the typical nasal sound to his voice when he does say others. Does anyone have any information about a deteriorating hearing loss? Is it possible to have a sedated ABR be wrong or booth testing? I just want to get some concrete results so that I can deal with everyday life and stop asking and wondering what is going on. This is so emotional!! I am not in denial and I can handle if my son is profoundly deaf. I just need to know for certain. Is there anyone that may have advice or can share their experience so that it may give me piece of mind?? Need help coping.
Thanks!

[Miss Kat's Mom]

ABR's give you a "range" for the hearing loss. My daughter's said "severe" (80 ish) when her loss was only like 65. The booth test is more exact and reliable.

[Paula Rosenthal]

Hi, I'm a deaf mom with a deaf daughter. We both have had progressive hearing losses. My daughter was diagnosed just before she turned 2. I'm curious why you had sedated testing done after he had behavioral testing? With a 3 year old, a good audiologist should be able to get accurate results if there is another audiologist or assistant in the booth with him during testing. It is not easy to do though and if you're not sure of your audie, you may want to consider going to a school for deaf and hard of hearing children and have the audiologist test him there.

I actually went to 2 different centers until my daughter was accurately diagnosed. The first one said, "IF she has a hearing loss it is mild." I knew she was wrong because my daughter was no longer answering to her name and had stopped adding to her vocabulary. Obviously, the sooner he is accurately diagnosed and fitted with hearing aids, the better off he will be with continuing his language development. It is likely that he is able to say some words clearly because he may remember hearing them well at some point.

Progressive hearing loss is something that has to be watched very carefully. Like us, you may be fighting worsening hearing as you are trying to catch up and move forward with language. Insist that he is tested every 3-6 months to make sure the hearing aids are set appropriately. If they're not it can set you back in learning time.

What state are you in? I can help you find some resources if I have more information. Feel free to contact me at [e-mail].