The Pistachio Tree: hearing loss

Showing posts with label hearing loss. Show all posts

Thursday, September 6, 2012

Hearing Updates

Hearing Updates....We recently had our routine 3 monthly Audiogram & were saddened to see that Isabella's hearing had decreased she now has moderate loss in her left & her right ear has decreased from Mild to Moderate-Severe we were always unsure if this was a progressive hearing loss & up until this point she had always had Mild hearing loss in the right ear & moderate in the left, Our Audiologist adjusted the Hearing aids to assist & we will be looking into Cochlear Implants if needed in the future.

Along with these results we also had an update on genetic testing which we had completed earlier this year to look for a possible cause & the results have come back with Pendred Sydnrome.
Pendred syndrome is a genetic disorder that causes early hearing loss in children. It also can affect the thyroid gland and sometimes may affect a person’s balance.

Children who are born with Pendred syndrome may begin to lose their hearing at birth or by the time they are three years old. The hearing loss is progressive, which means that a child will have less hearing over time. Some individuals may become totally deaf.

The loss of hearing often happens suddenly and in stages. We were completely devastated to hear our precious baby (big girl) may one day completely lose her hearing.

So our next step now is to visit our Ears Nose & Throat specialist to look at our options & how we can help to manage the progressive loss & learn more about the Cochlear Implant program.
Its been a stressful & sad few weeks but as always the love & happiness that shines from our gorgeous 19 month old helps us through, she is always smiling, laughing, singing & does not stop talking which is just wonderful!

With Nanny & Poppy flying home we have been lucky to have them visiting for 6 weeks & its been fantastic having the help...They squeezed 12 months of Nanny & Poppy time in 6 weeks so lots of reading, park trips,playtime fun & lots of cuddles Its been wonderful & I can't imagine how great it would be to have grandparents close by so hopefully one day we will be closer to family.

Poppy cuddles

It only seems like yesterday I was updating a post on Elodie's Birth & now our sweet Elodie is now 8 weeks old her hair getting lighter & much longer! & her eyes now following us with every move she is such a delight & even letting us sleep upto 5 hours a night such a good girl & Isabella is always there to give her the sweetest dainty little kiss on the top of her head:) Not having a sister myself I cannot wait to see the magical bond of sisterhood.

Monday, June 11, 2012

Audiologist Visit....

Today we had our audiologist appointment and I'm Happy to say there has been no change in Isabella's hearing..it's always a very anxious time as we are unsure if it will get worse so we were happy with today's result.

rewarded with toys for responding to noises.

Ready to have our moulds checked....we only needed the tubes replaced in the hearing aids not new moulds so another few months yet which is good news.

and afterwards a delicious dinner at The Keg! Check out that lobster!!

Isabella's dinner

Hometime...

Sunday, June 10, 2012

Audiogram time...

Tomorrow we are off to the audiologist once again to monitor Isabellas hearing loss & hopefully to get some clear results. Every 3 months we have a hearing test called that trains young children to look at something (like a toy or light) when they make a sound. This test is usually used with children 6 months to 2 1/2 years old. Unfortunately if the child has a cold or is restless it may be difficult to obtain results as in our last test it showed her hearing had deteriorated slightly this is devestating to hear & we still do not now if this is a progressive loss so we just have to wait & see.I have attached a link from babyhearing.org which gives an example of what a child is hearing with the different types of hearing loss http://www.babyhearing.org/hearingamplification/hearingloss/audiogram.asp
It is interesting to listen to the examples provided. We will also be getting new moulds tomorrow which is not a fun experience as the ears grow so quickly..these need changing about every 3 months but less as she gets older. This will be our 3rd pair since Isabella was 9 months (when she received her first pair of hearing aids).
I am really pleased to say now at 16 months Isabella has started attempting to put in the hearing aids once she pulls them out which is great as for a while we had a lot of problems keeping them in....so we are delighted with the new development! & she loves saying ear so maybe she is learning that the hearing aids are helping her?
Earmoulds come in many different colours so for tomorrow we may just have to order the pink glitter moulds.

Monday, March 19, 2012

Useful Apps for learning to listen to sounds.


Living in Canada we are lucky enough to have access to weekly visits from a specialist teacher of the deaf & hard of hearing, a home visiting program ran by the provincial schools & ministry of Education. This is to assist Isabella with her hearing loss & is an early intervention program with a focus on communication & language development.


Here are some useful audiology based apps we were provided with from our lovely teacher Kate. UE SPL: Has a meter that measures volume uHear by Unitron; measuring hearing sensitivity (as well as an app is capable of), hearing in noise & creates a profile earMeter: measures hearing sensitivity, describes frequencies, ear anatomy, and describes hearing in animal species Starkey HLS: hearing loss simulator with sample hearing loss profiles Ling 6: illustrations of Ling 6 sounds with a child producing the sounds


Apps with some of the learning to listen sounds

Discovering Hearing Loss

The day after Isabella was born we had a nurse come around to perform the Newborn Infant hearing screening and after trying numerous times & learning she did not pass the screening test in both ears our hearts sank. The nurse advised that this may be fluid in the ear & that all newborns that do not pass the screen, will be required to complete a rescreen at a later date. Upon not passing the second set of hearing test, then we would be referred to a specialist for further testing (At this point we were upset but not too worried as we were hoping it was fluid & would clear within 4 weeks)

After completing both screenings & following up with audiologist we discovered at 6 months that Isabella has a Sensorineural hearing loss which occurs when there is damage to the inner ear (cochlea), or to the nerve pathways from the inner ear to the brain. We were absolutely devastated & were told this cannot be medically or surgically corrected. This is the most common type of permanent hearing loss. It is often the case that parents will feel denial & we were no exception it is was very hard to accept & we were in disbelief for quite some time. As with a high percentage of hearing loss cases we do not know the cause.

After Isabella had her hearing aids & moulds fitted at 9 months it was astounding to see her reaction as went for a walk & she was able to hear the construction noise the look on her face was sheer delight & I was shocked to see her reaction it was such a wonderful feeling as a parent to witness your baby hearing clearly for the first time.

There are many challenges we have faced & I’m sure many more to come but for now our main difficulty is trying to keep hearing aids in a 12 month old. At this age everything ends up in the mouth! (Including the hearing aids) Our solution for now is lots of fantastic hats & headbands I’ve been making which seem to be working well for the moment. We are just so grateful that she can benefit from having hearing aids, and she is responding extremely well.

http://www.hear-it.org/
http://kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/sight/hearing_impairment.html

Monday, February 20, 2012

Isabella Maeve's First Year....

Looking Back.......
With the arrival of Isabella's First Birthday I decided to look back over the past year as it's so hard to believe that over a year ago our precious sweet baby girl Isabella Maeve came into our lives!

(the photo above was taken the night before she arrived)
I still cannot get over the size of my tummy I guess at 8pounds..10 Oz, its no surprise I was so big.
With the new addition to our little family in 2011 we had a busy year with lots of traveling to the motherlands to introduce Isabella to our families, in Australia, & Ireland. 2011 was also a challenging year as we discovered Isabella's hearing loss & at 9 months she received her first set of hearing aids, the fun part now is trying to keep them in so we have come up with new & creative ways to stop her from pulling them out & as you can imagine with a one year old everything is in the mouth! Including the hearing aids!!!
2011 Also bought us some very exciting news a new baby..yes I'm currently 19 weeks & due in July a summer baby!!!