Hearing Impairments

I am so sorry about your experience! How awful that "professional" people treat people so badly -- and don't even realize it.

Okay -- the good news -- you've identified the hearing loss, the type of loss, and the amount of the loss -- so you can address it. Not so long ago, hearing losses weren't identified until after the child was 2 years old -- big time language delay.

More good news -- You have a friend who you know and trust who will be doing speech therapy with your son. It can be scary to have strangers, albeit "professional" strangers come into your home and work with your family. It takes time to build rapport with early intervention teachers and speech paths you don't know. At least you will have one that you do know. :)

And finally, some advice -- if you are interested in going the Cochlear implant route, get an opinion from a Cochlear implant specialist. Research is showing that bilateral implants are very beneficial, but we have a whole generation of folks who have one implant and do just fine -- in fact, exceedingly well.

And remember one thing -- when you do start working with an early intervention person, talk to them about communication options. You should be receiving unbiased information about the various modes of communications and the methods in which they are taught.

Oh yeah, and, Maria can probably explain this better than I can, but they can tell what type of hearing loss a person has by how the brain responds to sound. The cochlea, which is part of the inner ear, is part of the neural part of the hearing system. The hairs in the cochlea vibrate as sound reaches them and send sound messages to the auditory nerve (oversimplified explanation). A conductive loss would be when the sound has a hard time reaching the cochlea and involves the middle and outer ear.

Here is some information I found on a website for kids:

Types of Hearing Loss
There are a few different types of hearing loss: conductive, sensory, mixed (conductive and sensory combined), and neural.

Conductive (say: kun-duk-tiv) hearing loss. This happens when there is a problem with a part of the outer or middle ear. Most kids with conductive hearing loss have a mild hearing loss and it is usually temporary because in most cases medical treatment can help.
Sensory (say: sen-suh-ree) hearing loss. This happens when the cochlea is not working correctly because the tiny hair cells are damaged or destroyed. Depending on the loss, a kid may be able to hear most sounds (although they would be muffled); may be able to hear in quiet but not in noise; only some sounds; or no sounds at all. Sensory hearing impairment is almost always permanent and a kid's ability to talk normally may be affected.
Neural (say: nur-ul) hearing loss. This happens when there is a problem with the connection from the cochlea to the brain. Neural means related to nerve, so neural hearing loss means the nerve that carries the messages from the cochlea to the brain is damaged.
Source: http://www.kidshealth.org/kid/health_problems/sight/hearing_impairment.html

I hope that this information helps. I'm sure that you and your family are going to do just fine. I also think that you should give Riley's some feedback about that crumudgeon that made your appointment so heart-wrenching. That just doesn't need to happen.

Have joy!

Dawn

(((KIM)))........I'm so sorry your experience was sooo bad!  There is no excuse, and this "older" physician should be barred from speaking to patients and their families if he has nothing positive to say!!  I would be the first to make a formal complaint, and make sure no other family has to endure his wrath!!

This aside, don't listen to anything this man told you! Max does not have the "worse case scenario" with respect to hearing...this is good news!! His LE (left ear) has a moderate to severe HL (Hearing loss).  This ear is still very aidable and there are many types of hearing aid available (be prepared to be told that only behind the ear modesl will do!!)!  His RE (right ear) has a severe HL, which is still aidable, but to a lesser extent....but even if he can't make out speach clearly from this ear, aiding him will help with sound localization, and is definately a safety issue...he will know where a sound is coming from, but maybe not know what it is.  I think that knowing there is a noise (something approaching) is most importatnt...just think about him crossing the street and not hearing a siren approaching! Anyway, both ears are aidable, contrary to what that old fuddleduddle said.  Cochlear implants are not an option right now until he is older and he can tell us (if this is the case) he cannot understand speech.  He has too much residual hearing left, and no ENT surgeon in his right mind would destroy an ear that still has partial function! 

Just becasue someone has hearing loss doesn't mean he can't function very well with hearing aids!!!  It's just the opposite with the elderly thought!! and I think this is where THAT doctor is coming from.  As one ages not only does hearing loss start to kick in but so does comprehension difficulty and no matter how loud the incomming signal is the message is still garbled and hence speech understnading is diminished.  This disfunction is at the level of the brain and not the ear!  THIS is NOT what I beleive is going on with MAX.

So rest assured, MAX will hear you and I'm sure there will be no complications!  And to be told this was caused by a virus is way too premature.  Yes, it's true that the comon cold can have serious side effect that are not expected, but if Max has never been sick a day in his little life, then I think this diagnosis is wrong.  It's very common for sporadic genetic mutations to occur during the embryo's growth stages, and it may be as simple an explanation as the cochlea did not fully form while in embyonic stage.  This would account for only high frequency sound recognition  present.  The cochlea is like a very small snail. The outer portion of the "coil" is  where high frequency detectors are located, and the apex (or inner portion of the coil) is for low frequency detection.  There is a strong posibility that the "coil" never fully formed and the low frequency "detectors" (really little hair cells!) never fully formed, hence the inability to hear low pitched sounds.  I hope I haven't totally confused you now!!  LOL  The only was to be completely sure is to have an MRI done and look at ear.

Best of luck with your future appointments, and please keep us posted!

HUGS!!

Kim,

I know how hard this news can be. You go through so many emotions and millions of thoughts run through your mind. As far as that idiot doctor, I would complain about him. In our own experience, we've also dealt with some the audiological field who needed some refresher courses on bedside manner. These were also so called professionals that deal with children at a children's hospital. I try to believe that these people are the exception rather than the rule. I'll save that rampage for another time!!

For your info., my son who is now 8 years old was diagnosed over 5 years ago with a bilateral moderately severe sensori neural loss. This is the same type of loss your son was diagnosed with. The mandatory hearing screening were not in effect yet. Looking back, it's obvious he had been born with this loss. He was also our first child and we thought he was fine. He did say words like mommy, daddy, doggy. (words he could see on your lips) We started suspecting something when he was around 2 and wasn't making sentences yet. After the battery of tests, and finally an ABR, he was diagnosed. Once he was aided at 3 years old, we had him in private speech therapy 2x per week as well as through his special ed pre-school. I also worked with him at home.

Now fast forward 5 years to now, my son is entering 3rd grade in Sept., reading close to a 5th grade level and doing great with his hearing aids. He mastered articulation in speech class when he was in first grade. He has also mastered lip reading! That is a scarry thing!!!

With your son being so young, you have an advantage. You won't have to play "catch up" as far as his speech is concerned.

When reading your experience, I can totally relate to how you're feeling. Oh I felt that very same way! But someone on this board way back 5 years ago, told me that I will not always feel that way and they were correct! It all just takes some time.

So I hope this helps you even if a little. But again, this board is a great place to vent. Let us know how Max's fitting goes.

Take care,

--Gina