So Chris decided that we should try one last suggestion to improve his hearing loss which has always been between 30% and 40% since he was an infant. It was a simple idea so I was very supportive. We got tubes placed in his ears. It wasn't a big deal. We would have done it sooner but to be honest he never had an ear infection so it seemed silly. He did have some fluid though and now it is gone.
So there is nothing left to do but wait. So far his speech is not different at all but we keep hoping it will improve as he continues speech therapy. If not I do worry a lot because we are out of options besides leaving it alone and getting hearing aids. He will have another hearing screening in April and than we will know where we stand. Chris' concern is teasing and I'm already seeing kids tease him a lot. I'm grateful he hasn't caught on yet. I worry how much he loves music. The world is a wonderful place to hear things and I don't want him missing out. We are still hoping the easiest solution ends up being the right one!
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Francisca, I guess I haven't been keeping up with Callum's hearing issues. I know you've seen a lot of specialists and have been given a lot of different opinions, but maybe you could talk with Ayrel next time she's in town. I think she'd be very interested in hearing about what's going on. Also, I have 2 grandsons who have hearing issues. One is 10, was diagnosed at 2 with a serious hearing problem. He started wearing hearing aids then, and had a cochlear implant several years ago. He is doing great, is a star on his elite soccer team, and is a pretty happy little guy. He also always gets a good night sleep because he can't hear anything! He will very likely need another implant at some time. His younger brother is 8 and they just discovered in the past year that he has the same condition, just not as severe. He is legally deaf in 1 ear, but is compensating so well that they aren't doing anything about it yet. Is Callum getting speech therapy? I'm sorry for these challenges for you and your family, but hope that he'll be able to get the right diagnosis/therapy to help him!
ReplyDeleteLove to you and your sweet family!
Thank you Laurie! That is a great idea. Let us know when she is in town next time :) They think it has something to do with his prematurity but we don't know. He has been in speech therapy 2x a week for a year now but he struggles with simple sounds still. We know for sure about the hearing loss and we also know for sure from the endoscopies when he talks there is air escaping from the soft pallet causing the words to come out funny. But we don't know if it is related to his hearing loss, why he has hearing loss, or and why he has the air escaping.
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