Hearing Test

Lindy had her hearing test on her right ear yesterday and well, the results seem to be inconclusive. There is no doubt that there is hearing loss, but the audiologist said the data was not reliable. They are looking for repeatable waveforms at different pitches and decibels. You then compare these waveforms. She said that she couldn't get any to match up so the data is not reliable. But it must be reliable enough for her to say there is significant hearing loss.

I'll correct myself while I'm at it. The test they are doing detects hearing loss at high frequencies, not low frequencies like I wrote in the last post about her left ear. I was too stunned last time to get much information. This time I had questions and I got a better understanding of everything.

She said that at 90 decibels (which is very loud sounds) she got no response from her left ear. Yesterday she said she thinks she detected a response at 90 decibels on her right ear. But the data isn't reliable so we can't say for sure.

I just don't know what to think right now. If you remember from the last test, Lindy has to be asleep and not moving. Lindy did awesome. I held her for 2 hours and she slept at least 1.5 hours of it. I had to rock her in the beginning to get her to go back to sleep. She couldn't have been any better. So I don't understand why they couldn't get repeatable waveforms. They have to tape these little electrodes onto her head. Two are behind the ears. I really wonder if the electrodes were making good contact with her skin. After the test was over I looked and it didn't look like one was.

So the audiologist felt like we got good data. HUH???? I said to her, "I thought you said it wasn't reliable." She felt like we had a starting point and that we had enough information to order hearing aides. They can always be adjusted once she has the test done under sedation.

Our next obstacle is getting the hearing aides. There is going to be a problem with insurance and their office not fitting the hearing aides. They are in the process of getting it all covered but they usually send people over to this other guy in town. Wouldn't you know, he's not doing it right now either. So what are we to do????? The audiologist was going to check with her supervisor to see the time frame for them getting it covered. If it is going to be too long then she said they would have to refer us to the other hospital in town. The way she said it she didn't seem to like that idea. But you know what? I'm going to go to the place that can get her the hearing aides the fastest. So what if it's the competition. We are talking about Lindy's ears and her speech development. I'm not waiting around for their insurance issues.

I'm just not convinced she can't hear. Is it pure coincidence she jumps at noises? We swear she has woken up when Will was in the bouncy seat next to her crying. We know there is hearing loss but we aren't convinced both ears are as bad as they say. I guess the best info will come from the test under sedation and that can't be for at least 5 more weeks. Then the sedation people have to say she is okay to go under sedation.

We both just felt frustrated last night because of the results and the insurance issues. Can you imagine hearing aides and glasses on my poor little child? Her head just isn't that big! It will be a never ending battle to keep all that on her face. And her nasal cannula? We aren't going to know what Lindy looks like under all of it!!

On a good note, she's been smiling like crazy today!

And because Will doesn't get much time anymore because he is basically a boring normal baby, I'll go head and brag on him a bit. For a week and a half he has slept through the entire night! We feed him around 7:30pm and we wake him up at 7am! What a kid!!!

They both get weighed today so I'll have new weights later today. Will gets his Synagis shot too. Yuck!!