Today was quite an interesting day! I want to start and say THANK YOU to everyone who was praying and thinking of us today. The roads were totally dry and we made it downtown with no problems. However, it was bitterly cold!!!
As far as the testing goes, we got good news and bad news. Ok, not really BAD news but Olivia did wake up again before the test was complete, so we will have to go back and repeat the test. However, the good news is, her hearing has NOT gotten worse! And in fact, she even scored better than she had in the past! But more on that in a bit....
So, before they began the ABR, they put her in the sound booth and did some Conditioned Play Audiometry with her. In case you are wondering what that is I found this information on a website...
Babies, toddlers, and young children obviously can not be relied on to signal if they hear a sound, so it is done differently with them. A baby is taught to turn to a sound. When the baby turns to the sound, the baby is "rewarded" with the sight of a toy lighting up or moving. This is called Visual Reinforcement Audiometry.
An alternative method is Play Audiometry. In Play Audiometry, the young child, who is wearing headphones, touches or moves a toy.
Basically, there were 2 doctors performing this part of the test. One was outside the booth controlling all the sound cues and the other was in the booth with us, playing with Olivia. She scored VERY well on this part and when we walked out the doctor said she performed in the "normal hearing range". And this is without the hearing aids on!!
They did two other quick tests (one for middle ear and one for inner ear) and then we went into the room where the ABR would be done. The nurse gave her "sleepy syrup" and it wasn't long before she was asleep. Actually I think she fell asleep faster than they expected because it took the doctor a good 10 or 15 minutes before she came back even after I told them she was out. I don't think they believed me! The doctor did the test for about 30 minutes and then all of a sudden Olivia started moving around and her eyes were open. BUMMER! Yep, she woke up once again before the test was complete so we do not have full results! Arrrggghhhh! I cannot believe this has happened to us twice! But now on to the possibly really good news ....
The portion of the test done today showed she was able to hear at 20 decibels which is considered "normal" range. I don't know anything about which frequencies were tested but this an improvement from before when the lowest threshold she could hear at was 35 decibels!!!!
BUT
this does not necessarily mean her hearing has improved. The type of hearing loss she has (sensorineural) is a permanent kind and does not improve. She does have malformation in her cochlea so we know this to be true.
However, the doctor told me today that there are several variables to consider. To begin, her other ABRs were done at a different hospital by a different doctor. Discrepancies certainly possible. Secondly, the other test had "very messy lines" which means there was a lot of interference going on during the test and therefore could have misconstrued the results. And when I say interference, I mean like other noises in the room, her moving around during the test, etc. and because it has been a long time since her initial testing, she could have had a lot of growth in that time frame.
Sooooooooo, with all that being said, I am cautiously optimistic. The doctor actually said to me, " She is flirting with normal". Depending on what happens when we repeat the test, we may need to consider if she should even be wearing hearing aids."
REALLY???? These words encourage me. They excite me. And they also scare me.
I don't want to get my hopes up and then get the full results and find out these were false hopes.
I am hoping to see her actual audiologist (not the one who did the test) and get her opinion this week. I just don't know what to make of all this?!
Whatever the case may be, it was still GREAT news. Her hearing has not gotten worse and that is the main thing I was praying for.
And no matter what, she is still our precious baby girl and we will love her the same.
Here are a few pictures I took once we got home. She was still very loopy and very smiley =) She was dizzy, could not walk after the test and was saying all sorts of crazy stuff! I think she asked me about a hundred times where Daddy and Jacob were. Even when I answered her, she would ask me again and again. Funny dealing with a little "drunk" two year old!
As far as the testing goes, we got good news and bad news. Ok, not really BAD news but Olivia did wake up again before the test was complete, so we will have to go back and repeat the test. However, the good news is, her hearing has NOT gotten worse! And in fact, she even scored better than she had in the past! But more on that in a bit....
So, before they began the ABR, they put her in the sound booth and did some Conditioned Play Audiometry with her. In case you are wondering what that is I found this information on a website...
Babies, toddlers, and young children obviously can not be relied on to signal if they hear a sound, so it is done differently with them. A baby is taught to turn to a sound. When the baby turns to the sound, the baby is "rewarded" with the sight of a toy lighting up or moving. This is called Visual Reinforcement Audiometry.
An alternative method is Play Audiometry. In Play Audiometry, the young child, who is wearing headphones, touches or moves a toy.
Basically, there were 2 doctors performing this part of the test. One was outside the booth controlling all the sound cues and the other was in the booth with us, playing with Olivia. She scored VERY well on this part and when we walked out the doctor said she performed in the "normal hearing range". And this is without the hearing aids on!!
They did two other quick tests (one for middle ear and one for inner ear) and then we went into the room where the ABR would be done. The nurse gave her "sleepy syrup" and it wasn't long before she was asleep. Actually I think she fell asleep faster than they expected because it took the doctor a good 10 or 15 minutes before she came back even after I told them she was out. I don't think they believed me! The doctor did the test for about 30 minutes and then all of a sudden Olivia started moving around and her eyes were open. BUMMER! Yep, she woke up once again before the test was complete so we do not have full results! Arrrggghhhh! I cannot believe this has happened to us twice! But now on to the possibly really good news ....
The portion of the test done today showed she was able to hear at 20 decibels which is considered "normal" range. I don't know anything about which frequencies were tested but this an improvement from before when the lowest threshold she could hear at was 35 decibels!!!!
BUT
this does not necessarily mean her hearing has improved. The type of hearing loss she has (sensorineural) is a permanent kind and does not improve. She does have malformation in her cochlea so we know this to be true.
However, the doctor told me today that there are several variables to consider. To begin, her other ABRs were done at a different hospital by a different doctor. Discrepancies certainly possible. Secondly, the other test had "very messy lines" which means there was a lot of interference going on during the test and therefore could have misconstrued the results. And when I say interference, I mean like other noises in the room, her moving around during the test, etc. and because it has been a long time since her initial testing, she could have had a lot of growth in that time frame.
Sooooooooo, with all that being said, I am cautiously optimistic. The doctor actually said to me, " She is flirting with normal". Depending on what happens when we repeat the test, we may need to consider if she should even be wearing hearing aids."
REALLY???? These words encourage me. They excite me. And they also scare me.
I don't want to get my hopes up and then get the full results and find out these were false hopes.
I am hoping to see her actual audiologist (not the one who did the test) and get her opinion this week. I just don't know what to make of all this?!
Whatever the case may be, it was still GREAT news. Her hearing has not gotten worse and that is the main thing I was praying for.
And no matter what, she is still our precious baby girl and we will love her the same.
Here are a few pictures I took once we got home. She was still very loopy and very smiley =) She was dizzy, could not walk after the test and was saying all sorts of crazy stuff! I think she asked me about a hundred times where Daddy and Jacob were. Even when I answered her, she would ask me again and again. Funny dealing with a little "drunk" two year old!
Hope to post again when I have some more information and hopefully some more definitive answers!
2 comments:
You are right...either way, it is GREAT news!! I'm praying for the best!
Thanks Wendy!!
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