There's lots going on, but I wanted to post a question. Does anyone out there have any experience with single sided deafness? You see, amongst the craziness of this week, we took Harper to the audiologist and ENT specialist. When she was at her physical with our family doctor in July, she failed her hearing test. We had some suspicions about her hearing because if we held a phone up to her ear, she seemed to only be able to hear if we held it up to her left ear. For a while, we wrote it off thinking that she was too young to talk on the phone. But lately, when we switched ears, she could use the phone fine. Anyway, the doctors confirmed that she has severe hearing loss in her right ear. She has excellent hearing in her left ear, so she compensates just fine. (Obviously better than just fine, or we would have noticed something more before now!) We're going to get the CT scan recommended by the doctor so that maybe we can see why she can't hear, and we're going to talk to another audiologist. The ENT specialist doctor feels fairly certain that there isn't anything that can be done to change the hearing in her deaf ear. Anyway, I just wondered if anyone had any experience to share? We'd appreciate it.
Shelley, I do not have experience with single sided deafness. But our son was diagnosed with auditory processing dysfunction when he was little. He was slow to talk and slow to read. BUT once we found the right ENT who discovered he had fluid on his ears. (I can't tell you how many specialists didn't check for this.) That got cleared up and he was fine. We were told that he would never be able to do anything that required auditory skills, like learn a foreign language or be in a demanding job that required listening and processing information. Fast forward 18 years later......he graduated from college with a degree in German. He is learning Mandarin and continues to amaze us with his skills. Kids have a way of compensating that continues to astound me. So applaud all that is wonderful about Harper and focus on that and it will be what is doubled and reflected back to you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for the blog comment, Tonya. I'm so glad to hear too that your son's outcome was a successful one. We'll be posting an update once we have any more news. :)
DeleteHi Shelley. I'm sure you've probably heard me joke about having the hearing of a dog...I can hear a dog whistle, but have no idea what you're saying. I don't have single sided deafness, but I do have a unique hearing deficit. My hearing in the frequencies that most human voice falls in is significantly impaired, but my hearing in frequencies above and below that range is well above average. I didn't have routine healthcare as a child, so I don't know how long I've had this problem, but it was diagnosed about 10 years ago. Because of it I avoid talking on the phone like it's herpes. My audiologist suspects I use lip reading to augment my hearing during conversations, hence my preference for in-person conversations or email/text rather than phone. That would also support the theory that I've had this problem since childhood since I didn't realize I used any form of lip reading until my audiologist pointed it out. At the time of diagnosis it was determined that a hearing aid wouldn't help my particular case much, but I have noticed it worsening in the last year so that may be up for reassessment. I hope the CT reveals useful information, confirming there is no sinister cause of this problem for Harper or need for concern about her hearing on the other side. Sounds like she is already naturally compensating and developing her own work arounds. Please keep me posted about the outcome of the CT. Love to you all :)
ReplyDeleteHi Amanda! You must compensate really well because I never would have noticed. Amazing what you can do to work around the issue. We'll definitely keep you updated... thanks so much for sharing your story! Oh, and our current update is that when I talked on the phone with Harper yesterday (she's in Kansas with my parents this week), after we had a whole conversation, my Mom got back on the phone and told me that we had been talking the whole time on Harper's "bad" ear. Very confusing. It looks like we'll want at least one more hearing test to see more results. I'll let you know how it turns out! HUGS! -Shelly
DeleteChildren truly are amazing.She has been compensating very well. I'll be thinking of you as you go through all this. Biggest of hugs. xoxo
ReplyDeleteShe's been compensating ridiculously well... that is, if she has a problem with her hearing at all. Crazy thing... yesterday we had a whole phone conversation on her "bad" ear. Looks like we have some more investigating to do to see if there's really a problem, or if we're not getting good hearing test results. Oh, what fun, right? :) Huge hugs to you... watching you as you embark on your fabulous art adventure! :) -S
DeleteI had a similar thing happen with my daughter. When she was around 4ish I told her to pick up the phone by the bed...she brought me a pillow from the bed!!
ReplyDeleteShe had hearing loss in both ears from fluid build up!! She had surgery to put tubes in her ears and most of her hearing returned! She is 30 now and hears just fine.
Good luck!! 8*)
Thank you so much for the comment! So glad to hear that your daughter had such great success with the tubes. That must have been such a relief to you as a parent. We'll keep everyone posted as we know more!! :)
DeleteOh my! I know this must be nerve-wracking!!!
ReplyDeleteYep... somewhat nerve-wracking and a little crazy. Harper and I had a whole phone conversation yesterday on her "bad" ear. No idea what's going on. It looks like there are more hearing tests in our near future! Hugs to you!!! -S
DeleteMy brother was born only able to hear in one ear. He's now in his forties and has now had to have a hearing aid to help him. Until a year or so ago though he coped just fine with school and work. Good luck with your daughter.
ReplyDeletetotally understandable why your adorable teapot is not finished! my heart goes out to you -- i hope they can get to the bottom of what is causing her hearing loss!
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