Surgery Or Hearing Aid? Help!

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SammyMGx

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Hi everyone!
This is my first ever post/thread so bare with me please...

Ok so my son is 19 months old and ever since I can remember I've had to talk loudly for him to turn around and he's always had balance issues but the balance has improved over time. His speech as far as I can remember has been slow to develop ( he didn't even say mum until he was over a year old)
So we got referred to the children's audiologist at the hospital where they confirmed that he had moderate hearing loss across all frequency ranges but they also believe he has glue ear. They carried out a bone conduction test which revealed that without the glue ear he still would have at least 35 decibel hearing loss.
They've now referred us to an ENT specialist because they'd like to put a grommet in each ear which for lots of different reasons my partner and I aren't too happy with.

So my question is - can I request hearing aids as a treatment instead of putting him through surgery? As I've heard so many people have bad experiences with grommets!

((Also my little boys dad is profoundly deaf in his left ear and it runs in his side of the family.))

Any help would be so appreciated!

Thank you in advance! :)
 
Yes you can have hearing aids instead of surgery. I wouldn't recommend something permanent for a baby. That should be his choice when he is old enough to make it.
 
Welcome :wave:

Yes, you as the parent have a choice to decide what path you want to pursue. I too do not recommend surgery on young children.

I would strongly recommend learning sign language for ease of communication. Contrary to some messages you may received, learning sign language will not prevent him from acquiring speech - it can improve it as sign language will give him access to language and the ability to express himself.

Check out your local deaf school as you may find they offer free sign language classes for families with deaf/HH children.
 
If you get tubes for his ear glue and then hearing aids he should be fine. I have ear glue and had tubes put in 2 time (one set were permanent tubes but they fell out) if you don't take care of the ear glue it will hurt is hearing more and he will be in a bit of pain. But hearing aids will really help.
 
I strongly recommend learning ASL so he can have full access to language. I have a CI and it doesnt give me perfect hearing and ASL is still the only language 100% accessible while spoken language is not.
 
He is your son, you have the right to request any treatment you want or no treatment at all... ASL gives him complete access to language now and will help him in the future as well. Also, proving sign now will help you by not having to talk loudly and straining yourself. Communication would be smoother and more enjoyable for all parties involved.
 
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I think the surgery is tubes, like they put in kids who get a lot of ear infections. I don't think she's talking about a CI, so, no, I would not wait and let the kid decide.
 
Get the tubes / grommets ... it's a minor, common painless procedure. (They basically only sedate people, because the person needs to be completely still - it's less of a "surgery" than getting ears pierced)

The grommets also very well may help prevent additional hearing loss caused by fluid build up and infections. I've had them - and don't regret it for a second.

He may, or may not need hearing aids following surgery, but he needs the surgery first. PLEASE.

ETA: Over the years I've know hundreds of peoples who've had gromments, and I can honestly say I've never heard of a single instance of problems with grommets/tubes - other than sometimes having them fall out before is ideal and having to have them put back in. It's really a VERY minor procedure. I can't stress that enough.
 
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This isn't an either or solution to A problem. Some of these posters should really do a simple google search of what this surgery is. Knee jerk reactions abound.

A hearing aid wouldn't be a "treatment" for his glue ear or any other medical issues, it just addresses the hearing loss. You've two separate issues and both need to be addressed.
 
Anij said:
Get the tubes / grommets ... it's a minor, common painless procedure. (They basically only sedate people, because the person needs to be completely still - it's less of a "surgery" than getting ears pierced)

The grommets also very well may help prevent additional hearing loss caused by fluid build up and infections. I've had them - and don't regret it for a second.

He may, or may not need hearing aids following surgery, but he needs the surgery first. PLEASE.

ETA: Over the years I've know hundreds of peoples who've had gromments, and I can honestly say I've never heard of a single instance of problems with grommets/tubes - other than sometimes having them fall out before is ideal and having to have them put back in. It's really a VERY minor procedure. I can't stress that enough.
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THIS!!!!!
 
If you don't get the tubes his hearing will get worst. That is how I got hearing lost at first. The tubes might hurt at first but it goes away quickly and can even fix his earing 100% so not to need hearing aids at all
 
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