First of all, I want to appologize if I phrase anything incorrectly (and if I do, please correct me)... We are relatively new to the deaf community, and I certainly don't want to insult anyone because I do not yet know proper terminology.
Moreover, here is my situation.... I have 6 year old twins. Nither of them showed signs of hearing impariment as babies or even young toddlers. As the learned to speak, they both had moderate speech impediments, but they seemed more cute at the time than anything. The older twin had already grown out of her speech problems, and now speaks extrememly well. The younger twin still speaks with an impediment, but had een tested for hearing impairment and can her perfectly in both ears.
The old twin however, had chronic ear infections as a baby in both ears, but had no hearing impairment until at least age 3. We had her tested at the age of 4, and the audiologist told us she was 80% deaf in her left ear. (this was roughly the same time she began to finally speak clearly (she still speaks clearly even with her hearing impairment). She was fitted for and received a hearing aid last summer, just as she turned 5 years old and started kindergarten. A few months later we went back to the audiologist to have her checked, just to make sure everything was going well, and they told us she is now 100% deaf in her left ear. She still has perfect hearing in her right ear. She no longer wears her hearing aid as it won't do her any good. The doctors think that a growth delay of the bone sin her ear is what caused the hearing loss. Basically the hammer wasn't growing as the correct pace, it was growing slower, and as she continued to grow, the hammer had less and less contact with the eardrum, until there was no contact at all, hence the hearing loss. Her ENT specialist that we see for her chronic ear infections and strept throat, and sinus colds discovered she had an enlarged left adenoid. It was removed this past May. Her chronic illnesses have gone from always-here to practically non-existent since she had the adenoid removed. And eventhough she hasn't been back for a hearing test, it seems she is VERY SLIGHTLY now able to hear out of her left ear again. But her Audiologist had suggested a BAHA implant (before the adenoid surgery). Our daughter is not currently in any special education classes, as she functions quite well, even with the single-sided deafness. I guess our questions are these.....
Since she speaks fine now, and still hears well in one ear, should we try to teach her ASL-- in case her hearing in her right ear deteriorates as well? We tried explaining it to her but she thought it was "weird" that people talk with their hands, and didn't have much interest in learning. Unfotunately, she has never even met another deaf person, so the concept is foreign to her. My other question is if she can hear out of one ear, does the BAHA seem a little extreme to put her through? And what are the long term effects... or are those even known?
Most of our close friends can't even tell she had a hearing problem. The only time we really notice it is when there is lots of background noise.... like a noisy restaurant, or when the music is on in the car... She'll yell for you to repeat yourself. Also, she is unable to directionalize where the sound is coming from. I can see this becoming an issue when she is crossing streets, etc....
I just want to get some feedback from those of you with first-hand experience. This is still really new to us, and we've never really been around anyone that is deaf for us to know what to expect. Thanks all and God Bless.
Moreover, here is my situation.... I have 6 year old twins. Nither of them showed signs of hearing impariment as babies or even young toddlers. As the learned to speak, they both had moderate speech impediments, but they seemed more cute at the time than anything. The older twin had already grown out of her speech problems, and now speaks extrememly well. The younger twin still speaks with an impediment, but had een tested for hearing impairment and can her perfectly in both ears.
The old twin however, had chronic ear infections as a baby in both ears, but had no hearing impairment until at least age 3. We had her tested at the age of 4, and the audiologist told us she was 80% deaf in her left ear. (this was roughly the same time she began to finally speak clearly (she still speaks clearly even with her hearing impairment). She was fitted for and received a hearing aid last summer, just as she turned 5 years old and started kindergarten. A few months later we went back to the audiologist to have her checked, just to make sure everything was going well, and they told us she is now 100% deaf in her left ear. She still has perfect hearing in her right ear. She no longer wears her hearing aid as it won't do her any good. The doctors think that a growth delay of the bone sin her ear is what caused the hearing loss. Basically the hammer wasn't growing as the correct pace, it was growing slower, and as she continued to grow, the hammer had less and less contact with the eardrum, until there was no contact at all, hence the hearing loss. Her ENT specialist that we see for her chronic ear infections and strept throat, and sinus colds discovered she had an enlarged left adenoid. It was removed this past May. Her chronic illnesses have gone from always-here to practically non-existent since she had the adenoid removed. And eventhough she hasn't been back for a hearing test, it seems she is VERY SLIGHTLY now able to hear out of her left ear again. But her Audiologist had suggested a BAHA implant (before the adenoid surgery). Our daughter is not currently in any special education classes, as she functions quite well, even with the single-sided deafness. I guess our questions are these.....
Since she speaks fine now, and still hears well in one ear, should we try to teach her ASL-- in case her hearing in her right ear deteriorates as well? We tried explaining it to her but she thought it was "weird" that people talk with their hands, and didn't have much interest in learning. Unfotunately, she has never even met another deaf person, so the concept is foreign to her. My other question is if she can hear out of one ear, does the BAHA seem a little extreme to put her through? And what are the long term effects... or are those even known?
Most of our close friends can't even tell she had a hearing problem. The only time we really notice it is when there is lots of background noise.... like a noisy restaurant, or when the music is on in the car... She'll yell for you to repeat yourself. Also, she is unable to directionalize where the sound is coming from. I can see this becoming an issue when she is crossing streets, etc....
I just want to get some feedback from those of you with first-hand experience. This is still really new to us, and we've never really been around anyone that is deaf for us to know what to expect. Thanks all and God Bless.
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