what does this mean?

Courtneydang

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so, as most of you know my six year old had a hearing screen in december that said she had a 30-40db conducive hearing loss.
well she just had another test done yesterday, it its indicating a 75db loss.
shes getting tubes tuesday, but the ent seemed only mildly concerned that there is a huge difference in the matter of 6 week. but he did make a point to say tubes might not help because he cant see fluid that would warrant this amount of loss, but didnt really offer an answer to what is the next step if they dont.
i know the most common cause of conductive loss is fluid build up, but what else could cause it?
 
I hesitate to comment, since I'm not a doctor and someone will likely jump down my throat. So, take my comments as my own $.02 and nothing more.

I would make sure she gets retested after the tubes (as quickly as she's healed) and push for whatever she needs. They will probably do a routine test at the ent afterwards (I had them after each of my surguries) but I would personally do another full test at an audi if they don't do a full test that you have faith in. Unless the doctor has reasons to question the validity of the second test, it does seem he's being a bit unresponsive. A 75 loss is nothing to mess around with (not that a 30 is either, but I can see him dismissing that a bit until tubes are in, just from my past experiences). In my humble opinion, if she's talking well I wouldn't panic and would guess her loss is closer to the 30's. Maybe something to ease your mind for the next two weeks.

Let us know how things go :)

Oh, I have a conductive loss in my right ear and it's not fluid. Mine is damage from ear infections and scar tissue, for the most part. My ent said he was willing to go in there and 'take a look' but having surgery to check for scar tissue seems counter intuitive to me.
 
Ask your doctor what the worst case scenario might be.....and prepare for it.

I was 4 years old when I lost most of my hearing, and I am glad it happened at a young age, as small children learn to adapt better than the older ones.

The good news is, there are more choices available for your child these days if you want to let her hear as much as possible.
 
Just remember don't force your daughter if you want her to hear as much as you want her to hear. Being deaf or hard of hearing is not that easy, no way. Your daughter have to adapt to her hearing loss. Like Deanne said, that it is better to wait until she had her tube put in for retest. If she can not hear after that, then that is what she need to accept her hearing loss. She will have to depend on the special accommodation for her to know what is going on in the hearing world. ASL is the way to go. Good luck at this.
 
@deanne
i opted not to do the surgery when she was younger, for that same reason. the ent said the damage was done but probably wouldnt get anyworse, welp so much for that.
can i ask you has your hearing gotten worse over time or stayed the same?
she does have an appointment with the audi two weeks after the tubes. im just worried its not going to help. unless there is fluid that they cant see with even the huge thing that projects the image on a screen.
 
@deanne

can i ask you has your hearing gotten worse over time or stayed the same?
QUOTE]

Mine has gotten much worse. I had my last surgery when I was 12 and my hearing stayed stable for about 10 years. Now, not so much. The ENT expects me to become profoundly deaf in that ear within a few years but that's just a guess. My other ear is a mystery. I did learn to speak well with speech therapy and people say my speech is still fine.

I read over one of your other posts yesterday so I have a bit more background. So, for your daughter, from my own experiences -- the main thing to admit and to accept is that her hearing is not 'fine'. Doctors, schools, and my parents looked at my 20-40 loss all through school and said it was 'fine' because I got through. I would have been MUCH better off learning more ASL and being given access to notetakers, etc. Yes, most of the time I managed but with certain teachers, when I was sick, for labs and things where I couldn't watch the teacher, life would have been a lot easier with additional tools. Being hard of hearing and/or Deaf is nothing to be ashamed of and therefore there's no reason for her to try to 'pass' as hearing. I think oftentimes it's the doctors, who say what they think they want the parents to hear. They think the parents want to hear 'oh, it won't affect her much, it's fine, it's not a big deal' but what good parents really want, (and it sounds like you're in this group) is to be told 'these are her options, you should try this, these are the possibilities, this is how to get what she needs).

I hope the tubes will prevent some future ear infections and damage. I was grown by the time I had my last surgeries and I remember the doctor saying he wished I was a few years younger because my body would do a much better job healing and fixing itself.

Just keep at it. Make sure they give you a copy of her audiogram. Try to get copies of the old ones as well. Do what you can around the house to make her life easier. Try the flashing lights as a way to get her attention. Do your best to not get frustrated. I'm a parent of a 4 and 7 year old, so I know how hard it is to get them to listen at ALL hahahahaa. Minimize background noises -- if the TV isn't being watched, turn it off. Perhaps get her some headphones for now so that she isn't blasting the whole house when she watches a cartoon on the computer. If you're telling her something important, make sure she's facing you and ask her if she understands.

I hope some of this will help a bit. Remember that even if her school, doctors, etc sometimes make you feel like you're being pushy and they're unresponsive, you have a whole lot of people behind you.
 
thankyou!
she got her tubes today, the doctor said there wasnt much fluid in her ears but her eardrums were very thick and stiff and scared.worse in her right ear. he gave me some drops and said they may help soften them up. and we'll see what her next hearing screen says.
 
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