Mom worried about her son's hearing

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maurabwade

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Hi! I have a 13-month-old baby. When he was born, he kept failing hearing tests. Finally, they sent him for an ABR. The technician said she was pretty sure his hearing was fine after the ABR, but she would review the data more carefully and send it to my doctor.

He clearly reacted to certain loud noises, such as clapping, dog barking, etc., so we didn't worry about it and I never did follow up on the ABR data. (I'm going to now.)

Now he is 1, and although he still reacts to some sounds, I feel like he can't hear my voice. He never reacts to my voice when he's not looking at me, and the other day, when I came home from work, he saw me and started crying. He was desperate to see me. I went to the bathroom, came out and started talking to him. He didn't turn around, even though he desperately wanted me!

That really didn't feel right.

He also doesn't talk yet, and when he babbles, he only uses vowels, Ls, Ys and Ms, plus the occasional D or G.

But he turns around if you clap and wakes up if the dog barks.

I am so confused. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If he does have a hearing problem, I want to start dealing with it NOW, whether that means getting hearing aids, learning sign language or whatever we need to do.
 
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maurabwade said:
Hi! I have a 13-month-old baby. When he was born, he kept failing hearing tests. Finally, they sent him for an ABR. The technician said she was pretty sure his hearing was fine after the ABR, but she would review the data more carefully and send it to my doctor.

He clearly reacted to certain loud noises, such as clapping, dog barking, etc., so we didn't worry about it and I never did follow up on the ABR data. (I'm going to now.)

Now he is 1, and although he still reacts to some sounds, I feel like he can't hear my voice. He never reacts to my voice when he's not looking at me, and the other day, when I came home from work, he saw me and started crying. He was desperate to see me. I went to the bathroom, came out and started talking to him. He didn't turn around, even though he desperately wanted me!

That really didn't feel right.

He also doesn't talk yet, and when he babbles, he only uses vowels, Ls, Ys and Ms, plus the occasional D or G.

But he turns around if you clap and wakes up if the dog barks.

I am so confused. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If he does have a hearing problem, I want to start dealing with it NOW, whether that means, getting hearing aids, learning sign language or whatever we need to do.
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He could have hearing loss in the "banana curve" which is where speech is heard. Clapping and dog barking, I would guess, are in the low -frequency range.

Take a look at page 12 here: http://www.coloroflanguage.com/Resources/Audiograms.pdf
 
From your posts last year, seems that if your son was flagged for potential hearing loss in several newborn screening tests, failed the otoacoustic tests 4 times, and both then and now you feel that he doesn't respond to voices, just concussive sounds like barking and clapping, he might very well have hearing loss. Get a referral from your pediatrician to find out what's up.

When not wearing her CIs, my daughter -- who is most definitely profoundly deaf -- says she can "feel" in her head when our dog barks, when I clap, and even when we speak loudly in the house near her. When she was 1, before we tried HAs, before getting her CIs, she too reacted to the dog barking and other concussive sounds.

That first year is a tough one to lose in terms of language development, your child needs language urgently! Every month you wait to bathe him in language means learning will be far more difficult for him later. Like yours, my child was language deprived her first year, too. We took urgent action though, and quickly placed her into an immersive language environment at a school for the deaf an hour and a half from us: 3X a week parent + child early intervention (ASL) plus 4 X a week ASL-based childcare from 8-3pm, Saturday family sign in the home, ASL classes on weeknights. A year later she also got the first of 2 CIs.

This worked, she caught up to her age level by ~ 4/5, she is currently fluent in both her native ASL and her second language, English, and has been loving that school for the deaf for 4 years now: my daughter (and her dad and I :laugh2:) graduated from the parent-infant program when she was 3 and she began attending their full-time prek program, and then Kindergarten.

The most important thing is for you to find the way and means to make language full and accessible to your little guy -- quickly. At his age, he needs much more than a handful of baby sign words, he needs to see or hear you using real language with and around him: whether that be ASL or English or both.
 
Every mothers know their kids very well. It did happen to my mom before. My mom took me to the different audiogolist. It is confirmed that I was born Profoundly Deaf. Right away they recommended my parents that I needed hearing aids/CI and start to learn how to speak and should not learn a form of sign language. My mom rather for me to know the language first by learning sign language. She did put me in the speech therapy eventually. It depends on all of Deaf people who wants to work hard by leanring how to speak and listen and its their decisions if they can handle to give up for lots of free times and work on speaking/listening. Indeed, I chose to sign in my teen years and very happy about it. Still, I am pretty close with my hearing family.

All i suggest you to take your kid to the different audiologist. I know audiologist will tell you the same information what they told my parents. Follow your motherly instinct and will make it alright for your kids.

Good Luck.
 
maurabwade said:
Hi! I have a 13-month-old baby. When he was born, he kept failing hearing tests. Finally, they sent him for an ABR. The technician said she was pretty sure his hearing was fine after the ABR, but she would review the data more carefully and send it to my doctor.

He clearly reacted to certain loud noises, such as clapping, dog barking, etc., so we didn't worry about it and I never did follow up on the ABR data. (I'm going to now.)

Now he is 1, and although he still reacts to some sounds, I feel like he can't hear my voice. He never reacts to my voice when he's not looking at me, and the other day, when I came home from work, he saw me and started crying. He was desperate to see me. I went to the bathroom, came out and started talking to him. He didn't turn around, even though he desperately wanted me!

That really didn't feel right.

He also doesn't talk yet, and when he babbles, he only uses vowels, Ls, Ys and Ms, plus the occasional D or G.

But he turns around if you clap and wakes up if the dog barks.

I am so confused. Has anyone else had a similar experience? If he does have a hearing problem, I want to start dealing with it NOW, whether that means getting hearing aids, learning sign language or whatever we need to do.
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If your child didn't pass multiple hearing tests, and had an ABR why didn't you pursue this a year ago?
 
My daughter's newborn screening was inconclusive, so we had her fully tested, and we were told that her hearing was fine. Over the years, she had many different tests, and they all gave different results. We began to doubt the accuracy of the latest tests when we noticed little signs that she wasn't hearing as well as she should (I have a mod-profound hearing loss, so I was already familiar with the signs), and we shared our concerns with my audiologist. It turned out that my daughter has a moderate hearing loss, and she was fitted with hearing aids at the age of six. Your intuition is probably right; seek out an audiologist who will work with you diligently to find out what your son needs!
 
I suggest ASL. Please give your son a true language. Maybe since he probably hard of hearing, can try oral and ASL? Not SimCom, though. Just give him a strong foundation in both
 
It could be that he is HOH, and will respond well to being aided. It's clear he has some residual hearing, in which case he will respond very well to aiding. The difference between HOH babies and unaidable babies is that HOH babies already have exposure to sound. They WILL develop speech....as a matter of fact, a lot of HOH kids weren't identified as being HOH until they were toddlers back when I was identified. Heck, did you know that in the '70's a lot of kids (and we're talking school age kids) were misidnetified as mentally handicapped when in fact, they were HOH?
My best advice......get him identified, and get him hearing aids....get him speech therapy (but don't freak out over it...he WILL develop speech. Most HOH kids do, although many of them still have deaf voices and accents) But ALSO get him exposed to deaf culture and ASL and Deaf School.....ASL will be a great second language for him to have, so he can function both with and without his hearing aids.
 
and the newborn screening is just that.... a screening.......even with it, kids are still being identified late.
 
Contact your state's Deaf School.....they will have AWESOME resources!
 
deafdyke said:
and the newborn screening is just that.... a screening.......even with it, kids are still being identified late.
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If kids are getting identified late these days it's usually because either they had a progressive hearing loss that wasn't present at birth, or guardians aren't following through on appointments. Generally speaking, audiologists (especially pediatric audiologists) are well informed about the need for children to receive early intervention ASAP. The first five years are critical- especially the first and second year.
 
BoricuaChevere said:
I suggest ASL. Please give your son a true language. Maybe since he probably hard of hearing, can try oral and ASL? Not SimCom, though. Just give him a strong foundation in both
Click to expand...

I agree. I'm HOH and have been wearing hearing aids since 6 months old I believe. And all I ever relied on was lip-reading and oral language growing up. I learned ASL when I was younger and kept up with it until I was main-streamed in 3rd grade. Until then, I've on and off with signing, and being the only person in my family who signs, it doesn't help trying to keep up with it. And now, I'm in college trying to keep up with it.

So yes, use ASL and oral, it helps. :)
 
GrendelQ said:
she is currently fluent in both her native ASL and her second language, English, and has been loving that school for the deaf for 4 years now:
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I just wanted to say good for you, for being a parent that allows both ASL and English, it breaks my heart when parents make thier children get CI's and then take thier ASL away from them :(
 
CSign said:
If your child didn't pass multiple hearing tests, and had an ABR why didn't you pursue this a year ago?
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because the ABR said she was most likely fine.. she believed her, and now she is having doubts...
 
CSign said:
If kids are getting identified late these days it's usually because either they had a progressive hearing loss that wasn't present at birth, or guardians aren't following through on appointments. .
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actually I respectfully disagree (in your reply to the qoute "a screening is just a screening"), my great neice failed her first two hearing tests in the hospital, and she hears just fine... sometimes they are just innacurate.
 
celly37 said:
actually I respectfully disagree (in your reply to the qoute "a screening is just a screening"), my great neice failed her first two hearing tests in the hospital, and she hears just fine... sometimes they are just innacurate.
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Amen. If I recall correctly, the screening tests the most common frequencies for loss, AND can ALSO be inaccurate in the serverity of loss. I know a couple of HOH kids who tested as having deaf losses on the screen/ABR, but with soundbooth tests tested as being HOH.
Matter of fact, I had an ABR which indicated a profound loss.....guess what? I'm HOH!?!?! I also know quite a few other dhh folks who fell through the cracks despite infant screening.
 
deafdyke said:
Amen. If I recall correctly, the screening tests the most common frequencies for loss, AND can ALSO be inaccurate in the serverity of loss. I know a couple of HOH kids who tested as having deaf losses on the screen/ABR, but with soundbooth tests tested as being HOH.
Matter of fact, I had an ABR which indicated a profound loss.....guess what? I'm HOH!?!?! I also know quite a few other dhh folks who fell through the cracks despite infant screening.
Click to expand...

It's only been 8 years since the newborn hearing screening was mandated.
 
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