... And there's more...

Yesterday Mike took Dominic to get a hearing test called an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response) due to concerns that he may not be hearing as well as he should.  He always holds his head turned to the right, and until recently I though he just had a tight neck muscle or maybe just a preference, but recently his PT pointed out (and I had realized this too) that his neck muscles are equal in length.  She suggested that perhaps he is keeping his head turned because he can hear better out of one ear than the other.  It's funny how all of your clinical knowledge flies out the window with your own kids... you can't see your child as a patient, he is your baby, so you miss obvious stuff!

The ABR showed hearing loss in both ears, with the left being a bit worse than the right.  In the low frequencies (which is environmental noise) he has mild hearing loss, in the middle frequencies (speech) he has moderate hearing loss, and in the high frequencies (distinguishing one word from another) he has severe hearing loss.  The Audiologist said that the frequency where he has the most loss is the place people distinguish between words, for instance between "cap" and "cat."  So from what I understand, he will be able to hear talking but may not necessarily be able to make out the words being said.  (I hope I am saying this right, I'm not an Audiologist and my knowledge in this is nill).  Also, they think this hearing loss is progressive/

So, what do we do now?   He is going to see an ENT next week and we will repeat the ABR is a few weeks to see if the findings are consistent then we will move forward with getting hearing aids.  Great.  He will have hearing aids, glasses, and I'm sure as he gets older a walker... my little old man.  But, he will be the cutest, most smiley little old man ever.  I will get him some suspenders and pull his pants up high and he will fit right in at the Senior's Center :).

Dominic with his Daddy... the best Daddy ever made!