So Hes Hard of Hearing Now What

If he turns out to have some minimal hearing he can have special hearing aides made. My best friend's daughter is 2 and she uses them. Now she is learning to talk and she seems like any other 2 yr old. You will be amazed the advances there have been in technology and diagnostics. If your son is totally hearing impaired stay strong. There are many hearing impaired adults living normal and happy lives. Their parents got through it and you will too. Also, be happy about the special services. These are the people that will support you and give you the tools to support your child.

Also, just keep talking to him normally right now, maybe just do it up close rather than from across the room. Face him and have him face you when you can. It's gonna be okay momma. You can do this.

I think that you need to find out what the cause is. My son failed a hearing screen at age 3 and it turned out he had a lot of fluid in his ears. Once his adenoids came out and tubes went in, his hearing was restored. My husband was diagnosed as having a profound hearing loss when he was 5. They don't know the cause but think he had nerve damage after a stomach virus and high fever that became progressive. He has had hearing aids in both ears since then and has done very well. There are surgical services that can be done for certain types of hearing loss as well. Find out the cause and the different options. I would also get referred to a good speech therapist that can help with communication and developing normal speech.

I would pause until you meet with your ENT. My husband was completely deaf in his left ear and mostly deaf in his right ear. Depending on what caused it, it MAY be reversible with surgery. In my husband's case, the tissue covering the ear drum that echoes the sound into your ear was gone. It blew or whatever. He had surgery in both ears to replace the tissue and it worked like a champ in his right ear. He can now hear 80% in the right ear. Left ear is still only at 20% (the tissue didn't hold in that ear drum) but there is a ton of hope. It may be a matter of fluid building up and him needing tubes. Easy. Got hearing aid? ...There's a ton of positive solutions and not just school for the deaf so slow down and talk to the specialist. :) Good luck D.. I'm sure this is a scarey, nervous time for you all. It will all turn out OK though. One way or another.

I would talk to him like you normally would. If he ends up profoundly deaf this could help him to read lips when he is older. I would maybe just talk a little bit slower. I would also recommend some Signing Time dvd's. They can teach you both sign language. I have 4 of the dvd's (my 3rd daughter has Down syndrome) and it has taught our entire family some simple day to day signs, along with some more elaborate signs. They are really fun dvd's! Some libraries even carry them to be loaned out. As far as teaching him shapes, colors, and numbers I would continue as you have been,but learn the signs for each also!
Keep your chin up! He maybe hard of hearing because he has a lot of fluid in his ears from past ear infections. Getting his adenoids out and tubes put in his ears might be a simple solution!

Take a deep breath. Slow down and wait until he is evaluated by an ENT and find out what kind of hearing loss he suffers from. There are several and some can be corrected : http://www.ehealthmd.com/library/hearingloss/HL_types.html
I myself suffer from nerve deafness in my right ear that can not be corrected and it was found when I was six. My adopted son also was evaluated by a ENT this spring when I found that he was having a difficult time hearing me. Found out that he has a condition where the ear bone hardens and sound can not travel through to the brain. He will be having surgery this spring and the success rate is very good. I know that this may not be your son's condition but I do understand you fear and concern. You will find out alot more about what is going on by an ENT and they can advise you on his condition and treatment if possible and what you can do to help him.
I wish you and your son the best,
C.

We have a friend whose little girl was born deaf. She had a cochlear implant put in when she was 1. She went to speech therapy for a long time. They taught her sign language as well the the spoken work that accompanied the sign. They would show her a picture, show her the sign, then say the word, then do the sign and say the word. They would repeat until she did the sign and tried to say the word. I think it's called whole language, but I might be wrong. She was in a special preschool where they did sign and speech. It took a lot of really hard work on her part, her parents part and the teachers part, but she's 7 now and can talk. It's not as clear as how you or I would talk, but she can be understood. The implant allows her to hear if you are talking to her.
Early Intervention and the various therapists you're likely to have will help you with things like how to deal with emergency situations. You'll definitely have to keep a much closer eye on him since he won't be able to hear you if you yell. Trust me when I say this isn't the end of the world. There is a world of resources at your fingertips. Early Childhood Intervention is fantastic. Make friends with them!

Why was he seen to be evaluated by eci?Is there more than just the hearing issue his speech is delayed (i'm assuming).Heres is what i'm going through.I never would of guessed that my daughter who is 20 months now has had fluid in her ears for a while now she is 6 months behind on speech when she was 1 yr I brought up that she was only saying a few words mostly dada never mama so at her 14 well visit the pediatrician asked how her speech was still a few words new ones but mostly dada not mama she babbles non stop so any way was referred to TARC they did their evaluations she had 0 signs of any learning disorders/Autism it was speech she lacked but at 14 months was early I know but she should still be speaking some words understands perfectly.So after her hearing through our local school she flat lined on the tempanogram (excuse my spelling I don't have that info right in front of me)but that indicated she had fluid in the middle ear then she registered high decipals when she was in the booth that indicating she has 50% loss of hearing in both ears so then we went to the ENT same thing then again 2 weeks later same thing she then went back last month to the local school district for another hearing test in which her ear drums were dark pink again indicating she is getting an ear infection so ok then it's a watch & wait 3 days later she did get a fever took her in already knowing that this could be her ear infections sure was, was prescribed antibiotics.Took it then just in a matter of 2 days she was talking her words had increased she was on it for 10 days & already made a huge difference she is more talkative saying more words & really trying to have intense conversations with you more so now than before.And not to leave out that the audiologist did call her pediatrican to let her know that her ears are looking like she is getting an infection if she was able prescribe her antibiotcs the answer was no they couldn't she had to be clinically seen but did offer me to give her Benadryl or Zyrtec to dry up the fluid I have never heard fo that for ears but she has now been on that everyday & it is helping.This makes it her second ear infections she is 20 months old they offered to do the watch & wait for 3 months or ear tunes she is doing so well that I haven't wanted to do the ear tubes she has another hearing test next Tuesday at that appt. i'll make my decison to proceed witht he tubes but if it is fluid that is constantly building up & has no where to go & tubes is the only fix than i'll have to but for now since I know she is doing better after her ear infection followed by the use of Benadryl.
Did they say anything about how the ears look?Does it look conductive meaning that there is fluid in the middle ear that it can be fixed with ear tubes?Was he flat lined or was there a peak?
Since we are in speech therapy she is really happy to see me say only 2-3 words to her not a whole sentence that she will never catch onto so there for will ignore any requests,responses,& will be distracted by you lips moving more than anything.Also to mention if it is low or high tones when we speak our voice goes up & down so they hear different for a child like mine who has high & low tone differences in both ears she doesn't hear the highs it is white noise to her the low tones get muffled so speaking in a singing voice I now it sounds silly but she catches on better in the singing tones than raising my voice or whispering.So my advice is speak to him get on his level always & speak in very short sentences.
I get handed a toy I say "pink purse"not Oh this is your pink purse with a flower on it or her shoes "black shoes"not these are your black shoes that you wear with a dress.Not to say that I never use long sentences or that your not suppose it just makes it so much easier on the child to learn what you want them to hear & respond to.As for teaching ABC's,shapes,numbers start with 1 or 2 a week.We also are learning signs or make up your own but I wouldn't make them up yet till you know he has nerve damage & will need a hearing device.For now take a deep breath you'll have lots more answers when you see the ENT.
Good Luck to you it is very frustrating to go through i'm half way there i'm just so happy that my pediatrican listened to me & we have the services she needs & will need in the future she wasn't written off as a wait & see till she is older..