Trey had an audiology check up today. His hearing is about the same as it was at his last check up in December. To give you an idea of where his hearing has been and now is at, in his first hearing test after diagnosis which was in July 2006, he had mild loss in the low frequencies sloping into moderate hearing loss in the high frequencies. In July 2008 his hearing was at this same level. In September 2008 we went back for another assessment, while he was getting over a cold. He continued to have mild loss in the low frequencies, but this time, his hearing loss fell to moderate-severe levels in the high frequencies. The same happened in December. Trey was getting over a cold and his hearing was the same. And again, this happened today. Trey is just getting over a cold. His audiologist said she’d describe Trey’s loss as mild to severe.
I really wish winter would be over so we can have an accurate measure of his hearing. This has only been the third time Trey’s been sick all winter (the rest of us have been sick at least 5-6 times), but it has just turned out that his hearing tests have happened right as Trey’s recovering from a cold. I would like to know if his permanent hearing loss has declined or if it is just due to colds, fluid and drainage from his ears. However, it doesn’t matter for Trey day to day whether his hearing loss is permanent or conductive because the mild to severe hearing loss is how he hears and what he has to deal with.
Trey is also getting new ear molds. One green and one blue, like his friend Duke. And, I found out today that once a child reaches the age of five, services get cut off! We now get to pay for ear molds and batteries when he needs them! Fun.
The neat thing about today’s appointment was that this was the first time Trey was able to make it through the duration of the test. This was the first time that the audiologist said: “We’re done!” as opposed to me saying: “Okay, I think we’re done. Trey’s reached his limit.”
