When Grandma Foulk and Aunt Megan were here, we went back for the retest. Verdict? Failed, in both ears. Again we were told that it's still very early and he could have guck still trapped in his ears. We reschedule for 3 weeks later.
At his 2 week checkup, we mentioned to our doctor that he failed his hearing test again. She looked into his ears to see if she could see any blockage. She didn't see anything but did say that he has such tiny ear canals that it's very possible the probe just wasn't picking up the readings correctly. This was a little bit reassuring and believable because he is so small and has especially tiny ears.
Fast forward to today. Today we had the follow-up: Our 3rd hearing screening test. It didn't take long for the doctor to tell us there was no way, again, that he was gonna pass this test. We tried several different times, with different size probes and got nothing. Since he failed the screening 3 times, it was time to move onto other tests to diagnose. It's great that he's responding to noise, so we know one thing. He's not deaf...at least not completely. He continues to respond to the noises of construction, Nala barking, rattling toys, and his parents' voice. The doctor administered a different test that tested something with the movement of the eardrum. The result of that came back "normal". Normally hearing that a tests came back normal would be good. But in this situation, it would have been better for him to fail that test. Because he passed and came back normal, that means that there is a neurological issue instead of just some blockage.
It was a long day of doctors visits and consultations today.
Little squirt was so good though and slept through almost the whole thing.
So where do we go from here?
More tests. We are currently testing for CMV by collecting a urine sample. (That's super fun to do with a newborn, by the way). I don't fully understand what CMV is. I know it can have long term consequences if not resolved. It is something that nearly half the population is already carrying around and probably don't even know it. It's commonly contracted during pregnancy and can be passed onto the baby. If it is, there can be some serious effects...one of which is hearing loss. It is good that we're testing for it early though because if it is CMV and we catch it, it IS treatable with antibiotics. In fact, the hearing doctor's grandson had it, they caught it when he was around 1 year old, he was hospitalized for a few days with antibiotics in an IV and he is perfectly fine now with no repercussions. It's probably not CMV, but it's a precaution we want to take.
The big, important, and more helpful test that we'll be doing is a brain stem test. We're not entirely sure when it will be because we can't schedule it until they call us back after receiving a referral from our family doctor. With this test he'll need to be sedated because he needs to sleep for at least an hour. If they got 10 minutes into the test and he woke up, they would have to redo it... hence the sedation. We're not super excited about that. He'll be hooked up to various electrodes and they will do all kinds of tests of playing sounds and reading how different parts of the brain react. After this test, they'll be able to better pinpoint what's causing this and how to treat it. The test needs to be done before he's 6 months old in case hear aids will need to be involved in treatment.
We're not too excited about all of the tests for such a little guy, but are anxious for the results so we can know how to proceed. We're so grateful for a great team of doctors and the blessing of modern medicine. Hopefully, we won't have to continue using them and things will turn out to be just fine. It is definitely reassuring that he is a happy, growing, and otherwise very healthy baby. I think we're in a pretty good place here and recognize that it could be much worse. But it's reassuring knowing that we've got a great team of doctors, family, and friends behind us going forward. We would appreciate your thoughts and prayers though as we continue through this journey. We'll keep everyone updated as we continue.
On a more positive note...
Here are some funny pictures of our little man!
Nap times with Daddy and with Mommy:
A series of funny faces and poses!
More Kung Fu baby:
"Yeah, I think that I'm a pretty funny guy!"
First week at church--Sporting the bow tie!
Smiles for the camera!
Jimmie's losing all the fluffy hair he was born with.
Check out that receding hairline! Lookin' good!
Sounds like a lot of tests...never very much fun. It always seems worse when they are so little. Give him a hug from Grandma and a little smooch, too. Remember that Heavenly Father is in charge and will see that everything will be just as it should be. :) Love you guys.
ReplyDelete:( Poor boy. I totally remember the urine sample bag they have to use in diapers! It was the worst! I can't remember which of my boys had to do it. Probably Alan with something related to his surgery. All of the tests and dr appointments can be so stressful! I'm glad he responds to some noise and that the doctors have identified this so soon. I feel like there is so much they can do if there is a problem if they catch it this soon. We had to put Alan under for anesthesia for his surgery at 2 1/2 weeks too. So sad, but they are really able to do so much! Do you have to go up to primary children's for these tests?
ReplyDeleteI'm not really sure where we need to go for it. I was assuming back at the hospital we were at but it could be somewhere else. We haven't scheduled it yet, we were waiting for the call. I remember Alan needing surgery, so scary! The sedation freaks me out more than anything else, but it will be really good to be able to get it done :)
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