I’ve been meaning to do a short little post updating
everyone on some good news we received a couple weeks ago about Matthew’s
hearing.
We’ve had several hearing tests since his palate repair last
November. When the lip and palate are cleft in utero, the Eustachian tubes can
also be affected—sometimes they sit horizontally or are blocked so they don’t
drain well. After his repair, the ENT surgeon told us there had been quite a
lot of fluid in Matthew’s ears, and she thought it had been there for quite
some time.
Meaning, it was possible he had very poor hearing for the
first two years of his life, which actually explains some of his language delays.
Since the palate repair, we’ve had several hearing tests,
and all of them revealed that Matthew possibly had significant hearing loss in
his left ear. Since it’s a behavioral test they are giving him, the results
weren’t conclusive, but each of the audiologists confirmed, time and time
again, that hearing loss was clearly evident.
So imagine our joy and surprise two weeks ago when Matthew’s
left ear tested NORMAL. Dr. Sie, our ENT, was so excited that she hugged me
when she told me the news. We will have another hearing test in a few weeks, this
time focusing on the right side, to confirm what we believe is true: that
Matthew does NOT have hearing issues.
This is a great relief for our family, as we were imagining
hearing aids or other hearing helps, and one more challenge that Matthew would
have to adapt to.
So three cheers for Matthew Russell, whose ears are working
well these days—a great joy for our family, and a serious relief for this mama,
who is grateful that SOMETHING is easy for our boy amidst all the hard work he’s
doing to catch up.
No comments:
Post a Comment