One Test

It all began with one test. 

Our journey with hearing loss all began with one simple test.  How thankful we are for the technology we have been blessed with! If we didn’t have this technology, Dylan’s hearing loss may not have been detected for years.  

Dylan was born on September 12, 2011- the best day of my life, aside from mine and Troy’s wedding day J  I didn’t expect it, but after his birth, all I could was cry at the miracle we had been blessed with.  Dylan was born 2 ½ weeks early and was also born on my dad’s birthday.  I think they will always share a special bond because of this, but also because my dad has had to overcome a disability.  He lives every day to the fullest and doesn’t let it hold him back.  I pray Dylan has this drive and determination and I know he’ll look up to his Pop for it ☺

The day we were set to be discharged from the hospital, we were held up by one test- the Newborn Hearing Screening.  Dylan did not pass the screening and we thought nothing of it.  We were assured some babies wouldn’t pass because they still have some fluid in their ears.  We were given a referral to Children’s Rehab Services and were on our way.  Two weeks later, we headed to Children’s Rehab and had another hearing screening, which once again did not show Dylan’s hearing to be in the normal range.  We were scheduled for another, more thorough hearing screening.  We were again assured this next test could back normal. Another 2 weeks went by and we were back at Children’s Rehab for an ABR (Auditory Brainstem Response)test.  For this test, electrodes are connected to the scalp.  This test took nearly an hour and deep down, I knew something wasn’t quite right.  As long as I live, I’ll never forget the day we were informed that our child had a severe, sensorial neuralhearing loss.  All I kept thinking was that my sweet baby had never heard my voice, never been soothed his parents’ voices. Once the shock of the news wore off and we able to gather our thoughts, we sat down and reviewed the information we had been given.  We knew right away our next step was to get Dylan hearing aids.  

At 2 months old, Dylan received his first set of hearing aids! I kick myself now for not videotaping his first fitting! It was truly amazing to see his expression change as they were turned on.  Words can’t express witnessing your child hear sounds for the very first time! Tears still come to my eyes thinking back on this moment.  As you know, babies grow at very rapid rate and this includes their ear canals.  So, we were at our audiologist office 2-3 times a month to be fitted for new ear molds.  Hearing screenings were also performed periodically to see if there was an improvement in his hearing so his aids could be adjusted.  For the 1st 6 months, we didn’t have much of a problem keeping his hearing aids in.  However, after that, it was quite the struggle.  He realized that he had something in his ears he could take out and play with, chew on or throw!  I can’t count the times a hearing aid was lost in this transition stage.  When we were going through this, we had a rule: If Dylan took them out 3 times back to back, we left them out for 30 minutes.  This gave everyone a break and we started again.  I am thankful for ourpersistence, as well as our family and his daycare teachers.  Dylan now keeps them in all day and has realized how much more he can hear with them in! As soon as I put them in each morning, he immediately starts babbling and “talking” to me.  

I have finally started this blog to document our journey and hopefully connect with other parents.  Stay tuned for more information on how we are deal with hearing loss, an update on Dylan’s new hearing aids and some technology we’ve been using!