Thursday, March 20, 2014

Second verse same as the first: hearing loss

Last week I took Dariya back to the audiology clinic for further testing to see if they could pinpoint better her hearing loss on her left side.

Unfortunately, the results were the same as 6 weeks prior.

Right ear is in the normal range.

Left ear is profoundly deaf.

No aids would benefit her at this time.

Our main concern right now is educationally how this will effect her.  We know that her kindergarten class will be double the size of her PreK class.  With her type of unilateral loss it is hard for her to hear speech with background noise and to localize sounds.

It will be harder for her to hear and tune in to what the teacher is saying with a crowded classroom of kids.

The bonus is Dariya loves school and does compensate really well with her right ear.

We will just have to keep an eye on that right ear to make sure it is always hearing well so that she can continue doing so well.

4 comments:

Becca said...

Yeesh. :-( I'm glad she has found ways to compensate, though. I have a good friend who is deaf in one ear, with no aids. She just makes sure she sits on the correct side of you when you go to the movies or elsewhere, and has managed just fine. I always forget about it, unless I'm standing on the wrong side and she has to turn to hear me.

Anonymous said...

Have you considered a BAHA device? It is for children with unilateral hearing loss. Our infant daughter with Down syndrome uses one,

pearson1 said...

An FM system may help--I believe they have some FM systems that either the teacher wears a microphone and it makes her voice louder for the whole room, but there are also systems where the teacher wears the microphone, AND the student wears a receiver (in the ear that is hearing well, or around her neck like a necklace--I think they have some like that)---so it's easier for her to hear the teacher and tune in directly to the teacher. I've used both kind of system with kids with DS. The receivers often hook to hearing aides--but I've also seen systems where they can hook into a necklace, clip onto the child's clothing, etc. Hope that helps!

Anonymous said...

http://www.downs-syndrome.org.uk/news-and-media/dsa-news/1509-new-evidence-based-research-in-early-hearing-loss-language-abilities-in-children-with-down-s-syndrome.html