Audiology

We made some tough decisions about a year ago, and changed locations for Drew's audiological services. After just two mapping appointments, Drew's new audiologist decided to move to Cleveland, Ohio, and to a practice that does not perform pediatric cochlear implant mapping. Ugh. So, once again we were left without audiology services. We are very fortunate that our new audiology program quickly filled the open position, with a highly skilled audiologist, which we met with for the first time early last week.

Drew was an excellent patient for his new audiologist, allowing booth testing to be conducted for over one hour! With Drew's amazing ability to perform conditioned response, we got our best audiogram results ever. I was so pleased with the way the testing was performed by the audiology staff, and with how well Drew did giving very reliable results.

After the booth test, Drew's new audiologist told us that he was not happy with Drew's responses in the booth! The audiologist felt that Drew's maps could be programmed better, and that we shouldn't simply accept responses at 25 db. "Drew can do better than this," he said.

Oh, it was like being in heaven! Finally, someone that doesn't simply accept that Drew can talk, but actually reads accurate testing results and wants to make improvements. Heaven, I tell you! I've finally, after two years, found my match! Please don't leave us, new audiologist!

How did we celebrate? A trip to Kings Island!

Dr. Jacques Herzog - Cochlear Implant Surgeon

Back what seems like years ago, when we were totally in the dark as to the different ways we may be able to help Drew, we were fortunate enough to meet Dr. Jacques Herzog who is a cochlear implant surgeon in St. Louis.

We called upon many of our friends and family members to help us find information resources, and it just so happened that my uncle lived in St. Louis and knew Dr. Herzog. Because we were having a nightmare of a time getting a diagnostic ABR test scheduled for Drew in Columbus, we ended up driving all the way to St. Louis and got that test completed over a month before we would have been able to do it at home.

That morning we were saddened to discover that Drew was indeed profoundly deaf in both ears, but were grateful to work with an extraordinarily kind technician who comforted us. She then directed us to Dr. Herzog's office where he met with us and answered many "stupid" questions that we had. While his answers did not speak of a magical cure for deafness, we did feel comfortable knowing a bit more about the cochlear implant option.

Here is Dr. Herzog explaining Cochlear Implants:


Should you happen to live near St. Louis and you are considering a cochlear implant, I highly recommend visiting Dr. Herzog and also perhaps The Moog Center for Deaf Education. We did not get to visit the Central Institute for the Deaf (CID) but I have talked on the phone with an attorney in a very large law firm who attended CID as a child. He is completely oral, and told me he doesn't even remember being unable to talk. I actually had to ask him "what is your hearing loss?" His answer? "I don't know."

Amazing.

Do You Hear Me Now?

Drew had his six month mapping appointment this week. He was such a good boy for the booth testing and his mapping. All I need is a box of Cheerios and Drew is one happy little boy!

Drew's audiologists had not seen him since November, so they were both thrilled to see how vocal Drew has become. He has all sorts of little words he babbles, in a repetitive, sing-song manner, all the time. I always enjoy seeing people that haven't seen Drew in a while because they help remind me of just how far Drew has come. When you are involved in day to day life it is hard to see just how much progress is made over several months time.

Drew's primary audiologist suggested that we begin his mapping session with a booth hearing test. She wanted to see exactly what Drew was able to hear at the very low and very high frequencies. We know that Drew has been hearing in the 15-20 db range across the mid-range frequencies, however, she felt as though she didn't know how well he was hearing at the very low and very high frequencies. Usually we do the booth testing at the end of the mapping session, when Drew is worn out and not giving us reliable results. It is very important that Drew hear in the 15-20 db range at the highest frequencies so that he is able to hear the /sh/ and /s/ sounds, as those are high frequency speech sounds.

I was very happy today that two audiologists did his booth hearing test. One audiologist administered the sounds and the other looked for responses. This is the best (and should be the only) way to have a booth test for such a young child. The audiologist began with the low frequency sounds at 30 db. Drew alerted and localized immediately. (And he actually enjoyed the dancing Goofy, a different response than before). She then moved down to 20 db, and again he alerted and localized. We were all pleased.

I was sitting in the booth, holding Drew on my lap, thinking about how happy I was that he was not only hearing but localizing the sounds. All sorts of emotions were running through my mind as I sat in that booth. I was trying very hard to be as quite as possible, trying not to talk about all of the exciting thoughts running through my head. Suddenly, the audiologist in the booth with us said, "Good Drew, you hear that." Drew turned and looked at the dancing Goofy. The other audiologist spoke into the booth, "That was at 10 db."

I sat in that booth stunned. Not only was he hearing at 10 db, but my deaf son had just heard a sound that I had not heard! I looked at the audiologist in disbelief. I said, "I didn't hear that." They played the sound again. Again, Drew responded and I never hear it! I really could not believe it. I've had a bit of a cold, so we all figured that I must have a little fluid in my ears that is preventing me from hearing this low frequency at 10 db. But can you believe that Drew heard it? Amazing. I've said it before, but cochlear implants are truly that, amazing!

The audiologists then tested the higher frequency sounds. As they suspected, Drew was not hearing the high frequency sounds nearly as well, only showing a noticeable response at 30 db. Drew's mapping audiologist took those results and turned up the high frequency electrodes enough for him to be in the 15-20 db range. I am confidant that we have a very appropriate map at this point, and Drew's audiologist is as well. This appointment was by far the best mapping session Drew has had.

With the change in his map, we will be working a lot more on making sure that Drew is responding to the /s/ and /sh/ sounds. He does so in therapy, but those are isolated, quite settings. We will be working with these sounds in typical environments. I am confidant that with his new program Drew will be able to start producing these two sounds.

Booth Test

Oh, how I am getting used to "the booth". Four grey, padded walls where all sound in the world is blocked out and you can hear every little noise or breath you take. I think in some ways Drew is getting used to "the booth" too. A little too used to it, to the point he just ignores everything that happens in it!

Drew immediately alerted to his name at 35 dB. Then the audiologist attempted some tone sounds. Drew did not like them at all and refused (and I mean refused) to alert to them. He kept his eyes intently focused on his toys and looked like he was straining not to show any reaction to the sound. The face he was making was so funny!

The audiologist decided that maybe Drew needed a little incentive for responding to sound, so she decided to say his name again. When Drew immediately alerted, she rewarded him by setting off a dancing elephant that lights up and spins round and round. Drew hated it! Seriously HATED it. He started crying his "Mom, I am super scared cry," turned around and climbed up me as fast as he could, hanging on for dear life. It took me several minutes to calm him down and at that point he had no interest in the remaining testing.

The audiologist felt like Drew was definitley hearing at 40 dB's across all frequencies, but with him being so uncooperative we really don't know exactly what he is hearing with his current program from a technical standpoint. Drew's Dad and I, however, feel very confidant that Drew is hearing very well. He responds so well to environmental and speech sounds on a daily basis. Just tonight Drew consistently responded to the sound of a door about 15 feet away being opened and closed. I don't think seeing Drew respond to sounds will ever become "habit". I think these moments will remain a special reminder of just how blessed we are that we were able to turn on Drew's ears.

Communicating with Drew

It's hard to believe that Drew is over six months old! These months have just flown by, partly because every day and week is consumed with appointments for Drew. I was encouraged this week when talking with the mother of an implanted four year old. She told me that her life is back to normal now - hardly any visits to doctors or therapists. There is hope! The good news is that our little boy continues to grow and with each days gets closer and closer to hearing!

We took Drew for an appointment with his mapping audiologist through Columbus last week. She put Drew in the sound booth again. He showed noticeable reaction to sound at 60 db again at several different frequencies while aided. He is getting minimal benefit from his hearing aids, but at least we know he is getting something. All of our evaluations are complete and Drew will be approved as a candidate for his cochlear implants at the May Cochlear Implant Team meeting. We are hoping to go into that meeting with a surgery date already on the calendar, so keep your fingers crossed.

We are trying daily to help facilitate Drew's communication. Our house is very loud these days, as the volume of Drew's talking is on a constant incline. It's funny how use to noise we have become, but I am sure that his loudness gets on the nerves of others. At this point, however, we are so happy that he is still vocalizing, since it has been almost seven months without him hearing any conversational chatter.

We also think that Drew is really starting to understand the sign language we are using with him. Every night when we are ready to give him a bath we say, "Drew, it's time for your bath." Then we sign, "bath." Whenever we do the sign for bath, Drew gets this huge smile on his face! It is so cute and we really do think that he is understanding us. I also think that he is starting to recognize the signs "eat" and "milk" together to know that he is about to be fed. He will stop crying when he sees these signs. While I am not a huge proponent of sign language (because we are choosing an oral deaf education approach), I do think that it will help to bridge the gap in Drew's communication while he is learning to listen and communicate with his implants.

Drew Heard Something!

Today we had our monthly parent education meeting through the Regional Infant Hearing Program here in Columbus. I should say bi-monthly in this case, since we were snowed in for our February meeting! Our parent educator had not seen Drew since January, so I think she was really excited to see how much he has grown in the last two months. All of the staff at the AG Bell School is always smitten with our charming little boy and he put on a nice little cooing show for them before our appointment!

Today the teacher and the audiologist decided to put Drew in the "booth," a ritual that I am sure to become accustom to in the coming months and years. This sound booth allows them to test what Drew is able to hear while wearing his hearing aids. They ran the test across different frequencies and decibels. I am happy to report that we saw noticeable reactions (did you notice that was plural?) to different sounds, including a drum at 60db and a set of maracas at 55db! It was so much fun for me to watch him react to the sound - this was the first time that I actually could see a reaction in him. I hope to have many more experiences like today!

The teacher tested some sounds several times to make sure we were really seeing a reaction from Drew. Testing a six-month-old baby is very difficult, so you have to look not only for a reaction (such as turning in the direction of the sound), but also for any change in behavior while the sound is playing or once it is absent. One time Drew reacted by jumping while I was holding him on my lap. Another time, his breathing got really fast, like the sound was stressing him out! Then his breathing slowed when the sound went away! Both the teacher and audiologist were laughing about the idea of putting a child into respiratory distress from a hearing test - that would be a first!

I'm not getting myself too excited about the test today, as this level is still not enough to get Drew's hearing into the speech banana for developing his communication, but it is very encouraging that he is able to detect some sound! And it makes putting the hearing aids in his ears each morning a little more worthwhile. Anything we can do now to stimulate Drew's auditory nerve is only going to help him once he receives his cochlear implants!

It was a beautiful day...the sun was out and it was a reasonably warm day. Spring is almost here. Oh, and Drew heard something!