Two days ago, we got a phone call from our audiologist at Stanford. She hadn't talked to us in a while and wanted to know how things were going with Queen Teen. I gave her the run-down: Queen Teen refused to wear her hearing aids; when she did wear them the inside of her ears turned pink and she complained they bothered her; on those rare occasions she did manage to wear them, they didn't seem to help her hear any better.
"Do you think her hearing has changed?" Dr. Audiologist asked.
"It's worse. She can't hear conversations at all, and even with her movie turned up full power, I don't think she's hearing it very well."
"I'd really like to see her. She should come back for a hearing test again, and I'd like to look at her hearing aids. They probably aren't the right kind for her and I'd like to try a different type. Plus, we should get her ear molds made with a different type of material."
"I thought we were done because she wouldn't wear the aids."
"No, not at all! We can't give up on her hearing. There might still be something that can help her."
I wanted to crawl through the phone and hug her. Just to hear those wonderful words: there might be something that can help her. Lately, we've been hearing a lot of talk that sounds an awful lot like giving up. There are no more tests to run. No more treatments to try. No leg braces or therapies that will help her hypotonia. The doctors look at her and seem to say, sorry, there's nothing we can do. Go home and wait and see. Maybe in the future.
But here was a doctor who called because she wanted to see how Queen Teen was doing and when I told her that Queen Teen's hearing was worse she expressed that she wanted to keep on trying. We can't give up.
The doctor asked if we had considered cochlear implants and I said I wasn't opposed to it but would need more info to decide if it was something that could really benefit Queen Teen. She agreed and told me the process of evaluation Queen Teen would need to undergo before any of us could make that decision. But it was an option. She told me there was a newer type of hearing aid that was more powerful and that worked better with FM systems than the model we have now. And she said there are actually other types of materials to make ear molds. The receptionist at the clinic would call me the next day to make an appointment.
Which she did. I know Queen Teen won't be thrilled about going to the audiologist in April, but I am. And I know there's no guarantee even our wonderful Dr. Audiologist will be able to help Queen Teen hear, but I know this woman won't quit until she's exhausted every single option. That gives me hope, something we've been lacking around here lately.
Thank you for calling, Dr. Audiologist.
"Do you think her hearing has changed?" Dr. Audiologist asked.
"It's worse. She can't hear conversations at all, and even with her movie turned up full power, I don't think she's hearing it very well."
"I'd really like to see her. She should come back for a hearing test again, and I'd like to look at her hearing aids. They probably aren't the right kind for her and I'd like to try a different type. Plus, we should get her ear molds made with a different type of material."
"I thought we were done because she wouldn't wear the aids."
"No, not at all! We can't give up on her hearing. There might still be something that can help her."
I wanted to crawl through the phone and hug her. Just to hear those wonderful words: there might be something that can help her. Lately, we've been hearing a lot of talk that sounds an awful lot like giving up. There are no more tests to run. No more treatments to try. No leg braces or therapies that will help her hypotonia. The doctors look at her and seem to say, sorry, there's nothing we can do. Go home and wait and see. Maybe in the future.
But here was a doctor who called because she wanted to see how Queen Teen was doing and when I told her that Queen Teen's hearing was worse she expressed that she wanted to keep on trying. We can't give up.
The doctor asked if we had considered cochlear implants and I said I wasn't opposed to it but would need more info to decide if it was something that could really benefit Queen Teen. She agreed and told me the process of evaluation Queen Teen would need to undergo before any of us could make that decision. But it was an option. She told me there was a newer type of hearing aid that was more powerful and that worked better with FM systems than the model we have now. And she said there are actually other types of materials to make ear molds. The receptionist at the clinic would call me the next day to make an appointment.
Which she did. I know Queen Teen won't be thrilled about going to the audiologist in April, but I am. And I know there's no guarantee even our wonderful Dr. Audiologist will be able to help Queen Teen hear, but I know this woman won't quit until she's exhausted every single option. That gives me hope, something we've been lacking around here lately.
Thank you for calling, Dr. Audiologist.
9 comments:
Yay! Action items are good!! Even if Herself doesn't necessarily agree...
I so hope that the doctor can figure out a solution to help QT hear better, and I'll be praying to that end. I'm so happy for you that there might be something else that can be done for her!
I'll be doing the Happy Dance with you in April when you get the good news! :)
have you consider getting her the Safari super power?
I'm getting the Safari power version maybe next week
if not, try the Phonak Naidas which has the 675 batteries or the CI
I'm going with Cochlear when I'm older though but right now, I'm staying with Oticon :D
here's a pic of the Safari SP
http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.medgadget.com/archives/img/l719ho0x.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.medgadget.com/archives/2010/10/oticon_safari_super_power_hearing_aids_for_kids_.html&usg=__PF8Vyak9JnXwUaOrxCXi_0DpmlY=&h=349&w=222&sz=26&hl=en&start=0&sig2=IUZ8lOW2hBsyBo_07Yf2Gg&zoom=1&tbnid=Ohte5jM84G-2rM:&tbnh=148&tbnw=94&ei=fN1eTYbqCom0sAPeqYC9CA&prev=/images%3Fq%3DSafari%2Bsuper%2Bpower%26hl%3Den%26safe%3Doff%26sa%3DG%26biw%3D1020%26bih%3D603%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=rc&oei=fN1eTYbqCom0sAPeqYC9CA&page=1&ndsp=15&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=78&ty=65
I'm also a member of Alldeaf.com if U want to join me
thanks for the link, EmmaVerdona. I obviously need to do some research on hearing aids. my info is old. plus there's always the battle of who will pay for what, which is getting more fun all the time (thank you budget cuts). But if I have some ideas of what's available, I can fight better.
Hallelujah for the ray of light that this audiologist is in a world of apathy! Thank goodness for her and hooray for options! Sending love!
Isn't it great when you've lost faith in medical professionals, and then one of them goes and proves you completely wrong? Your audiologist sounds awesome, and I hope she will be able to make QT hear better!
When I wore hearing aids, I had to go through a few types of ear mold materials (and a few allergic reactions) until we finally found one that works. It truly is about trial and error. Now, I love my cochlear implants (and don't even have to worry about ear molds)!
you're welcome and I knew you would do it! :D
PinkLam, I'm glad to hear that you had to try different ear molds (not that you had to deal with reactions. no fun!) because it makes me understand more how much of a trial and error process this is. Plus, if you found one that worked, then we should be able to as well.
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