RESPONSE FROM EDUCATIONAL AUDIOLOGIST: 4-1-2010

Hi Sara,

                

You are obviously very concerned about your son and are not feeling comfortable with the information you have been given from  your audiologist. I am assuming that you have brought him to an ENT doctor and that there is no ongoing middle ear problems and he has given you an explanation for the type As tymps (stiffer eardrums). Many times this is just ‘normal’ for an individual even though most people have more eardrum mobility.

                

A bone conduction hearing aid delivers the sound signal through the bones of the head so that both cochleas are being stimulated. This is why only one BC aid is needed. In general, hearing aids are made so that they amplify more in the high pitches than in the low pitches, where it seems that your son has the most trouble hearing. A reverse slope loss can be very difficult to fit with the available technology. I don’t currently fit hearing aids so I am not aware if there is any new highly flexible hearing aids that could possibly work well for him. Based on what you say, if he is experiencing a 35-40 dB hearing loss in the low to mid pitches it certainly could cause difficulties with accessing verbal instruction in a typical classroom setting.

                

My best advice to you at this time is to seek another opinion. Bring all of your records to another audiologist. Thankfully, I can highly recommend Patti Martin, at the Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock. I realize this is a drive for you (I looked up your area code) but I think it would be well worth your time and your peace of mind. I know Patti personally and she is an excellent pediatric audiologist who is also very caring when listening to parent concerns. In the meantime, it wouldn’t hurt to ask your son’s teacher to fill out the SIFTER (on my website) and you and he could both fill out the versions of the CHILD test. To do the CHILD he would need to be honest about how he feels he is able to listen – some kids can do this at 7-8 while others need to be older. He would need to know the importance of honest answers so he won’t try to please you by answering better/worse. This test information should help pinpoint under what listening conditions, if any, he is having difficulty (CHILD test) and in general how he is functioning in the classroom (SIFTER). If he is a good reporter he could also fill out the Student LIFE test, which would provide more information about listening in the classroom. Any or all of this information, along with the records and your concerns would be of assistance as Patti works with you to figure out what can be tried. Once the hearing issue has been satisfied I strongly suggest you work with your school district to see if he may be eligible for any special support services if you haven’t done so already.

                

I hope this helps you and your son Sara. Hang in there.

Best wishes,

Karen Anderson