ENT followup

We had a follow up with Raphael's ENT today. The grommets are still in and his ears are dry and without infection.

We discussed the possibility of repeating an ABR test (an objective hearing test) because the hearing in his left ear appears to have become worse since the grommets. We are not sure if this will proceed though because even if it does, there is nothing that can be done short of inserting cochlea implants. Raphael's left ear is still too good (at 90db loss) to warrant/risk a cochlea implant (usually reserved for 100db+ loss)

I wonder if his hearing will improve when the grommets extrude. The ENT doesn't let us record her consultations unfortunately so I can't remember precisely what she said. From memory I think that the ENT said that hearing loss incurred from ear surgery is not expected to return, but any such hearing loss, in grommets insertion cases, is rare and minimal (10db at most). At the moment I think that the ENT believes that the apparent huge drop in observed left ear function (40 to 90db loss) is actually the result of erroneous readings prior to the grommets insertion.

It is so hard to test Raphael's hearing because there is such a limited time when he is at his optimum (ie when he is not eating or sleeping/tired) and if that doesn't fit into the completely inflexible window that Australian hearing are able to schedule, then it is a battle to get any meaningful hearing testing out of him. We knew it was important for children to be able to hear from a young age, but even with our persistence, I believe that we have still not had all of the hearing tests that could be done to provide Raphael with the best chance of hearing. On one hand it is fabulous to see that our country provides these services for us, but on the other hand it is frustrating that it is not funded adequately to provide the services in the necessary timely manner.