Hearing problems due to medication?

[sandrass]

I am not sure if this is the right place for it...

Our daughter was born very sick due to the hospital being complete morons...and long story short she had to be put on very strong medication that can cause hearing loss. Until she is 6 years old, we have to bring her to the hospital every 6 months to get her hearing checked. We used to have to bring her for development tests as well but they eventually dismissed her from that program, saying that her development was actually ABOVE normal..

Anyway, my concern is the possibility of her losing her hearing. Can anyone tell me any symptoms or signs that I may look out for to make sure she is doing okay? She says a few words, not much...is this normal for 14 months? She babbles more than anything...

I am just worried, our poor girl has been through so much already she has had spinal taps, MRI's, central lines, etc...she doesn't need to go through any more

 

[deafgal]

if she can say a few words without the need of hearing aids, it sounds just about right for a child who can hear at that age. And imitating sounds too.

audiologist are pretty accurate (most of the time anyway) on detecting hearing level.

Me <----profoundly deaf since birth, wore hearing aids since three until the age of 24 and have one cochlear implant. btw, I prefer if parents would give the gift of American Sign languages on top of gift of hearing/speaking/listening to their deaf children so they can "feel" equally to their peers as far as culturally shared language, more job opportunities, and freedom to express themselves especially the days when they can't depend on technologies to hear. I grew up without American Sign language. In fact, it's a good idea to start teaching her American sign language so she can advanced her Sign language skills ahead of time instead of waiting on the last minute. Many parents have started out oral only (a type of method for the deaf = meaning NO SIGN LANGUAGE ALLOWED) and finds that their child isn't progressing as well as they thought, but the child end up being the one who suffer because he have to start american sign language at TODDLER level to learn it in 4th grade when he should be learning other stuffs.

It could not hurt for her to learn sign language. She'll be able to communicate with the deaf community. The earlier she learn, the better, even if she stopped using it, it make it easier for her to learn it again as many people have trouble learning a second language late in life. It gives her brain better flexibility if you know what I mean. Just make sure you understand what American Sign Language is, and what it isn't (it is not a SPOKEN English communication tool for deaf... Signed Exact English (SEE) is (SEE is somewhat similar to Morse Code or braille or even written English). American Sign language allow deafs to play and express them themselves with language VISUALLY - like poetry and feelings and does not depend on Spoken English rules.

 

[deafgal]

btw, you should contact Early Intervention for Infants and Toddlers (you'll have to google it up)

They can tell you if your child is delayed rather your child can hear or not.

here is alist of all the links you can visit: https://www.deafchildren.org/links.aspx my favorite is https://www.educatingdeafchildren.org (I think the site is down for right now)

 

[MUMOF5]

Im guessing that the medication was gentamiacin (sp?), a strong antibiotic used in babies? Evie had this at birth and she is fine, as are most babies that have it, but it does carry the small risk of hearing loss. Evie had an in depth hearing diagnostic tests at 6 weeks and 1 year, Im surprised they cant offer you a better idea or earlier in depth testing rather than you feeling that you are kind of left in the air for so long?!! I would say though that if she is saying a few words or babbling then its a positive sign. Does she look around when you call her name etc?

 

[deafgal]

I have more stuffs to add (can you tell I have a passionate for deaf issues? lol) for all who think their child may be deaf

There are different level of hearing. Some can hear a lot but still have a hearing loss. it can fool you. you see, my hearing aids only brought me up to moderate hearing decibels .. that's enough sound access for speech but it still not enough so I fill in the blanks by speechreading. If your daughter is babbling, it still doesn't mean she at average hearing decibel level. So audiology trips are very important to check her hearing. .

I also wanted to add if you do decide to add ASL (American Sign Language), do it with a positive attitude as you do with English or Spanish. most kids feel embarrassed so they refuse to do it (sometimes they don't do it because it is more convenience since you can hear). Or see ASL is only used on them and no one else.It leave them feeling awkward if you know what I mean, in this case, join deaf community/shows/theaters.

And READ your child everyday, signed or spoken, so she'll develop the love for books. deaf who write really well love to read books.