Our oldest is Johnny, but our story begins with Eliza, or at least this part of our story does. Eliza was born in September of 2008. She was a beautiful, healthy little girl. We were so excited. I remember looking at her for the first time and just falling in love. She was my little girl from the very beginning.
The pregnancy had gone really well. There had been no complications whatsoever. It went better, in fact, than Johnny's did. The birth also went off without any problems. Like Johnny's it was quick once it started. Erica went into the hospital early in the morning, and by mid-morning we had Eliza.
Erica was tired, but relieved and happy. I love seeing her right after she has had a baby, she just glows.
While we were at the hospital, they kept coming in and checking on the baby and the mommy, as they always do. They would occasionally take Eliza for weighing and temperature and other various tests. One test that they do at every hospital is called an OAE. This is a hearing screening. They do it, probably without the parents even knowing. We didn't know that it was done with Johnny. We did know about it with Eliza, because she failed it.
I remember when the nurse came in and told us that Eliza had not passed the test. She assured us that this was fairly common. Sometimes fluid in the ear, or debris from the birthing process, can cause a baby to fail the test. This often clears up in a week or two, then many babies pass the test without any problems. She gave us some fliers on it, and encouraged us to set up an appointment to come back and have Eliza tested again.
I think it was at this point that Erica knew something was up, more serious than debris or fluid. A mother always seems to know these kinds of things. I was still just so happy from having a beautiful little girl, that I think I was convinced that we would get her tested and everything would be fine. My little girl was perfect.
A couple of weeks later, we found ourselves back in the hospital getting the OAE done again. My wife went in with Eliza, while I sat out with Johnny, and waited. And waited. I was sure that everything would be fine. I was positive that she would pass this time. Why would we have a child with hearing loss. Johnny could hear just fine, why would things be different with Eliza?
Erica came out with Eliza. She failed again. The audiologist gave us a referral for an ENT to get her ears checked out, to make sure there was no fluid in them or anything like that. We went, and there was no fluid there, everything was fine in that department. That meant it was time to go back to the hospital, for the OAE again. She failed. This time I was in the room. We left Johnny with one of our parents. After the OAE, the audiologist performed a test called an ABR, which was going to tell us how severe the hearing loss was. He performed the test, as best he could. The results were not as conclusive as he would like, since she woke up part way through, and we couldn't get accurate results. At this point, the audiologist thought that her hearing was not very bad, that she would be fine without hearing aids. He did want us to come back again, though, just to get better results.
We went back there again, and the machine wasn't working properly, and the results again were not very conclusive. It can be a frustrating thing, when as a parent, all you want is to find out what is going on with your child, and no one seems able to give you any answers.
We went then to an audiologist at Primary Children's out in Taylorsville. The machine worked fine, and we got results. The hearing loss was in the mild to moderate range. It was permanent. She would need hearing aids in order to develop speech. Erica and I had been preparing for this since the first tests, so I think we took it well. We were determined to do whatever it takes to help our little girl.
As a result of this, we met again with the ENT. He gave us an official diagnosis, and a prescription for hearing aids. He then sent us over to get a MRI to see the internal workings, to see what may be causing the hearing loss. We found out that she has an enlarged vestibular aqueduct. This meant that the hearing loss was not only permanent, but progressive. She would most likely lose all of her hearing. This was pretty devastating. At firs, we accepted the idea of hearing aids because it meant she would be able to hear. He hearing loss was only in the mild to moderate range, so it wasn't that bad. Then to find out she would end up being deaf, and there was nothing we could do to prevent it, that was hard.
As of right now, Eliza wears hearing aids. They seem to help a lot. She responds to sound really well with them in, like any other baby would, so we are thrilled. However, we know that down the road, that won't be the case. We have come to terms with that, and have accepted it. She may end up being deaf, but she is still our perfect little girl.
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