Auditory Brainstem Responses (ABR)

[joanheid]

Hi guys! I'm a parent of a baby born last year with congenital CMV (meaning she was born with it). I know too much about CMV at this point. It is a common virus that most people get at some point in their life and usually don't even know it - most have no symptoms at all (as long as you aren't immune compromised). However, if a pregnant woman gets it for the first time while pregnant, it can wreak havoc on the baby in the womb. Hearing loss is just one of the numerous "disabilities" it can cause for the baby (my daughter is deaf). And, it is the culprit of progressive hearing loss which means even if the child still has their hearing at birth, they may lose it at some point later in their life, usually earlier on, but I have definitely heard of cases in which hearing gets worse in the teens and twenties even of kids born with CMV. The severity of the CMV for the child usually depends on when the mother contracted it during pregnancy - the earlier on, the more problems it usually causes for the child, even death (which happens a lot more than anybody knows). In fact, congenital CMV is the leading cause of hearing loss in children! Sorry for the book here, just thought I would clarify for anybody who doesn't already know. The saddest thing is that most people have never even heard of CMV. I hadn't either until it happened to me and my baby - she was finally diagnosed after a week in the NICU when she was born. She was REALLY sick. So now many of us moms who have been through this experience are dedicated to getting the word out and letting every woman know what they can do to help reduce their risk of contracting CMV while they are pregnant. Just visit STOPCMV.com!