My 2-month old son has severe hearing loss

Mod Note: Hey people this topic is about a parent of a 2 month deaf baby seeking advice. Please lets refrain from debating the issues and snide remarks designed to escalate the thread to the point of derailing it.

This thread is about advice. Let's continue giving that and the support this parent is here seeking. I will continue to monitor this thread.
 
deafdyke said:
I agree with this somewhat. It can be very hard to tell exactly how well a baby hears.
I know of kids who tested as profound on ABR, but on more traditional audiograms, they tested as more functionally hoh.
And jillo........kids who are hoh (whether audilogically or functionally) don't have that problem since they have some exposure to speech. Even some profoundly deaf kids may have exposure to speech even without has.
I'm gonna have to look up some resources for you..............the resources that Rick, jackie etc have given and reccomended are a little too orally biased. Nothing wrong with that, but how about some resources and things that aren't as orally biased?
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What problem are you referring to, dd? Learning to listen?
 
Bear said:
Mod Note: Hey people this topic is about a parent of a 2 month deaf baby seeking advice. Please lets refrain from debating the issues and snide remarks designed to escalate the thread to the point of derailing it.

This thread is about advice. Let's continue giving that and the support this parent is here seeking. I will continue to monitor this thread.
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Bear you are so right.

I remember what it was like those beginning days when my children were diagnosis. It was just so hard people throwing information at your left and right. I can honestly say that I do not remember most of what was said to me then.

Jesse, just keep asking questions and know that some people really believe one approach over another. Do you own research, ask questions, and trust yourself to make an informed decision. Just because you made one decision one way does not mean that you cannot change your mind.
 
VamPyroX said:
While CI is an option, you need to remember one thing... he will still be deaf.

So, it would help if you could help him accept the fact that he's deaf and perhaps learn some sign language. :)
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I agree with you there just because you get a CI does not mean that you are not deaf but it also doesn't mean that you need to learn sign language. It is a personal choice to learn sign language.
 
Hi Jesse,
I wanted to share a book that helped me a lot in those beginning days, it is called Choices in Deafness by Dr Schwartz. In this book it talks about different approaches available for educating children with hearing losses.
 
Perhaps we all need to keep in mind that this gentleman is the father of a 2 month old baby. His concerns right now are not so much on educational choices as they are on raising a deaf infant. Right now we need to answer his questions and provide him with anecdote from either a parents perspective in having a deaf infant, or from a deaf adults perspective of what it was like to grow up as a deaf child. He is in the early stage of adjusting to his child's diagnosis. No need to further confuse him by promoting educatioanl philosophies.

Jesse, if you are looking for reading material that does an excellent job of protraying the situation of deaf child/hearing parent, I would highly reccommend "Deaf Like Me." It is a book written by a parent of a deaf daughter, Tom Spradley, and it is an excellent portrayal of what both parent and child go through in trying to find their way.
 
loml said:
Jesse -

Here are two information sites. :)

Hearing Exchange: HearingExchange - Hearing Loss Blog and Resource Community for Deaf and Hard of Hearing People, Families and Professionals

National Cued Speech Association: National Cued Speech Association

Kokonut Pundit: Kokonut Pundit

rick or jackie - Do you have any to add?
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loml,

Those are good resources, I would just add listen-up.org as it has a lot of references and links to other sources of informaation that would be helpful to someone seeking information.

Jesse, you might also want to read Henry Kisor's "What's that pig outdoor?" and Beverly Biderman's "Wired for Sound" as they are firsthand accounts by deaf adults of growing up deaf.

Again best wishes,
Rick
 
Our baby boy Evan is being fitted with hearing aids this Friday (Feb 1). I just wanted to know if anybody here has been through a similar situation with someone this age, and can share their stories and experiences with us.
 
jillio said:
Our baby boy Evan is being fitted with hearing aids this Friday (Feb 1). I just wanted to know if anybody here has been through a similar situation with someone this age, and can share their stories and experiences with us.
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Jillo, I am wondering what are you trying to say by retyping what Jesse said. As you have I and Rick have also been in the shoes of Jesse, we just approach our decisions differently. I think we all have something meaningful to say to Jesse.
 
jackiesolorzano said:
Jillo, I am wondering what are you trying to say by retyping what Jesse said. As you have I and Rick have also been in the shoes of Jesse, we just approach our decisions differently. I think we all have something meaningful to say to Jesse.
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I was simply reiterating the purpose of Jesse's post. IMO what he is asking for is shared experiences, not opinions on educational methodology. I din't retype it, I cut and pasted it from the OP.

I perceive Jesse to be asking people to share personal experience more than professional experience. Such as, what was it like, how did you feel, what were the difficult points, what have you learned, what was your experience as a parent. His post wasn't asking for resources, but shared experience.
 
What problem are you referring to, dd? Learning to listen?
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Yes.
You know...................something important to remember about the HAs. A lot of experts are very hardcore about insisting that HAs be worn all the time.
My advice.....Push HA usage so your son gets used to wearing them, but DON"T be all anal about constant aid usage. Be flexiable and easygoing about him wearing the aids. Some experts make it sound like dhh kids won't ever be able to really acheive if they don't have HAs/CIs on every waking second.
VERY early HA usage is still relatively new.
 
deafdyke said:
Yes.
You know...................something important to remember about the HAs. A lot of experts are very hardcore about insisting that HAs be worn all the time.
My advice.....Push HA usage so your son gets used to wearing them, but DON"T be all anal about constant aid usage. Be flexiable and easygoing about him wearing the aids. Some experts make it sound like dhh kids won't ever be able to really acheive if they don't have HAs/CIs on every waking second.
VERY early HA usage is still relatively new.
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Agreed. I was only saying that a child that has not perceived sound, and is then aided, even at a very young age, must learn what the new sensation is and how to interpret it. Even hearing children "learn" to listen, by being exposed to sounds, and then, through experience, discovering which sounds are meaningful and which are extraneous.
 
Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies so far. My wife and i still have lots of learning and reading to do. At this stage we're taking it 1 day at a time. He is only 9 weeks old, so i'm not concerned yet about sending him off to college.

I'm going to continue reading and asking questions as they come to mind.

Thanks,
Jesse
 
Jesse,

Good and glad to hear it. Hopefully you do find our community a good source of information as well and do return for many years to come. Looking forward to hearing how you little one does through the years.
 
jesse said:
Hi everyone. Thanks for the replies so far. My wife and i still have lots of learning and reading to do. At this stage we're taking it 1 day at a time. He is only 9 weeks old, so i'm not concerned yet about sending him off to college.

I'm going to continue reading and asking questions as they come to mind.

Thanks,
Jesse
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Best wishes Jesse. You both sound like caring and involved parents and it's great that you are seeking information across the board. This is truly a blessing for any child, particularly a deaf child who needs more advocacy and parental interaction.
 
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