New to site. Baby with hearing loss.

The 105-110 db level .. That is exactly where I'm at. I hear quite a bit with my HAs, but I also "feel" quite a bit too. I'm extremely sensitive to motion/vibration. You mentioned, kjvitek, that she doesn't have HAs yet so I'm guessing everything she "hears", she really "feels". But she may still pick up sounds with HAs. Keep us posted on the HA appointment, I'm curious about the outcome. :)
 
AlleyCat said:
The 105-110 db level .. That is exactly where I'm at. I hear quite a bit with my HAs, but I also "feel" quite a bit too. I'm extremely sensitive to motion/vibration. You mentioned, kjvitek, that she doesn't have HAs yet so I'm guessing everything she "hears", she really "feels". But she may still pick up sounds with HAs. Keep us posted on the HA appointment, I'm curious about the outcome. :)
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Come to think of it, this is also my loss! But, I would like to stress that everyone is different. The type of loss and the cause also greatly affect the outcome. Without cochleas (or misformed cochleas) I would doubt a great outcome with amplification, but it is definitely worth a shot!
 
Our first hearing aid appointment is this wednesday. I am hopeful that they will help her hear something. Allycat, at what level do the hearing aids bring you down to? Are you able to hear speech? I am just wondering how much she could potentially hear, the audiologist said they might only help her hear loud sounds, but not speech.
 
kjvitek said:
Our first hearing aid appointment is this wednesday. I am hopeful that they will help her hear something. Allycat, at what level do the hearing aids bring you down to? Are you able to hear speech? I am just wondering how much she could potentially hear, the audiologist said they might only help her hear loud sounds, but not speech.
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With a profound hearing loss, it would be unlikely that she would be able to be aided into the "speech banana". She might be able to hear enviromental sounds but spoken language would only be accessable through reading lips.


AAL-speechbanana.html
 
Her hearing loss is similiar to mine. I was born with it and I still wear my HAs. I have learned to lipread with them on so for one-on-one situations, it hasnt been a problem. However, in large groups such as meetings, social settings or in the educational setting, I struggled. Glad you are exposing her to sign language. It will enable her to develop language at an age appropriate pace.
 
I am trying to learn sign language a little at a time. I always show her the sign for milk when I feed her. Just a few for right now so she can become familiar. We also use cup, baby, sleep, more... things like that. She obviously hasnt done any of them back to me, but my 5 yr old son is really good at it! He always asks for more juice with signs and words lol.
 
faire_jour said:
With a profound hearing loss, it would be unlikely that she would be able to be aided into the "speech banana". She might be able to hear enviromental sounds but spoken language would only be accessable through reading lips.


AAL-speechbanana.html
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I have a profound loss and with Naidas I am aided into the speech banana. I am good at filling in the gaps for what I miss and with SOME voices I can hear and understand. Most I can't though. I can only really understand with an FM too.
 
DeafCaver said:
Personally I am against CI's for such young children... I view them as un-necessary and in some ways depriving the child of her rightful deaf-heritage into which she was born. There may be some who will disagree but that's for them to say.
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I am not against CI except when it's forced when HAs are providing some benefit. Id implant my child with CI if he had 100+ db HL and got no benefit from HAs.

CJB said:
I'm just guessing here but maybe she can hear the 105-110 dB because of vibrotactile perception?
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I was thinking the same. Alot of deaf people with left corner audiograms may be responding to vibrations at 500Hz and below at intensities of around 100db HL.

saywhatkid said:
I would think that the eardrums would be buzzing at 110 dB, and the sensation would be what the child is reacting to; not a sound, but to pain or a tickling feeling. I know in my right ear, I experience pain at that level of sound, but in no way could I understand someone's speech.
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It is my experience that this is true. Ive noticed on alot of audiograms that it levels off at 110-120db after sloping down. I can also feel pressure in my eardrums starting at 110db HL. I do wonder at what db HL does real sound stop and some other sensation starts. I did read that cochlear dead regions become very likley at 90db HL.

Bottesini said:
With only a tiny portion of one cochlea present, only the most avid pusher of CI would urge you to try one.
ASL will be the best route without doubt for this child.
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That and lipreading. CI won't work, ABI might but I would not risk that. ANI may be available in the next several years and could work if she has a functioning auditory nerve.

AlleyCat said:
The 105-110 db level .. That is exactly where I'm at. I hear quite a bit with my HAs, but I also "feel" quite a bit too. I'm extremely sensitive to motion/vibration. You mentioned, kjvitek, that she doesn't have HAs yet so I'm guessing everything she "hears", she really "feels". But she may still pick up sounds with HAs. Keep us posted on the HA appointment, I'm curious about the outcome. :)
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Same here, I can hear sounds at 750Hz and 1000Hz despite 105-115db HL. I am surprised because I read that most people have cochlear dead regions above 90db HL. I don't have a mixed loss either from the testing done over the years.

kjvitek said:
Our first hearing aid appointment is this wednesday. I am hopeful that they will help her hear something. Allycat, at what level do the hearing aids bring you down to? Are you able to hear speech? I am just wondering how much she could potentially hear, the audiologist said they might only help her hear loud sounds, but not speech.
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I would also be wondering how well Allycat is aided down to. I had a HL similar to Allycat(100db) when I was younger and I was aided to 35db in the low and mid frequencies back in 1998. I heard more speech when I was younger but still hear around 30% speech today but with lipreading it's over 80%.
 
I think I want to sign with her wether she gets CI or not. I dont see why it needs to be one way or the other
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Excellent! Contact the Ohio School for the Deaf. They will be able to help you a lot.....Actually isn't St. Rita's in Ohio? Contact them too! Oh and it's so cool that your son is picking up Sign. Maybe contact Ohio Assocition of the Deaf and have them send out a Sign mentor?
Her Audiologist does work with a pediatric ENT.
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Actually, if you have the resources, you really need to go to a specialized ENT. Like one that would be at an Eye and Ear type of hospital. They would be able to help you more. Too bad you're not in NY or in Boston.
 
Just an update* I took Lacey to pick up her hearing aids this week. I put them on her as much as possible, it is kinda hard with the feedback though since she is not able to sit up yet. I am unsure if they work for her. The audiologist says it will take her a while to learn to hear with them if they do work. They will do another hearing test with the HA's but not for about 3 months. I havent seen her jump or otherwise seem to respond with them on. She does cry and fuss a lot when they are on. Hard for me to tell if she can hear something and it freaks her out, or if she just doesnt like how they feel. Either way, it is worth a shot. All of her appointments for CI, HA, ENT everything is at Cleveland Clinic so I feel like we have the best at this point in time. I will probably be making a trip to U of Michigan Medical soon. Thanks again to everyone who responded to my questions!
 
I am late deaf, but I know you are a concerned and caring parent. When you mentioned sign language for your children, this video came to mind. Remember that these are hearing, not deaf, mom and child. Just an idea of what signing can do for any child. Check out this video series, and watch the baby's development as she grows. Your infant and your 5 year old (and you) can all enjoy this beautiful language. If this video isnt helpful, at least it is cute. Good luck and keep us posted on your progess.

[ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7gSZfW4gVhI[/ame]

For our db readers, this is a video of a mom and baby signing various signs together. They are laughing and having fun doing it. The baby is cute doing her baby style signs with her small hands. Mom is proud. There is an ending showing their video series called Smart Hands.
 
Thank you for the video. I enjoyed watching it! I have to admit I think it is adorable watching the babies sign. I also think my daughter is so cute with her little hearing aids on :)
 
awww... maybe one day you will post a pic for us. As you can see by my user name I am a Late Deaf Nanna. Emphasis on Nanna when babies are involved.

I am happy that you enjoyed the vid. I have followed this baby online as she grows. She is pretty amazing. They have a pretty good program apparently.

Hope your daughter gets used to her aids. It takes quite a while for adults, maybe kids will assimilate faster. Fair Joure and a few others here have kids who have aids. They could tell you more I would bet. They seem very knowledgeable.

Shel is also a teacher and she is deaf, she could have some wonderful insight too? Keep us posted on your progress. We are here for you.
 
I just realized how long it has been since I posted anything new about my daughter. She is going to be 2 very soon! She was able to be implanted in October 2010. We are still working on learning to hear, but we have seen improvements when we go for her mappings. I have even heard her make some new sounds, such as oooo, mmmm, and ah. She is still working on learning ASL as well. Each day I enjoy watching her learn about and experience the world around her and nothing makes me happier! Thank you so much everyone for all of your helpful opinions, I truly appreciate it :)
 
kjvitek said:
I just realized how long it has been since I posted anything new about my daughter. She is going to be 2 very soon! She was able to be implanted in October 2010. We are still working on learning to hear, but we have seen improvements when we go for her mappings. I have even heard her make some new sounds, such as oooo, mmmm, and ah. She is still working on learning ASL as well. Each day I enjoy watching her learn about and experience the world around her and nothing makes me happier! Thank you so much everyone for all of your helpful opinions, I truly appreciate it :)
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Glad to hear from you. So they were able to implant her despite her having a tiny cochlear? Glad to hear that she's learning ASL too. I bet she's learning it a lot faster than you.
 
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She does learn it a lot faster than me, thats for sure! I have some books, and She has some Signing Time DVD's that she watches. I met a new friend that was trying to teach us (she is deaf also) but she was having a hard time knowing what to teach. But soon, we will be having a student from the local college come over to do signing with us, so I am hopeful to learn more!
 
Regardless of the fact that you implanted your child and she might get some hearing benefit, I'm SO happy you chose to learn sign for her. You have no idea how many of us wish our parents had done that. Many hearing parents seem to think that a CI is a cure and BOOM, they become hearing. It's awesome that you realize that she's still deaf and will have great benefit knowing ASL.

Hopefully your daughter and your family do well with everything--implant, ASL, English, all of it! Good luck :)
 
I met a new friend that was trying to teach us (she is deaf also) but she was having a hard time knowing what to teach. But soon, we will be having a student from the local college come over to do signing with us, so I am hopeful to learn more!
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Have you contacted Ohio School for the Deaf or St. Rita's outreach departments? What about the Ohio Association of the Deaf? Ohio School for the Deaf - Outreach
and St. Rita School for the Deaf and Welcome to OAD
 
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