The second test

So, we had a second hearing test at Logan's school, The John Tracy Clinic, on Friday. The good news is that the test results came out that his loss was slightly worse than the previous test, the bad news is that it's still not bad enough to be a shoe-in for a second implant. After watching him function with his hearing aid this week I know that he is not getting what he needs from it. I told my husband that I was going to fight hard to get this approved. The audiologist also feels that the second implant is what is best for him and is willing to write a letter to the insurance company explaining why he needs this.

On a second note, Logan is starting a Deaf and Hard of Hearing program through the school district tomorrow (until he can get into John Tracy full time). He is excited to start and is ready for a full time program.

What...No Implant??

I'm frustrated, confused and emotionally drained. So, we have been trying to rush this process of getting the second implant done and all that was needed before we could submit the request to the insurance, was an aided test (a hearing test with just a hearing aid on). The reason they do this is to prove that the patient is not hearing the necessary speech sounds with just a hearing aid. They told me on Monday that they would not be able to get us in for that until early April--which would really not help our plan to get this all done in May. But Tuesday night they called and said that they had a cancellation, which by the way, has never happened in three years. I was thrilled, but the problem was that a new ear mold (the part of the aid that goes in the ear) was needed and to have one made would be another 2-3 weeks. Well, later that night Jake and I went to our parent class and when I opened my change holder in the car there was his old ear mold! Things couldn't be working out better and all of these small details were confirming my decision of going forward with a second implant.
Well, to make a long story short(er) after the aided test, we found out that Logan was not technically eligible for the second implant because his hearing loss is not "bad enough". This was new news to us, our last audiologist told us he was profoundly deaf in both ears (the same audiologist who told me I was crazy, for over a year, when I told her I felt Logan's loss had become worse and it had). According to Wednesday's test, he is "Severe to Profoundly" deaf in that ear, which means he is barely ineligible to receive the surgery-according to the insurance company, who approves it. I should have been thrilled, his loss is not as bad as we thought, but I wasn't--I was disappointed. Being that he's so close, I wish that we could do the implant, especially since we know his hearing loss is progressive-which means it will get worse. I just don't get it, it took me 2 months of sleepless, prayerful nights to come to a decision that I knew was right, only to not even have that choice anymore.
We came home that day and let him wear just the hearing aid all day and I "tested" him to see what he was hearing. I called his name from three feet away...nothing. The telephone rang from about 2 feet away...nothing. I even turned the blender on and nothing! According to this test he should have heard all of that. We are going to get another test done tomorrow at John Tracy to see if we get the same results. I think we are going to submit the request to the insurance with a letter from the audiologist stating why he needs this.
I feel like my thoughts are kind of scattered in this post, sorry for being all over the place.

Our Bitter-Sweet Day

On Monday we had an appointment for Logan to attempt to get a good hearing test before we resort to the sedation test. It's been a challenge in the past because the test requires that he participate in a little listening game to get accurate results, and most of the time, he just had better things to do! Well, this time, he was perfect and did just what he was supposed to do. The bad news is that the test revealed that he has now lost a significant amount of hearing since being first diagnosed. He is now considered "deaf" instead of "hard of hearing". The doctors told us that with the type of hearing loss he had, that there was a chance it could get worse. I guess I just didn't expect it to happen so soon. As the doctor proceeded to tell us of the results of the test my mind began to wander. I began to think of the past year and all of the hard work we have put in to his speech and listening skills, only to find out, none of it had been doing any good. I thought of how close he was getting to being able to say "Mommy", something I have longed for, but then realizing that this might be as good as it gets. As tears began to come to not only my eyes, but to Jake's as well, good news came from the doctor. Logan was now a candidate for Cochlear Implants. A cochlear implant is very different from a hearing aid. Instead of simply amplifying sound, it creates signals that the brain interprets as sound, making it ideal for people who have little or no hearing. Cochlear implants use a device called an external speech processor, worn outside the ear, to capture sound and convert the sound into digital signals. Those signals are then sent to a surgically implanted electronic receiver inside the head, which tells the implant to stimulate the electrodes inside the cochlea (inner ear). The brain then recognizes these signals as sound. The implants have a very high success rate and we are very hopeful. It is very scary for me because this is a major surgery and if it doesn't take, we can't go back to hearing aids...it's basically all or nothing. We are hoping to get the surgery done by the end of the summer, but nothing is for sure yet.


I look at my sweet son and hurt for him inside at what he is missing out on. Things like hearing "I love you" or when he makes his baby brother laugh, but I am grateful for his example and outlook on life and more importantly, a loving Heavenly Father who has brought us to this point of hope that all is going to be well.

ABR testing

When you have a child that is disabled, it sometimes takes a while to admit or even say that word. I usually think of people who are severely handicapped whenever that word comes up, not people like Logan.
A few weeks ago we spent the afternoon at the workshop/picnic for the LA DHH (Deaf and Hard of Hearing) program, which Logan belongs to. They usually have them twice a year, but we have never attended. I'd always tell myself, "That's not us. We aren't really like those other people, Logan is different." But after finally attending...I realized that we are part of that community. I spent most of the afternoon in tears as I watched Logan interact with other children, also with hearing loss. I watched as some of the older kids signed to him to tell him they liked the car stickers on his hearing aids and how he thought that was neat. I watched how the group signed fun songs, much of which he could understand. I loved how he made instant friends with other 2 and 3 year olds because it was so easy to communicate with them. I talked with other parents who understand what a challenge this has been and also who gave me encouragement that the things that I wish for Logan, can actually become a reality.

LOGAN'S SPEECH THERAPIST, JESSICA

It has been a frustrating year for us as we have come to believe that Logan is still not hearing, even with his hearing aids in. When he was first diagnosed I had no idea how many daily and simple things would be affected by his inability to hear. We have been blessed to have him be such a happy and energetic kid who doesn't get frustrated easily.We have been waiting for months to have an ABR (auditory brainstem response) test done. It's a test that they don't like to do very often because it requires that the child be sedated. It will tell his exactly what his hearing abilities are and if his hearing loss has become worse. This will be a big step for us in being able to go forward with his progress. We are scheduled for July 23 and we couldn't be more excited.