A little bad news for Ethan

[meg]

He has done so remarkably well with everything up to this point, we have all just been amazed. Even that he is alive is a miracle. But we got a bit of bad news.[:(] He failed his newborn hearing test 3 times in the hospital. But the docs said that wasnt all that uncommon when they are on O2 b/c event hat subtle sound can affect the test. So now that he is off O2 they sent him to an audiologist for testing. Here is a cut and paste of my sisters email b/c it explains it better than I could:

"Hi, everyone! The latest on Ethan is that we had an appt. with audiology at MUSC yesterday for a hearing test. According to the audiologist, the test she did was one that (through an earpiece) sends a series of click sounds into the ear and then listens for how the ear reacts. Both of Ethan's ears "failed" the test, which automatically means we go for a higher level of testing. The next test is called "auditory brain stem activation" or something like that. Anyway, it will be a more precise way to tell if there is really any problem with his hearing, and if so, to what degree, etc.

They asked us if he startles, if he reacts to loud sounds, etc and he definitely does. That is a good sign. The new test cannot be done until around the end of July, when they have an opening in the schedule. I will let you know once I have an exact date. ""

So if all you guys could send your super prayers our way again please! Also, if anyone had this experience or any info we would greatly appreciate it!
Thanks



Will 2-6-00 ( PE at 35 weeks)
Elizabeth 7-3-01 ( NO PE or PIH)
#3 EDD 10-25-04 Its a girl! So far so good!
Proud Aunt to Ethan born 27 weeks (March 8th) weighing 1lb 8 ounces! Our little fighter!
Now 5 pounds 5 ounces. He is home and off of oxygen!

[sarab]

Oh, Meg, I'm so sorry! That is such a stressful thing to have to worry about.

I do want to add that Maggie just failed her hearing test last week. It was the same test that Ethan had, where they send the sound in and then it's supposed to bounce back. The tech was like "Oh...well, she just failed in both ears. I'm sorry", and then just left! No further instructions, no mention of further testing, nothing! It was like "your child is deaf...good luck with that!". [}:)]

Well, Maggie is very obviously NOT deaf, but of course we were still worried -- that is such a scary thing. Thank goodness her regular ped visit was that same afternoon. The doc (who we just LOVE -- he is wonderful) said that a LOT of kids fail that test. He said that if there's any sort of fluid behind the ear, then it doesn't bounce the sound back the way it's supposed to. So if Ethan has had even a very mild ear infection or something that would cause fluid at all in his ear, then that could be why he failed. I am praying that that's the case for you guys.

Let us know how things go, and tell your sister that we're all praying for them!

Sara, 24
Local Coordinator, Utah
Moderator, "After Your Baby is Born"

DH, Scott, 26
Maggie Lylas, 6/9/03, 29 weeks, severe pre-e
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/maggielylas/

[jaxsmom]

Hi Meg

Hoping everything goes well with the next set of tests, you all have been through sooo much already and now more stress with waiting till July :( Sending lots and lots of prayers your way ... Pls keep us posted

Cheers
Dana

Jaxon's Mommy
Born June 25, 2003 @ 34 weeks 4.6 lbs; PIH, elevated liver enzymes & IUGR

[meg]

{HUGS} to you too for having to go through this!

I just called my sis for more info and she said that the audiologist said the same thing about fluid in the ear so they did a tympanogram to see if there was any fluid in the ear and there wasnt any at all. She said the audiologist was like " thats good news" and my sister was thinking " NO its not, b/c fluid would have been an explaination"! You know what I mean!
What we are trying to figure out is what could cause any potential hearing problem. Can being a preemie cause hearing loss? I know the oxygen can affect the eyes but I have never heard anything about being a preemie affecting hearing. have any of you? We dont have hearing problems in ours or her husbands families anywhere!
I hope its not truely hearing loss. I guess we wont know for another month....

Will 2-6-00 ( PE at 35 weeks)
Elizabeth 7-3-01 ( NO PE or PIH)
#3 EDD 10-25-04 Its a girl! So far so good!
Proud Aunt to Ethan born 27 weeks (March 8th) weighing 1lb 8 ounces! Our little fighter!
Now 5 pounds 5 ounces. He is home and off of oxygen!

[meg]

I did just find this on the internet: :(

""There is a greater incidence of serious hearing impairments in infants born prematurely. Decades ago the incidence as reported as high as 9%, but more recently has decreased to closer to 2% (Yu, 1987).

Several causes may be responsible for the hearing impairments. In prematurity, the underdeveloped blood vessels of the inner ear can easily hemorrhage (bleed), which would decrease the blood supply to the Organ of Corti. Toxic and irreversible effects can occur on the cells in the area (Yeates, 1986). Conditions that are associated with premature infants have been associated as attributing to sensorineural deafness. This includes hypoxia and hyperbilirubinemia. Incubator noise has been debated as contributing to sensorineural deafness. However, most authorities have ruled this out (Morgan, 1987). "



Will 2-6-00 ( PE at 35 weeks)
Elizabeth 7-3-01 ( NO PE or PIH)
#3 EDD 10-25-04 Its a girl! So far so good!
Proud Aunt to Ethan born 27 weeks (March 8th) weighing 1lb 8 ounces! Our little fighter!
Now 5 pounds 5 ounces. He is home and off of oxygen!

[meg]

And this:

"Every year in the United States over 400,000 babies are born prematurely or at a low birth weight. These babies are likely to require high technology intensive and specialized care in the hospital and extended developmental follow-up care as infants and children. As a result of prematurity, many have chronic medical and development problems such as:


brain hemorrhages
scarred lungs
respiratory distress / asthma
blindness / hearing loss
feeding issues
cerebral palsy
speech & language delays
fine and gross motor skills delays "

So I guess hearing loss IS on the list of problems. I just never realized before...

Will 2-6-00 ( PE at 35 weeks)
Elizabeth 7-3-01 ( NO PE or PIH)
#3 EDD 10-25-04 Its a girl! So far so good!
Proud Aunt to Ethan born 27 weeks (March 8th) weighing 1lb 8 ounces! Our little fighter!
Now 5 pounds 5 ounces. He is home and off of oxygen!

[sarab]

Ok, I just dug out my old preemie "bible" because I'm really curious about this now. Here's what it says about preemies and hearing loss:

First, here's a list of risk factors for hearing loss:

*birth weight under 1500 grams
*occurrence of intaventricular hemorrhage
*presence of a viral infection at birth
*meningitis
*extended use of certain medications
*very high bilirubin levels that required an exchange transfusion
*extreme lack of oxygen around the time of birth
*abnormalities of the head or neck

Then it says:

"While these factors increase a preemie's risk, it's still only about two out of one hundred premature babies who will have a significant hearing impairment."

Taken from Preemies: The Essential Guide for Parents of Premature Babies by Dana Wechsler Linden, Emma Trenti Paroli, and Mia Wechsler Doron, M.D., pg 273

Hope this helps!

Sara, 24
Local Coordinator, Utah
Moderator, "After Your Baby is Born"

DH, Scott, 26
Maggie Lylas, 6/9/03, 29 weeks, severe pre-e
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/maggielylas/

[sarab]

LOL, Meg. We are really on the same page today!

It looks like both Maggie and Ethan both have risk factors for hearing loss, so let's just hope that they are not the 2 out 100. I KNOW that Maggie is not deaf because she is old enough to understand words and she totally looks at sounds (TV, my voice, the vaccum, etc). She even says "mama" and dada". So I would think that IF (and I hope it's a BIG "if") she has any sort of hearing issues, they are small. I pray the same is the case for little Ethan!

Sara, 24
Local Coordinator, Utah
Moderator, "After Your Baby is Born"

DH, Scott, 26
Maggie Lylas, 6/9/03, 29 weeks, severe pre-e
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/maggielylas/

[meg]

Thanks. He was only 700 grams at birth and had an interventricular hemorrage of stage 2-3. :( I guess this is looking bad. I always try to be an optomist and am not going to get too upset until we know more.
We have all just been so happy that he even lived I guess we kind of forget that there is a pretty high chance of him having at least some problems...
thanks again

Will 2-6-00 ( PE at 35 weeks)
Elizabeth 7-3-01 ( NO PE or PIH)
#3 EDD 10-25-04 Its a girl! So far so good!
Proud Aunt to Ethan born 27 weeks (March 8th) weighing 1lb 8 ounces! Our little fighter!
Now 5 pounds 5 ounces. He is home and off of oxygen!

[sarab]

I'm glad that you have a good attitude about it. I know it's so hard, but please try not to worry too much about it until you get the results from the other tests. (This is the pot calling the kettle black, by the way...). There are so many factors that can contribute to a failed hearing exam.

Here's hoping that everything works out just fine in July!

Sara, 24
Local Coordinator, Utah
Moderator, "After Your Baby is Born"

DH, Scott, 26
Maggie Lylas, 6/9/03, 29 weeks, severe pre-e
http://www.babiesonline.com/babies/m/maggielylas/