Birth To First Birthday
Charlotte was our third child. I left my traditional OBGYN practice to find a midwifery practice that would support the vision of the birth experience I wanted to create this third time around.
She was born full-term at St. Francis Hospital into my loving hands as my midwife team and husband helped me catch my third child entering this world.
Super high Apgar Score and nursing right away, Charlotte was perfect.
With Baroque classical music, LED warm light votive candles and my husband’s company, my postpartum room was more like a hotel than hospital. We were enjoying our newest addition, while our older two kids were being cared for by their grandparents. Two nights after she was born, we were ready to head home and become a family of five under our own roof.
It was in that folder the discharge nurse brought us that everything got confusing. Charlotte failed her newborn hearing screening.
“What do you mean, Charlotte ‘FAILED’ something. How can you be two days old and have already ‘FAILED’ something?” I asked. It hit me from left field. I didn’t remember this test from my first two kids or having any kind of conversation with my doctor or midwife about this screening — WHAT ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT?
“Our children had siblings to lean on throughout life, but one of them may not be able to hear the others.”
A list of audiologists in Richmond was on the back of the piece of paper the neonatal nurse gave me in my discharge folder. I remember her telling me I needed to get Charlotte retested within the first month of her life.
I have no idea if there were facts about how impactful hearing was for the development of the infant brain. (Doubtful.)
I have no idea if there was a 1-800 number to call to learn more. (Maybe.)
I do know that I couldn’t imagine my daughter wasn’t able to hear. So, when the nurse brushed off the fact Charlotte failed the test and told me, “It’s just probably fluid in her ears,” I began a stage of denial.
Charlotte’s Newborn Follow-Up Testing
Within the first month, I found the closest audiologist on the list from the hospital sheet and took Charlotte for testing. The front desk woman who called to confirm the appointment two days before let me know that I needed to keep my baby asleep in order for the test to work. Right?!
The Follow-up oae test
Having to keep a baby asleep for the test was stressful, but seeing your precious child connected to brain sensors and wires is even worse. The audiologist had long fake fingernails that kept fumbling with the little foam pieces she was putting in Charlotte’s ears and apologizing for her cold hands.
After what seemed like an hour of fidgeting and adjusting sensors and me desperately trying to keep my newborn asleep by jiggling her, letting her suck on my pinkie finger because she wouldn’t take a pacifier, etc., the tests showed hearing loss of some sort in both ears, but was not very clear. As I was driving home, the audiologist called to ask me to come back for more testing, since she thought the machine was broken. WHAT?!?
We went back for more testing, which again was inconclusive. The audiologist just kept telling me I needed to sedate my baby for more testing, but didn’t explain why or how this would help her in the future.
I just wanted it all to go away, so when my pediatrician told me to enjoy my baby and get her tested again at 6-months from a specific pediatric audiologist, I did just that.
(Side Note: If I’d known then what I know now, I’d have booked it right down to the nearest university medical center for the most current technology tests with pediatric specialists… But it took me a few more months to get there…)
Time To Learn About Hearing Loss
At six months, I loaded Charlotte into the car after getting the two big kids to school and trekked down to Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medical Center. Navigating the parking system and finding my way was overwhelming. But worth every moment of stress because, within the first 10 minutes of hearing testing with the pediatric audiologist, I was being educated on hearing loss and deafness. Thankfully, I was ready to learn what my baby needed to be the best human she could be.
From the very first appointment with the VCU Pediatric Audiologist, I was being educated on hearing loss and the impacts it can have on brain development. I learned babies could begin wearing hearing aids at 3-months-old and how this additional access to sound would increase her brain functionality. I also learned that to fully comprehend her hearing loss, she needed to have an ABR, which did require sedation since she was so young and couldn’t lay still. So I scheduled that test, and we finally had a comprehensive diagnosis.
Charlotte was profoundly deaf on her left ear and moderate to severe on her right ear.
VCU Audiology fit Charlotte with a pair of pink loaner hearing aids, from the Virginia Loaner Bank, and immediately I could see Charlotte engage more with the world around her.
An assessment team from Early Intervention came to interact with Charlotte and see what types of services they needed to provide her. The team included an occupational therapist, speech therapist, and a case manager. I had all sorts of questions for their speech therapist regarding Charlotte’s learning to communicate. She assured me she knew some sign language and babies picked it up quickly, but also mentioned a different type of speech therapist in town that helped kids with hearing loss learn to speak. Her name was Alison King.
I knew inside something was aligning… I had already scheduled an appointment with Alison and was awaiting it patiently.
Hearing Aids
The additional sound amplification immediately gave Charlotte a bigger world..
— Leah
Auditory Verbal Therapy
At 8 months, Charlotte began Auditory Verbal Therapy with the therapist in the Audiology Department at VCU, Alison King. This truly was our lightbulb moment, as our therapist explained that Charlotte might be a great candidate for Cochlear Implants.
I had heard of them and even seen a recent exhibit at the Virginia Science Museum that showed people what they were, told the story of their invention and tried to give an example of sound they offered deaf people, but I’d never known anyone with one. We began the process to research this technology hearing option, confirm she was a good candidate, and apply for a Cochlear Implant through insurance. We wanted to give Charlotte’s left, profoundly deaf ear the access to sound.
Learning to listen
At 8 months we began our journey of teaching Charlotte to hear. I’d never once considered hearing as anything I needed to “think” about, and now I was conscious of it 24/7.
When babies have hearing loss of any degree, their brains get used to less input. It takes work to help their brain become accustomed to sounds and focus on identifying them once amplification is being used. There is an entire philosophy and teaching structure around “Learning to Listen.”
This video shows Charlotte saying “Woof Woof” like a dog for one of the very first times… I’d been practicing with her for weeks!!!
Preparing For A Cochlear Implant
The recommended age for an infant identified with profound hearing loss to received a cochlear impact is 12 months.
The Otolaryngologist, Dr. Daniel Coelho, and the Pediatric Audiology Team
Charlotte was profoundly deaf on her left ear and moderate to seveRe on her right ear.
One Year Old
Charlotte had her first birthday bilaterally aided by hearing aids… in a few days she’d be implanted to have full access to sound in BOTH ears.
—Excited mama, Leah
Online Resource:
Birth to Twelve Months
The below chart is from ASHA (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association) and a great snapshot as to what hearing kids are doing at these stages of their first year. We had a lot of misleading audiology tests in the beginning that propped up our denial of Charlotte’s hearing loss. Had I looked at this chart a bit closer, I might have noticed how she was missing a ton of these “sound” milestones.
I love that they don’t just give you these milestones, but then ASHA empowers you to engage with your child with this great list:
What can I do to help?
Check if your child can hear. See if she turns to noises or looks at you when you talk. Pay attention to ear problems and infections, and see your doctor.
Respond to your child. Look at him when he makes noises. Talk to him. Imitate the sounds he makes.
Laugh when she does. Imitate the faces she makes.
Teach your baby to imitate actions, like peek-a-boo, clapping, blowing kisses, and waving bye-bye. This teaches him how to take turns. We take turns when we talk.
Talk about what you do during the day. Say things like “Mommy is washing your hair”; “You are eating peas”; and “Oh, these peas are good!”
Talk about where you go, what you do there, and who and what you see. Say things like, “We are going to Grandma’s house. Grandma has a dog. You can pet the dog.”
Teach animal sounds, like “A cow says ‘moo.’”
Read to your child every day.
Talk to your child in the language you are most comfortable using.