Kay recently underwent another hearing test through Child Find, an organization I highly appreciate for its abundant resources and useful tools. Typically, Kay meets with her audiologist every six months. During these sessions, the audiologist ensures her Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) is in optimal condition, making any necessary updates to maintain its effectiveness. Following this, the audiologist conducts an open room hearing test.
Unlike a standard hearing test, the open room test involves placing Kay and me in a soundproof room while the audiologist introduces sounds from various directions. The goal is to observe Kay’s reactions and see if she looks in the direction of the sound. While open room tests are helpful, they are not as precise. Unfortunately, Kay has difficulty tolerating objects in her ears, making a conventional hearing test challenging.
During Kay’s infancy, she underwent hearing tests at the hospital and later through Nevada Early Intervention, providing us with comprehensive results. Several months later, she had a sedated hearing test at a local hospital, offering further insights into the extent of her hearing loss.
These regular hearing checks serve a crucial purpose – to monitor for any changes. While it’s unlikely that Kay’s hearing loss will diminish or improve, ensuring it doesn’t worsen is essential. Child Find’s audiologist has been instrumental, providing me with valuable information about Kay’s hearing and her BAHA. This dedicated professional is determined to obtain the most accurate results for Kay, even if it means a momentary upset for her during the ear device placement.
During our last visit, the audiologist detected signs of a potential ear infection. This insight proved accurate, as Kay indeed developed an ear infection, something I might not have noticed otherwise, as she displayed no unusual behavior.