Little did I know that my pediatrician would do a hearing test on my five year old.
And one ear would fail.
As I grabbed my child's ear, twisting it this way and that looking for the elusive ear wax that had to have ruined that test, I wondered . .
Could bug have some degree of hearing loss?
And what would that mean?
While I have no illusions I will be playing Annie Sullivan to his Helen Keller, i a wondering what new road this prospective problem might lead us down.
And if this might be a partial cause for Bug's behavior problems.
Or if we are just handing him ammunition for his later years when he tells his wife he didn't hear her say take out the garbage.
What does hearing loss mean for a child? For his family?
I find myself facing the possibility with a sense of surrealism.
Ad a hefty dose of maternal guilt.
Bug has had exactly one known ear infection in his entire life. Emphasis on known. Did I miss one? Did I ignore the signs?
Or is this all because The Man listens to kiss, Led Zeppelin, and all other hair band crap music too loud and it damaged my baby's hearing?
That's the answer I'm leaning towards.
The Man? Not so much.
Is Bug deaf? No. Is he disabled? No.
We won't even know for sure until his retest next month.
But I find myself watching my oldest with more critical eye, wondering if his distraction is just because he's not listening or because he's just not hearing.
And wondering where do we go from here?
1 comment:
You wait for the results of the second test and if that one fails, you get a second opinion. As a person who is losing her hearing, yes it is frustrating but you learn to ask people to face you, to not mumble and too annunciate clearly (easier said then done in Boston). I had compensated by learning to read lips before I was ever diagnosed. A very cool "trick" that comes in handy and one he could have fun with. :)
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