A little over 3 months ago I did a blog post titled “What This Means (as far as I know)” and in it I tried my best to describe what was going on with SJ’s newly diagnosed hearing loss. At the time I admitted to feeling that I was underqualified to explain or understand what was really happening with her. I still feel that way, but we have made some progress in treatment, diagnosis, and overall adjustment. So here is an update of the 10 questions I had previously outlined.

1. What type of hearing loss does SJ have?
Sensorineural, meaning inner ear.

2. How did this happen?
We still don’t know. We may never know, but I have started asking her doctors about genetic testing. I have recently met multiple parents whose children were deaf as a result of a hereditary hearing loss called Connexin 26. I could be totally wrong in my attempts to search for answers, but Cx26  is is the most common cause of congenital sensorineural hearing loss and some of the stories I have heard that involve this type of hearing loss sound very similar to SJ’s. I won’t go into all the details, but I’ve included some links for those interested.

3. Was she born with it? We still don’t know for sure. My latest theory is that she was born with some hearing loss, but that it wasn’t so severe. That may be why she had definite signs of hearing before her 2nd birthday and has progressively gotten worse. It’s a shot in the dark, but it’s all I’ve got for now.

4.  Could she continue to loose her hearing?
We don’t know, but long story short it won’t matter if she does because her hearing loss is so severe.

5. Is SJ deaf?
YES. 3 months ago my answer was that she is hard of hearing, but since then I have learned from her specialists that SJ is in fact deaf. This doesn’t mean she has no hearing at all, but it means that she has a profound hearing loss.

6. Will she learn sign language or talk?
Right now SJ is unable to hear speech and therefor she can’t talk. We have confidence that with the right equipment she will be able to and we are working on figuring out what is best for our family with great urgency. As it stands, SJ only knows sign language and even that is very minimal because it’s new to her and all of us. For now though, this is how she can communicate and it is her first language.

7. What can she hear?
Someone at the deaf school showed me this video and it gives a good illustration of hearing loss. SJ is severe to profound, so even the final setting in the video is better than what she can hear.

8. What about cochlear implant? 
It’s amazing how much can change in 4 months. I was originally hoping we would never have to face the decision for SJ to have surgery. At our first appointment with the audiologist they didn’t even want to discuss the cochlear implant, which I think is just standard protocol- start with hearing aids then take it from there. However, now her entire medical team is recommending the surgery and we are currently in the process of looking at models, choosing a surgeon, and deciding on when to do it. There is a lot more to discuss about this huge life altering decision, but that’s basically where we are at right now.

9. What happens next? 
Tomorrow SJ will be sedated and tested for the ABR, MRI, and CTscan. This will be her second ABR which is the hearing test and that will either confirm what we already knew about her hearing loss or potentially see if it has worsened. The MRI will check any brain or nerve damage, which none of her team of experts are worried about because her vision, balance, and all of her motor skills are great. The cat scan will look at the bone structure and give a better picture of what is happening in the inner ear. The results will be in after about 2 weeks.

10.  What do we need?
I’ve made a few connections from the deaf school, which is so wonderful, but if you or someone you are close to is deaf, or has a cochlear implant then I would love to hear from you. I am always wanting to learn more and people with personal experience are one of my greatest resources.

You can reach me through my facebook page or email natobusch at yahoo (hopefully, I typed that in way that is spam proof).

Of course we will take all the pray we can get too. Prayers that SJ will be safe during the sedation and that the doctors will get all of the information that they need during these tests. Prayers for guidance on which hospital to use for the surgery if she gets it and even what this means as far as where and when our family will move!

Thank you all for being so loving and supportive. We will of course keep you posted every step of the way.