Speech delays, hearing loss, fluid in the ears, and other toddler fun
Just to re-cap …
Remember when we took the toddler to the hearing test? And learned a few things, like …
- Both of his eardrums aren’t moving
- He possibly has fluid in both ears
- He has a mild hearing loss ( >40 dec.)
- The hearing loss is probably caused by the fluid
- Go to a doctor, because he probably has an ear infection! Go now!
So the next day, we took him to a walk-in clinic, and learned a few more things …
- Yes, he has an ear infection
- Give him antibiotics for a week
- Go see your family doctor
So the toddler saw his family doctor last Friday, and we learned a few more things:
- His ear infection is gone
- There is a tiny bit of fluid left in one ear
- The other ear has no fluid at all
Oh! But wait! Then we saw the ENT a week later, on Monday, and learned a few MORE things:
- He never HAD an ear infection
- There is fluid in BOTH ears
- Fluid could definitely be causing his hearing loss
Here’s what we know:
- Yes, he has a mild hearing loss
- Yes, he has fluid in both ears
- Yes, he may need tubes or grommets if the fluid doesn’t go away on its own
I was very impressed by the ENT. He was smart and to-the-point, and Darling Husband and I both liked him very much.
While I kind of wished he had just said, “Yes, let’s get some tubes in that kid’s ears!” — because I strongly feel he has a persistent fluid problem — he said we will wait two months to see if it clears up on his own. Which is smart, I suppose, since he’s never even seen him before.
We have a follow-up already booked with the ENT for May 28, when the toddler will have his ears checked to see if the fluid is still there. If it is, he’ll probably get tubes. If it’s gone, the ENT will perform a hearing test right there to see if his hearing loss is gone.
I’m feeling much better about the whole situation, partially from the string of nonstop doctor visits being over (for now), and partially because the toddler’s speech has really been picking up. Here’s an updated list of what he’s been saying …
- Yeah!
- Yeth (yes)
- Uhhhh-oooooh (uh-oh)
- Ahhhhhhhhp (up)
- Haaaaaal (help)
- Hi
- Mo (more)
- Baw (ball)
- Dada
- MumMumMum
- No
- Maaaap (map)
- Hug
- Bub (bubble)
He’s also been even better with his signs lately, adding new ones like “soup” and “wake up” and “scared” and “rain” and “pancakes.” He’s at a great age to pick things up from his Signing Time DVDs. Whenever they do a sign, he’s automatically trying to copy it.
With all these new words, Darling Husband and I have discovered what it’s like to have a verbal child. It’s … louder, for sure. His endless shrieks of “No!” and “Mo, mo, more!” are very strange to us, since he’s always been so quiet. It’s like, wait, why did we want him to talk?
We joke about the newfound volume problem, but really, we’re as proud as punch whenever he comes out with a word instead of a sign.
Even if the word is “No.”
One Comment on “Speech delays, hearing loss, fluid in the ears, and other toddler fun”
So what do you think?
Hey! I’m Heather.
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so glad to hear you saw an ENT! yay. it's a great idea to wait two months.. it's pretty standard to wait two or three after fluid is seen to give it time to work it's way out! my fingers are crossed. keep talking baby boy! 🙂