Nothing

Nothing is what Courtney hears...

She is only 9 months old and has already had 5 ear infections (7 if you count the two that were still infected after one round of antibiotics) and 1 perforated eardrum. All of this prompted our doctor to refer us to a Pediatric ENT for possible tubes. At her last appointment I discussed Courtney not making any sounds other than blowing raspberries. I know you aren't supposed to compare kids, but both Logan and Jeremy were doing this long before 9 months so I was beginning to become concerned. Our NP reassured us not to worry, but to definitely schedule her 1 year check up with the actual doctor just to be sure.

A couple days passed and I couldn't get rid of the feeling that she really should be babbling more. Finally, I decided that if she couldn't hear she wouldn't be able to imitate sounds which might be why she isn't "talking". I had already put Courtney down for bed, but I just had to know if hearing was the problem. We have the never wake a sleeping baby rule at our house, but I went ahead and began a series of "tests".

I walked over to her bed and began quietly calling her name. Nothing. I tapped on the side of the bed and called her name louder. Nothing. I didn't want to wake Logan in the process of all of this, but I really had to know. I thought maybe she is just REALLY tired so I began clapping about six inches from her ear. Nothing, not even a twitch of an eye. My heart sank and the panic set in.

The next day Bryan and I called every ENT from Austin to San Antonio and couldn't get in anywhere. In the meantime I, along with my friends from work, continued to "test" her. We banged pots and pans, snapped, put ringing phones behind her, yelled, anything we could think of and she never responded. We were able to get an appointment with an Audiologist to do a hearing test Tuesday morning and I kept another appointment with a Pediatric Audiologist on Wednesday who will also do a hearing test. I know they will confirm what we already know, but we are hoping that if the eustachian tube isn't working correctly she may have fluid behind her ear which can inhibit hearing. Deep down this is what I desperately hope is the case, but I want to be prepared for the worst.

We are concerned and want to know the cause of the hearing loss so we can move forward with whatever she needs. Our hearts our heavy...the worst thing for a parent, besides losing a child, is that there is something wrong with them. She is so happy and has the sweetest spirit it is difficult to imagine that anything could possibly be wrong with her. As if she knew how sad we were, she did begin waving bye-bye yesterday to warm our hearts! Hopefully she just needs tubes, but we will keep everyone posted.