I’m a little stressed.
Number 7, as you know, is a spirited child.
And as I’ve said before, you never know which Number 7 is gonna show up. Sometimes it’s tough Number 7. Sometimes it’s funny Number 7. Sometimes it’s helpful Number 7. Sometimes it’s stubborn Number 7. Sometimes it’s cuddly Number 7.
And since she’s a bit of a wild card, I never know exactly how seriously to take some of her behaviors.
Very often when I talk to her, she replies with “What?”
I have noticed this for a while now. I can’t say how long, but definitely a couple years.
And I’ve chalked it up to her being young and a little bit crazy and distracted at times, and also to her possessing the ability to know exactly how to annoy the crap out of the people.
But in my gut, this constantly needing things to be repeated has bothered me.
Back in March when she had her four-year-old physical (five months late), I was worried about her hearing test. I thought there was a good chance the doctor would tell me there was a problme with her hearing.
She passed the test, though.
I was relieved, but I still felt like I should have mentioned something. Because something just seems off.
But I didn’t because, well, I don’t know. I just didn’t.
Yesterday Number 7 came home from school and handed me an envelope labeled “To the Parents of Number 7.”
I opened it up.
Number 7 failed the hearing screening at school.
Twice.
You should take her to be evaluated by your pediatrician…
Ugh.
I’m not surprised. There is an issue. I know there is.
I’ve known it’s due to more than her just personality for a while.
I know it could be something as simple as wax build up.
I know it could be allergies causing her ears to have fluid in them.
It could be a number of things that are fairly harmless and easily fixable.
But I’m afraid they aren’t.
And in the past twenty-four hours, I’ve conjured up every horrible scenario I can think of.
I went to high school with a kid who got a degenerative eye disease. In elementary school he could see, and by the time he was in high school he was completely blind.
Of course he went on to be the only blind person to scale Mount Everest — his name is Erik Weihenmayer and he’s totally inspiring and amazing and you should read all about him here — and he’s done more incredible things than most sighted people I know.
But I also had the same issue with my baby brother.
At eighteen months old he went into the hospital to have tubes put in his ears.
And while he was there, he was diagnosed with leukemia.
And a year-and-a-half after that, he was dead.
So I guess it’s understandable how my mind might go there.
But I mean, what are the odds of that shit happening? Of it being something really awful?
I think they are small.
But isn’t it funny how our minds automatically go to the worst possible scenario?
I mean, I have literally been wondering if there have ever been any deaf swimmers in the Olympics.
I go from Your daughter failed her hearing test to Number 7 has a degenerative hearing loss that will leave her completely deaf and destroy her Olympic swimming career.
The fact that Number 7 has never expressed a desire to go to the Olympics but I’m concerned about how this may affect her chances there (plus the fact that she’s only five) is a whole different issue.
But it’s crazy how we do this, isn’t it?
How we go to the most awful extreme?
And it’s not just me, is it?
Please tell me it’s not just me.
Anyway, I’ve already scheduled an appointment for her.
But I’m still freaking out a little bit.
Or a lot.
Depending on how far I let my brain go before I snap out of it and reel myself back in.
So I could use your help.
I could use all your stories about any of your kids who failed school hearing tests and you took them to the doctor and they were screened again and everything was fine.
THOSE ARE THE ONLY STORIES I WANT TO HEAR.
No horror stories. No We thought everything was fine and then we found out everything was not fine but we survived stories.
I need help redirecting my brain and not worrying about things I can’t control. And I need to stay positive.
And also, if you have a minute, I could use a bunch of prayers and good vibes. Especially around 2:15 tomorrow afternoon.
Ugh!
Now I’m sitting here crying! It is so easy to just fucking lose your shit over this stuff.
Okay.
I’m sure everything is going to be okay.
Everything is going to be okay, right?
EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OKAY.
I’ll keep you posted. But I sure could use a little support.
Or a lot.
I LOVE this super cute set! Check it and tons of other cute stuff out at Betsy Boo’s Boutique — my fave place to shop online!
Everything IS okay. She is living an amazing life. And so are you. Thank you for being a fucking awesome mom! xo
Yes!! I do this for every possible situation. I can go from a bruised knee to cancer in a hot second. Last year my 7 year old failed the school hearing test. I made an appointment with our pediatrician and made myself physically sick for the next 48 hours. The diagnosis? Wax buildup. A couple weeks of weird smelling drops and she’s passed every test since. I have about 20 other examples of maternal freak outs, but I have to get to a third grade parent teacher conference. Would you be surprised to hear that I’m a little nervous about that, too? What’s that great movie line?? Worrying about your kids is sanity and sometimes all that sanity can make you a little nuts. Lots of love from Jersey!
I failed a lot of hearing tests at school because I was straining to hear other things while I was supposed to be listening to the beeps. We never had them in an isolated enough place and I would lose focus.
We had the same issue with our then 5 year old. Turns out it was just fluid in his ears. 10 days of an antibiotic and he was just fine. Still doesn’t listen though. 😉
At 3 1/2 my son had a speech delay and was exhibiting signs of being “on the spectrum.” While he passed his “spectrum” tests, he failed his hearing test by the speech therapist. He also failed the test at the audiologist. Turns out his ears were full of fluid, and had been for years, yet he never had an ear infection. As soon as he had tubes placed, his speech corrected almost immediately. At 6 years old, (and his third set of tubes) he can now tell me when he’s not hearing well (or he’s loud as shit ????). When he can’t hear, it usually means the tubes have moved and we need a new set. Hang in there mama and sending you good vibes.
My son has that eye disorder- the one where if I had not gotten help woukd have left him blind. He was diagnosed at 3. He had surgery at 5 -and at 10 is a All Star catcher for his baseball team. At 5 i was thinking Id have to sell my split level house and get a ranch to accommodate him. My point being if there is an issue best to face it when you can and get the help that is available. In the end they tend to amaze you. The doctors and the kids. But I get it – I have been there. Heartbroken and panicked. Good vibes going out to you and your family.
The same thing happened to my son when he was in kindergarten (he’s in 4th now)…he failed his school hearing test and I was convinced he had hearing issues, because, you know, listening skills!!! Anyway, he was fine when we took him to an audiologist and got retested. Apparently he just CHOOSES not to listen. And the same kid used to get bloody noses almost every night. I was convinced he had some kind of bleeding disorder or brain issue or cancer. We ended up taking him to an ENT 2-3 times because they just kept coming, eventually happening randomly during the day too. He was fine; he just gets stuffy noses which get irritated which cause him to have bloody noses. Thankfully he has outgrown that largely and only gets them once in a while now. Your daughter will be fine and you can handle this!! Sending lots of love and prayers and virtual hugs.
My 5 yo failed his hearing screen twice. Once at birth and once at a well child. We coughed up $$$$ to go to a specialist who spent hours with him to say absolutely nothing was wrong. He’s just soft spoken.
My husband and I both fail hearing tests all the time, but our hearing are both ok. The problem is with the background noise in the offices where the tests are given. It’s more of a processing issue than a hearing issue. I don’t do well with a lot of background noise. But both my husband I are perfectly healthy and fairly sane people with no other health issues! So let’s hope that is all it is with Number 7.
My son was seeing a speech therapist at age 4 and she suggested he may not be hearing 100%. Took him to ENT and he failed it twice. He ending up getting tubes in his ears and almost overnight he could hear and his speech was much better. He’s 11 now and no hearing or speech issues at all. Good luck!
My daughter’s music teacher suggested that we have her hearing fully understand tested. I made an appointment went an ENT and he’d her assessed. Discovered that the problem is really “listening” not hearing. Her hearing is fine 🙂
I’d bet money on wax buildup! Don’t worry. It’ll be fine. I’m a speech therapist in a public school so have experience with hearing screenings there. The screenings at school are very basic and have a high amount of errors. Also, kids of that age often respond incorrectly so it looks like they failed the hearing screening but really just didn’t know how to respond correctly. Most often the referrals turn out fine. I would advise you to go to an audiologist if you are concerned. But don’t worry! Same thing happened to my Number 5.
My son had an issue where he had so much fluid in his ears, he failed the hearing test. Tues in and he was good as new!! Don’t worry before there is a reason!
This June at 5 year check up my son failed hearing test, his pediatritian said it’s probably wax, gave me wax dissolving drops for 10 days and said to double check his hearing when I have a chance… We didn’t check it until September because we were out for most of the summer, in September he failed it again… Dr told me to use drops again and come for cleaning, we came back, she took out lots of wax, he failed again… She said we can try drops for few more days or go to ENT, I made an appt to ENT but it was 2 weeks away so I used drops for few more days, went into appt for nothing because he passed the test on first attempt…
when my daughter was born, she failed the hearing test @ the hospital. a week later, we were @ the ent & they said she was fine. fast forward to 1 yr, she’s barely crawling, definitely not standing on her own & doesn’t talk at all, no words, no utterances – just cries for hunger … in comes early intervention – 3 days a week, we had therapists at our house for 2 years. she was almost 18 months when she took her first step, but still no words – we learned sign language to help communicate. at age 3, she went directly into public pre-k, still non verbal. we had her tested for autism, results came back that she’s fine – just delayed. She failed her school hearing test that year & the school suggest we take her to the school for the deaf to have her evaluated – they said, oh no … she’s fine … she hears 100% clearly in both ears. She finally started talking around 3 & a half! the first time I heard her say mommy, I cried like a baby! 2nd & 3rd year in pre-k. .. same thing. she failed & they referred her back to the school for the deaf for another hearing test & results came back fine once again. She hasn’t taken the hearing test @ school yet this year, but I’m sure the same thing will happen. at any rate … my worries throughout the last almost 6 years have been bonkers. “will she ever crawl? will she ever walk? will we have a non-mobile, non-verbal child? how can I even handle that?!? will kids make fun of her, will she be bullied because she is different & learns different … will I fail as a parent bc I can’t seem to teach her, the way she needs to be taught (I still struggle with this daily) … at the end of the day tho … my daughter is happy & funny & has an amazing outlook on life – she’s not trying to grow up too fast, she’s not in competition with anyone in her classroom or on the playground … she knows she is her own person & she LOVES just simply being her!
My daughter had hearing problems as a child and I missed it. Mother of the year award! (Points at self). Fortunately it was just an ear wax problem (hard ear wax that never wanted to come out). She did have a slight speech impediment but we corrected that with speech therapy in middle school. I’m sure everything will be OK but it’s just a natural mom response to worry it’s worse than it usually is. I’ll be praying for you.
I meant to say we corrected it in elementary school. I didn’t let it go on THAT long 🙂
My college sophomore (d1 athlete so the dream is real) had true hearing issues as a child. When his adenoids and tonsils were removed (remember everything is connected) he was better and with speech therapy he learned to blossom. Heck. No one remembers this social talkative “stud” once couldn’t hear well. Lol. Hang in there. I rarely think about all the worry, but it was real!
My sister has a slight hearing problem in her left ear. She has had a hearing aid since kindergarten but hasn’t worn it in eighteen years and gets along completely fine. No special arrangements and no one ever notices (not even me and I’m her sister!)
My six year old had two sets of tubes in the first 18 months of her life. A few failed hearing tests, but once the tubes were in she passed. The tubes have fallen out, but her ears fill with fluid when she has a cold. She tells me when she can’t hear and says, “Mom, it sounds like I have earmuffs on.” The ENT told me that fluid build up in the ears is common in infancy and again around 5-6 years old. Our daughter is a text book case. She has not needed tubes again, but there is always the possibility of needing them again. If #7 is talking clearly and follows directions, she is probably ok.
My sister had tubes put in her ears when she was 5, nothing bad came of it. They fell out naturally a few years later. She was also on a swim team, and her biggest concern was what color ear plug she was going to wear with her suit that day.
Mine fails hers all the time! Took her to an audiologist, they told me that low level noises are a little hard for her to hear….so no more growling at her, only screaming from now on…but they basically said to forget about it. We go back to check, sometimes, if I remember. Figured after 4 years for failing the tests, at this point, if she can’t hear, she’ll let me know. Trust yourself.
What was the result??????
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????????????.Everything will be okay. Will wait and worry with you.It will be alright.????