Mild Hearing Loss and Increasing Agoraphobia

[WhiteyBaby]

Wondered if anyone might have some pearls of wisdom. Apologies this is long as hard to describe clearly!!

DD (3.6) was frightened by the music from an ice cream van some 18 months ago. She was playing in an enclosed yard and the van had driven around an estate road behind the flat and put his music on. It was obviously v loud and startled her. Since that time the sound of said van music would send her into a jibbering wreck, shivering, crying and glued to whichever adult she is with.

We have seen some improvement over recent months but the ice cream man is now definitely the bogey man and something to be terrified of. We have tried all the usual, buying ice creams, talking about it etc but not got over this fear.

In the last couple of months we have had a change from her being at nursery to being at home with a nanny and ds (1). She seems really happy with the new arrangement but is slowly becoming more agoraphobic and at the moment will do anything to avoid being in our garden particularly (different place to where the first incident happened). If she is at the park and there is loud music she will retreat to buggy (not even hers sometimes) and refuse to get out. She has a close circle of friends and will stop playing if something unsettles her even though they are all carrying on as usual.

She isnt really affected by the usual preschooler issues ie hand dryer etc.

We had hearing tests yesterday and these have come back with mild hearing loss. 25 - 30 dhb although I dont know if this is related. She seems to have glue ear and has tested flat line on the tymphanic (sp?) test twice now. We have had periods of "eh?" in the past but she speaks well for her age as far as I can tell.

I'm at a bit of a loss as to how to help her. In contrast DS is desperate to be outside at every opportunity and I end up stuck between her crying at the door not wanting to step outside and DS trying to eat the latest grub he has found in the mud/ jump off the step! Its so upsetting to see her struggling. I wondered if anyone has any ideas/ or experienced similar to give me some ideas?

Thanks for reading this far!!

bump....

Many children, even with earing loss, will be able to hear really high pitch sounds and it does make them very aggressive. Have you thought about getting her some ear phones that muffle the sound out? It might be worth the investment, to start with, for her to be able to play outside.

DS was terrified of hand dryers, and also buses, road work noises (diggers etc) and police-ambulances. He gradually with lots of reassurance got over it. He also had glue ear.

here's a pair, they are actually cheaper than I thought.

I have seen kids with these at the olympics last week, and at concerts, music in the park, etc.

www.amazon.co.uk/Peltor-h510AK-442-GB-Children-muffs-Units/dp/B000O31HOQ/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1345141754&sr=8-1

nottiger thanks so much for the response and the link. It may well be worth a go as she had a particularly bad session yesterday eve when I got back from home. It almost made me cry seeing her so upset . I think it's probably an emotional issue rather than hearing but offering these might give her some confidence until she grows out of it. She says she is scared she might hear the ice cream van so may like the idea these will protect her. Thanks.

What about going back one step and getting a back-pack to carry her in so that she has the physical contact of an adult when she's outside? not what you would normally want to do but it might help her feel secure?
I also thought about going to forests or the proper countryside where sounds are less sharp and no ice cream vans lurk around? If she has fun outdoors she might be more inclined to want to go?

olive I had to chuckle she is a rather sturdy child and heading towards 16kgs. No way I could carry her for long. Think the idea about fun outside is a great one though. Fingers crossed the weekends sunshine gives us lots of chance to have fun. Thanks again