dd 4 told today she as high frequency hearing loss anyone know anything about this?

[trace2]

she failed two hearing tests at school sent to clinic did loads of test went in to see doctor and told she as high frequency hearing in both ears and consistent with each other, now we have to wait a few weeks to see some one else am at my wits end can any one shed any light on this?

For us tracey they're going to retest prior to seeing the ENT doctor (all on the same day).

My DS is also tired all the time, he sleeps well (thanks god!! cos DD doesnt!!) and still naps in the afternoon, but for the rest of the time he never stops!! but he always looks knackered! and has horrid bags under his eyes. He also still slathers alot, he is constantly soaked.

I keep thinking back, i recon he has had the problem since he was about 12mths old, he babbled as normal but he didnt really move on from that, til he was close to 2YO, we just but it down to him being a boy .

bet that's what they did with dd had 3 different tests! dd dont sleep but never as same as ds but melatonin worked a bit with ds and they tried dd on it but didn't work at all but her tiredness is much worse please join ncds they are great as i found out last night:) if you want to face book me to chat look for tracy pearson

trace - yes I speak perfectly normally now (but before I got my hearing aids, aged about 3, only my mother could understand me because my speech was very distorted).

a good audiologist will be able to show you a chart which shows where all the different speech sounds (for each letter in the alphabet) lie on a frequency/volume grid, and how that compares with the chart of your DD's hearing loss.

Most speech sounds (particularly the consonants) are quite high-frequency.
So your DD can probably (like me without my hearing aids) only hears the vowel sounds of words.

In English, you need the consonants to differentiate between words (too many words have much the same vowel sounds - e.g. boat, goat, note, dote, wrote, moat, stoat, quote etc. etc. all have the same essential vowel sound and you need to hear the consonants to work out which word is being said.)

Hearing aids will allow her to hear the consonants as well. Her speech will probably transform within months of having the right hearing aids. Mine did.

Also, my behaviour pre-hearing aids was appalling - constant tantrums, stubbornness, temper and frustration. I still (in my 40s) have occasional nightmares where I am speaking and no-one understands me, which I think is a remnant from how I must have felt as a toddler. You will be very relieved to hear that my behaviour became perfectly normal once I could communicate (when I had my hearing aids).

It is exhausting having to concentrate so hard all the time on speech. I think people who move to a foreign country where they don't speak the language very well also experience this (to a lesser degree). Hearing aids really will make a world of difference to your DD. Make sure that she has a good audiologist - hearing aids need to be adjusted precisely to the individual.

In my thirties, after 3 decades of NHS audiologists, I went private and it has been a fantastic (if incredibly expensive) experience. But it depends hugely on how good your NHS audiology service is - I am sure some are very good, but I was unlucky in my particular area, I think.

'can probably only hear' not 'can probably only hears..' Can't blame that on my hearing!

Sent you a PM Trace, i will look at the ncds website when the monsters are in bed later, just had a quick look now, i see they have a forum which looks interesting .

Its strange im happy because it means DS's problems could all be down to this and not anything more sinister iyswim, but im just so cross that i had to push for the hearing test in the first place!! in our area they are meant to refer for a hearing test at the same time as doing a salt referral. Some how this got missed with my DS, it was only when i he was referred to the child development centre (neuro disability) that i thought, he hasnt even had a hearing test!!

Just a thought talking of nhs vs private, private are not insured etc to see paediatrics.
If u are not happy with your local audiology dept ask to go else where.

wolvesarejustoldendaydogs i am so glad you got sorted i was crying reading your post . and you made me see things more clearly dd word sound like all the same and they didn't explain how it would or does effect her( but i did go blank) when they said its not glue ear its hearing impairment or some thing! dd is struggling with phonics and so this could be the reason? she knows single letters but can not put two together like i t it if you know what i mean?

it was the audiologist we saw yesterday she was trying to help but like i said i went blank:( they now sending us to ent whys that?

3cutedarlings i asked for you thanks on facebook.

Littlemissimpatient i will keep that in mind thank you xx

I also want to add that before dd2 was diagnosed (diagnosed late because "she's just a late talker" ) her behaviour was terrible. Nursery were considering statementing at the time. By the time she started reception in sept, having had aids since march, she was a different child. Still was still prone to getting very tired (still is) but the temper and frustration had improved because her ability to communicate had improved.

Dd always had clear speech but few words and what she did say was hard to understand due to lack of vocabulary and because she made up her own language.

She also stuggled with phonics and putting letters together. She was behind with reading until the end of Year 1. Now, at 6.8, she has the reading level of a 9yr old [super proud emoticon].

ENT goes hand in hand with audiology, it's part of the process.

One thing I stumbled upon that no-one told me (pre my MN days): hearing impaired means eligible for DLA. Use the very helpful NDCS guide.

kissingfrogs what would i do with mumsnet been here since 2005 lol, and again thank you so much every one makes me feel so much better just really want that appointment with ENT! dd as a full statement already she is in full time education now, but we could no understand as she seems a bright child but struggling to learn:( now we may know why.

dd is again already getting dla for her illness's but i will send them a review after her ENT appointment .

Have just seen this. It's horrible waiting but that moment when you get told, I'm not surprised you went blank. I got dd referred to the salt and in my area you have to have a hearing test before you see them so I thought yeah we'll go and then once that's out of tge way....famous last words! I was so shocked i coukd have fallen off my chair. They thought it was glue ear, in fact she was certain but whilst waiting for tge ENT appt to come through dd has been to tge allergy clinic for an unrelated reason and was instantly diagnosed with rhinitis. So with her no taking meds she is sleeping so much better, eating better, talking better and is a different child in so many ways. It's certainly not resolved yet but I am so thankful I pushed for both the referrals. Id been meaning to do it for a while but with her starting school in sept thought I'd better gret on with it. The main thing just like yours is tgat it is now being looked at.

trace, it will all get much, much better. I know it seems really stressful and hard now, but you are on the verge of huge improvements.

I think that audiologists are there to assess the hearing loss and fit the right hearing aids. ENT checks the health of the ear (and nose and throat) and would be the ones to diagnose the reason for your DD's hearing loss.

I am certain that is the reason your DD is struggling with phonics - because she can't hear the sounds clearly. My 4yo DS is learning phonics at the moment (he has no hearing problems) and sometimes I struggle when helping him because I'm not sure if the sound he's said is 'd' or 'p' or 'b'. He's usually right!

Hearing aids will help your DD distinguish sounds. But I would think that she might benefit from a more visual way of learning to read. I learned to read by whole word recognition. It will be a similar situation when she comes to learn foreign languages - the emphasis these days is very much on learning through listening - but that's not a good way for a person with a hearing loss to learn - I usually need to know how a word is spelt so I can visualise it, before I can 'recognise' it when I hear it.

Don't be scared. It's great you've caught this so early, and with the right support from you and others, your DD will flourish.

HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans its so surprising what can cause problems and glad your dd is getting sorted! so is your dd still having hearing problems too?

wolvesarejustoldendaydogs i wrote a long reply back but our internet went and its aall been lost any you have helped me understand so much am so glad you replied to me thank you , i have the rang the place where she had it done on wed told them am struggling understanding, the lady was very nice got dd notes out to read and told me her appointment is 17th may so quiet a wait she then went on to tell me dd as high frequency hearing impairment in both ears so i asked what degree she wouldn't tell me but did tell me she will get an audiologists but will be next week some time and she will send out the graph also she showed me.

wolves can I ask you a few questions please? Can you remember if you had any difficulties with language as you grew up, such as taking things literally and problems generalising, or with abstracts such as understanding time. Do you find some people very hard to hear, and do you ever hear the beginning and end of a sentence but miss the middle? Also, does your hearing ever fluctuate?
I'm asking because my dd has the above. I'm told it is not all characteristic of her level of hearing loss (mild-mod), it's a puzzle really. It is suspected that she has additional difficulties - SLI/HFA/APD, even ABC...(cynical me).
Hope you don't mind me asking, would like to get your perspective on what it's like being hearing impaired.

Hearing is defo not fully resolved yet. U still feel so guilty when I think of all those times I thought she was ignoring me cause she didn't want to do as she was told, that when I thought her clumsiness was down to being silly, that I got so mad inside because she wouldn't sleep properly

Funnily enough I had ENT referrals as a small child due to hearing problems, mine was quickly resolved. Had a hole in my ear drum had my adinoids removed. Can still remember the hearing tests.

I just keep focusing on fri 4th may, her ENT appt, I don't want her to have grommets or her adinoids out and am hoping this medicatin will be shown to have done the trick (fingers crossed but knows her hearing still isn't completely right)

kissingfrogs your dd sounds a little like my ds 9 year old he as asd and no hearing problems but you can have both issues, hope you dont mind me saying but it looks like you already thinking this:(

HateBeingCantDoUpMyJeans yes i feel so guilty too, lets hope she gets sorted on the 4th may please come back and tell me or send me a pm .

Will do, hopefully you'll have some goods news too.

trace will reply to you properly later or tomorrow when i get a chance...

sorry, meant i will reply to kissing - here goes

No, no difficulties with taking things literally, or generalising, or abstracts. I believe those things can be difficult for deaf children who have not been exposed to enough contextual information (e.g. earlier this century/late last century in deaf schools where profoundly deaf children were not allowed to use sign language and therefore had very limited language) - but don't think that is your daughter's situation (especially if she is a prolific and advanced reader which it sounds like she is!)

yes, yes to some people being very hard to hear. For me, it's women with high breathy voices, anyone with an unfamiliar accent, or those people who swallow their words/don't move their lips much. Most children born with a hearing impairment naturally lip-read to some extent, so people with beards or who cover their mouths a lot while talking are difficult too.

Missing parts of a sentence is often a problem. In English some of the crucial contextual words in a sentence are also the short, quick ones which people tend to mumble, which is a problem.

For example:-

DH: 'mhmm to the shop mhhmm get butter.'

That could be:
"I'll go to the shop and get butter'
or 'Can you go to the shop and get butter;
or 'I went to the shop and couldn't get butter'
etc etc.

So, I've heard most of the sentence, but I don't know whether I want to answer 'Okay', or 'No' or 'Oh dear'... Just missing a couple of words means you lose the gist.

The worst thing you as the hearing person could do in that situation if the partially-deaf person says 'What?' is look annoyed and say in a loud, exaggerated voice 'BUTTER! ALRIGHT?'

The look of annoyance creates stress which makes understanding a bit harder. And repeating just one word doesn't help the partially-deaf person get the gist - that's probably the word they already got, anyway. Best thing is just to repeat the sentence in a normal voice, or even better, rephrase it slightly - e.g' 'There wasn't any butter in the corner shop when I popped in.'

My hearing doesn't physically fluctuate, but of course my ability to pay attention does, which has the same effect - so if I'm tired or stressed, my brain won't be able to decipher quite as much. That was more marked in childhood I think (children have less reserves to draw on, perhaps).

Thanks wolves. Yes, those difficulties are more usually experienced by severe-profoundly deaf children, which makes it all the more perplexing as to why dd is like she is. Ditto with ASD like trace says (and no I certainly don't mind you saying so Trace).
Very useful to read your post wolves. It does help to hear the experience of someone who has grown up with hearing loss. Thank you.

Just wanted to say thank you really for this very reassuring thread. My DD is 7 and I was told last week that she needs to be referred to have hearing aids fitted. I was shocked / horrified / sad / angry all mixed up together and reading all of this has helped me to feel much calmer and more accepting. It seems probable that her hearing was irreparably damaged during an illness two years ago, but we have only recently had the problem diagnosed, mainly because her speech and vocabulary are great and she copes fantastically at school so there were no red flags to any problem. I was wondering whether she really needed the hearing aids at all, but as the audiologist pointed out the tension that she must be under and the exhaustion she must suffer to be keeping up to the level that she does with the extent of her hearing loss must be huge, so I'm hoping that hearing aids will make life much easier for her. I think it has also been very detrimental to her ability to make friends. Although she has friends at school she can only cope on a one to one basis, which rules her out of playing in groups, and she hates being in the playground as she can't work out what anyone is saying (it becomes a wall of indistinguishable noise), so I'm really hoping that these problems will be helped by hearing aids. I'm still not exactly reconciled to it, but thankfully she seems unconcerned and even excited at the prospect of getting the hearing aids.

kissing frogs sorry again your dd going through all this life is never easy with any children but more difficult when there is a problem:(

wolves glad you came on to this thread you have helped so many understand more thank you again. xx

nelly so your dd going through the same! have they said what kind of hearing and so on yet? or are you like me i didn't ask as i was shocked ? i think we should do a thread for hearing troubles anyone agree?

we have been to two partys over the weekend and she as slept most day today wonder if its any thing to do with this hearing problem?

Parties were tough for my dd2 - all that noise. Just like the playground and the dining hall are too noisy. Dd says that when other children are shouting and screaming she can't understand them. I'd imagine it would be very tiring to make sense of it all.

Yes it's not always easy when your children have a problem. I have to say though that I'm far more concerned about dd1 who is behind in school (used to have absence epilepsy but outgrew it, needs to catch up) than dd2 who "officially" has a disability. All that coping and compensating she did and still does has made dd2 a determined, smart, tough little cookie - and that's no bad thing!

Feel a bit rude for talking about my own stuff without enquiring about everyone else

Nelly I do hope your dd finds her aids make a positive difference.
My jeans, you must keep us updated about ENT, roll on the 4th.
Trace, I'd certainly back your idea for a HI thread - I think you've just started it right here! Hope wolves (love the full name by the way!) will stay on board. And cute darlings, myjeans and the others.

All agreed here YES WE NEED A THREAD!! in a dash gotta go get DS from pre school.

Ive rang the doctor we saw last Monday and she's going to call me back later today hopefully. I want to try and get them to rush the appointment to ENT through.

We have soooo many professional involved with DS atm (early yrs inlcution, SALT, ASD teaching support, Development clinic, consultant pead!!! there are more too ) and he has 1 to 1 support at nursery to.

It all adds up now everything ive read about children with hearing loss is my DS down to a T!! i dont really like making a pain of myself but 8 weeks just seem like decade away when we have so many problems.