Please or to access all these features

Add post

Watch this thread

Save thread

Start a new thread

Flip thread

Hide thread

My feed

Active Unanswered threads

Getting started FAQ's

Unanswered threads Acronyms Talk guidelines

Hide shortcut buttons

Talk

Children's health

Mumsnet doesn't verify the qualifications of users. If you have medical concerns, please consult a healthcare professional.

Flip

Original poster

Hearing loss in 3 yo, feel like terrible parent

17 replies

Phoenixwoman · 14/04/2014 08:44

Gp appointment booked for dd. I've had a feeling for a while she was struggling to hear but others have said it was her age, temperament etc... Anyway it's now become apparent she's struggling and now I'm panicking about what it could be. I think it may be glue ear due to enlarged adenoids but this has been going on over six months :(

Any advice or experience would be appreciated.

OP posts:

Are your children’s vaccines up to date?

Set a reminder

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 14/04/2014 10:50

Gp says there's a wax build up in one ear but she failed the test in both ears. No sign of glue ear and now worrying :(

OP posts:

LastingLight · 14/04/2014 11:39

You are not a bad mom. You identified a problem and you're doing something about it! Are you going to see an ENT? If it helps you feel any better, our dd is completely deaf in one ear (possibly from birth) and we only realised it when she was 5. How old is your dd?

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 14/04/2014 11:46

She's nearly 4. All I know is we are being referred for a hearing test. Thanks for the support.

OP posts:

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 15/04/2014 10:03

Bumping for some advice/experience today. I've googled and can't find anything that would be relevant to our situation such as a degenerative disorder, ototoxic drugs, meningitis etc... Sometimes wish google didn't exist, it never seems to make me feel any better.

OP posts:

LastingLight · 15/04/2014 16:25

Stop googling. There are different kinds of hearing loss and different reasons why it occurs. Our dd has cytomegalovirus - never in a million years of googling would we have picked up on that one. Then once we were told what it was we started googling and scared ourselves silly, unnecessarily as it turned out. Hope you get an appointment for a hearing test soon.

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 16/04/2014 13:06

I've been adding a drop of olive oil to both sides each night and giving them a little massage. However, if anything her hearing is getting worse. Is there anything else I can do?

OP posts:

Lagoonablue · 16/04/2014 13:09

Leave it until you get a diagnosis would be my advice.

Floralnomad · 16/04/2014 13:20

Stop beating yourself up its not your fault and it's not the end of the world . My DS was diagnosed with moderate hearing loss in both ears at 6 ( after routine screening) ,we had no idea and he had taught himself to lip read and everything . He wore hearing aids until he was 11 ,when he decided he didn't need them and has been very successful academically .

YouAreMyRain · 16/04/2014 13:26

You are doing all you can. The issue has been recognised now and you will get plenty of professional advice and support. The NDCS has lots of advice if you check out their website. (I realise that the word "deaf" in their name is scary but it applies to all levels of hearing loss)

LaTrucha · 16/04/2014 13:27

I don't know why you think you're a bad mother at all. My daughter struggles at school and I was very relieved to find out that it is at least in part due to a temporary hearing problem. I was even more relieved to hear she has not inherited, as yet, my permanent hearing impairment.

In my opinion deafness is one of the disabilities most hard to see, even for the person who has trouble hearing. I can see signs of it in plenty of adults who have no idea that they have difficulties hearing, simply because I know what people do when they can't hear properly. It is something that you can go a long way to adapt to without going to the GP so it goes unnoticed. I did it myself for 8 years.

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 16/04/2014 13:41

Thank you for the reassurance and positive stories. I know I'm jumping the gun as we don't have a diagnosis or even a detailed hearing test yet. I guess I feel guilty as she's been branded a bit of a naughty child whose loud and in your face and ignores instructions.

OP posts:

SirChenjin · 16/04/2014 13:44

Please try to stop worrying until you have the diagnosis - it could be a million and one things

Fwiw I'm deaf in one ear as a result of meningitis when I was 18 months old - my parents didn't realise until I was about 4, and it hasn't affected me in any way at all. I hadn't people making an issue of it when I was little as it wasn't an issue for me iykwim, so just keep things low key at the moment and then work with what you get from audiology.

SirChenjin · 16/04/2014 13:45

hated not hadn't

LastingLight · 16/04/2014 18:28

Please don't pour anything into her ears unless instructed to do so by a doctor.

Original poster

Phoenixwoman · 16/04/2014 23:25

It was recommended by the gp to soften any wax. Just a drop in each ear. Do you think we should stop?

OP posts:

LastingLight · 17/04/2014 05:39

Oh ok. In that case I wouldn't worry..

chocolatecakeystuff · 17/04/2014 23:16

Olive oil is known to help with Wax - was it the GP that said there was no sign of glue ear? Realisticly they wouldn't be able to tell without doing the correct pressure tests, especially if there's lots of wax in there that could even be the cause of the loss, try not to worry, even if your DD does have a hearing problem it's not as awful as you think - I didn't pick up DD was deaf until she was 5! she lip reads & talks so well now you wouldn't even know! infact she actively refuses to wear her hearing aids!

Flip