Audiologist appointment

[Elzmay]

Hi
my daughter failed her hearing test in reception and was referred to the audiologist at our local hospital and had an appointment in September. I just received the follow up letter on Saturday stating she had failed the test in her left ear on 500hz/30db- her ears were clear no glue ear etc. finally got her next appointment I’m just wondering if anyone has been in a similar situation and can help me understand what this means for her. Thanks.

Once they know the extent of the hearing loss in her left ear they will decide on hearing aids. You could call them to ask what to expect at the next appointment.

OK i'm not an expert, but I have a deaf child so can maybe offer a little bit of insight.
30db is a mild loss and I presume her right ear is fine. If her speech is OK and you haven't noticed the loss, liklihood is it is having limited impact.
Most likely you will have multiple more appointments to track it, and they can couple of tests to determine which part of the ear is causing the loss.
Important to find out is whether they think it will deteriorate further or stay stable because that will influence your next steps in terms of whether she needs hearing aid for example.
I'm attaching a picture to give you an example of what she can and can't hear - she can't hear leaves rustling or whisper but she can her louder noises.

Thank you for your replies. There are some slight pronunciation issues; she still says t for c’s, and there are a few other sounds she doesn't pronounce properly. I'm also worried about the school environment as it is open plan, lots of classes in one room. Hopefully she gets the support she needs.

Hi there,

Mother of deaf child here. If that is the only ear/frequency where there is a loss I don't think there should be too much to worry about at the moment. 500hz is low frequency and is not in the higher speech frequencies of 2000-4000hz and 30db is classified as a mild loss, so really it shouldn't be affecting her speech. They may want to do further testing, sometimes genetic testing to get to the bottom of what's going on. Sometimes deafness can have a later onset and can be progressive, so they'd want to know in order to intercede. I would say, even if she does have a progressive deafness there are many ways for deaf children to access sound, hearing aids/cochlear implants are of a much higher quality than they used to be. It can also be nice to learn sign language together, celebrate her uniqueness and deaf identity.

I understand the worry, ten years ago I was in shock at my daughter's diagnosis and so worried for the future but there are supports for deaf children. Check out NDCS for information!

Good luck!

Also, if it is deemed necessary, your daughter will be assigned a Teacher of the Deaf to liaise with the school and advise any necessary adjustments that are needed