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Original poster

oh god, spent the morning at the hospital, then dd3 failed her newborn hearing check and I burst into tears

104 replies

Enid · 16/05/2006 14:06

now the health visitor is 'concerned' about me and coming to check on me next week.

I am tired and very upset about dd3's hearing test - surely a blub is allowed?

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morningpaper · 16/05/2006 20:47

"Just to avoid her left ear" ??

What, at all those newborn Board Meetings she attends?

Weirdo

WideWebWitch · 16/05/2006 20:50

Sorry stupid hv upset you enid, you are not mad, SHE is. ffs. Dh and all of us are right, definitely.

SoupDragon · 16/05/2006 20:53

When I took BabyDragon in for hers, the audiology man said "these don't always work first time. Lots of babys "fail".

Give that she can hear a mental sigh from 2 rooms away as I sit down with a hot cup of coffee, I wasn't concerned about her hearing.

And blubbing is fine. You're tired, you're hormonal and someone's spent the day mucking about with your precious newborn.

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WestCountryLass · 16/05/2006 21:05

My DD failed her hearing test too, she had loads of fluid in her ears and just has really waxy ears so the earpeice things get getting gunked up and then she was snoring and it kept picking up on her breathing. We had 2 retests and then had the electrodes on head, you are bound to worry but honestly it is not that bad. It is not bad at all infact and at least you get a concrete answer. Of course you are allowed a blub, sounds like it was the final straw and all that.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 16/05/2006 21:23

Yes, i understand that a huge problem with the newborn tests is that they are, in fact, newborn. Therefore, they still have a good amount of fluid etc in their ear canal and so its likely that the audiologist wont get a reading.

It seems like such a daft pointless exercise. Surely someone in the know can tell me what the point is?

Enid, why do you want to convince hv that you dont have PND? Have I missed something?

manitz · 16/05/2006 21:24

sorry haven['t read all thread but dd2 failed every one of those tests with electrodes strapped to her. apparently had glue ear. final one was at about 3 months and her and dd1 were 'conversing' as woman testing asked if i was worried. I got her to stick the electrodes on dd1 - she has it too. they are both developing fine so i rejected offers of gromits or antibiotics.

dd and I like either to cry or to wee in every consultants office we visit.

cod · 16/05/2006 21:25

lol at soupys metal sigh
thats cos you are a menalist

manitz · 16/05/2006 21:37

VVV i'm not in the know but our final hearing consultant said that the govt had committed to testing every newborn in a white paper and that they didn't have enough resources and sounded tired and frustrated in the face of bureacracy.

Fair enough it might pick up probs but i had 3or 4 visits to hosp with a baby and 2 yr old (2 buses taking 1.5hrs) before dd2 was 6 months. I was having supply (bmilk) issues and I was not concerned about her hearing - except for the results of the tests - all i found was that although the baby could emulate older siblings sounds and seemed fine to me, I was suddenly made to feel scared and wasn't until final visit they told me it was glue ear which 'goes away of its own accord' anyway.

Original poster
Enid · 17/05/2006 07:48

vvvq hv is concerned about me as i blubbed

she said was i just tired or was it 'something more'

I laughed through tears and said 'I am knackered and you have just told me that my dd3 may be deaf in one ear what do you expect'

she filled in a form about me and told me she was coming next week to see how I was

I know picking up PND is good but tbh at 3 weeks post partum every woman is a bit hormonal and weepy surely

OP posts:
Marne · 17/05/2006 08:43

Poor you Enid, i would of blubed, I hate my HV, maybe i have the same one as you as you only live up the road from me.

Jimjamskeepingoffvaxthreads · 17/05/2006 08:52

I think its a new thing isn't it, one of their targets or whatever seems to be picking up PND. They have those funny questionnaires to fill in now don't they? My HV has always made extra visits to me and asked me about depression and coping a lot because of ds1. I always got the impression she rather thought I should be depressed and couldn't understand why I wasn't :o I do think its good that they attempt to identify those "at risk" and take extra care. The extra visits and honest chats etc have meant that I've always been confident in saying to my HV, if I have concerns about ds3 I am bringing him to youi at 18 months and expect to be referred on. Surely its good that they keep an eye?

Marina · 17/05/2006 08:56

I was stalked by mine too enid but at least she was nice about it.
When is dh back? Has that vile man stopped chucking maize around in next door's field?

NotAnOtter · 17/05/2006 09:00

ds failed his and i have sice not gone to recalls tbh its too much being yaked to another clinic to faff about with a baby whose hearing is most probably fine anyway! dont worry enid the hv's are always looking earnestly ar me but when i actually DO need help ....no one notices!

Jimjamskeepingoffvaxthreads · 17/05/2006 09:01

oh just read whole thread. She sounds a bit vicious. Think it is part of the job description now to follow up tearful mothers though- does appear to be some sort of new target. Just smile sweetly and say you're fine and she'll disappear.

schneebly · 17/05/2006 09:15

HV sounds like a total twunt! Just tell the silly bint that you have every bloody right to be emotional with a 3 week old baby and |DH away let alone the hearing test business! FWIW my nephew failed several hearing tests and he is now 4 with no hearing probs whatsoever. (((hug)))

CristinaTheAstonishing · 17/05/2006 09:34

The newborn hearing screening test should be done easily and painlessly. One of the prerequisites of screening tests is that they are easy to do and considered acceptable by parents. I think your HV didn't know how to do it properly. In fact I'm a bit surprised it was a HV doing it.

The RNID and NDCS have campaigned for many years for the introduction of the test. About a quarter of congenitally deaf children in the UK are not diagnosed till after 3. Children with hearing loss have a much better outcome if it's diagnosed early and intervention (hearing aids, sign language etc) is started early.

My DS was diagnosed at 8 months. Frankly, I'm glad it wasn't at birth as he was our first and I think I'd have found it more difficult to come to terms with it. Eight months wasn't too late.

Good luck with the next test for your DD. It's most likely there's nothing to it (esp if she passed in one ear, unilateral hearing losses are rarer, probably the other had glue ear or some vernix as she's still a new baby).

Original poster
Enid · 17/05/2006 11:19

maybe they have targets

so she made me cry deliberately

OP posts:
Elibean · 17/05/2006 17:29

I think they all have bees in their bonnets about something or other, if not actual targets. My otherwise nice one nearly had a blue fit when I started giving dd babyrice before six months - I thoughts she was going to report me to the solids police. It was her current 'thing'.
Maybe yours has a thing about crying, or ears...

honeybunny · 17/05/2006 19:31

Blimey Enid... all sounds a bit crap to me. Poor you!
I had a hv in London whose first qu to me was always.... "so, are you depressed" I was surprised it wasnt followed by a "yet" at times. Sounds like a highly overzealous hv trying too damn hard and finding things that arent there just cos she went on a course at the w/e about it and blubbing was "a sign"!!! Tell hre to naf off, silly woman. dd3 is gorgeous and just spent the last 8.5mo in fluid, so what if she still has a bit in her ear to affect her hearing at that precise point of testing on top of a snuffly cold. It wont affect her in the long term and like dh says get it retested if down the line you feel she's not reacting to sound normally. Did she jump at noises in utero? I know dd did, especially if I was in the bath and dds1 or 2 banged the side of the bath.
Try not to stress too much, afterall dd1 and 2 werent tested and they have been fine. cyber hugs heading your way from us.

hub2dee · 17/05/2006 20:06

If it helps, E, the 'electrodes on the head' jobby is really very quick and they use special sticky things that appear very gentle and come off very easily. dd had this as she was in special care for a few days...

VeniVidiVickiQV · 18/05/2006 10:34

Its only quick if the baby is asleep/motionless Hub.

That is why i spent over 2 hours having the 3rd, more detailed test done with DS. I honestly, honestly dont think its a necessary excercise.

hub2dee · 18/05/2006 11:19

tbh vvvvvvv, I thought the test required the baby to be asleep IYSWIM. I imagine it would be fairly hard to get a decent result off a baby who was moving / making noise / reacting to noise etc.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 18/05/2006 11:33

Well yes hub, thats exactly my point hub.

Its okay if you have a lovely, sleepy baby that goes to sleep the same time every day. Unfortunately, a lot of babies dont run by the clock, and some, like my DS, just never liked to sleep.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 18/05/2006 11:35

Well, thats exactly my point hub.

Its fine if you have sleepy baby, or if you have a baby that goes to sleep regular as clockwork.

IME though in a newborn, thats unusual and with my DS - he certainly didnt sleep much at all during the day (or night). So, it was very fraught trying to get him to sleep in an unusual place, with bright lights with things stuck to his head.

VeniVidiVickiQV · 18/05/2006 11:36

oh grr at MN running slowly.