Results from Alex's Hearing Test

Today was the big day.  We took Alex to the Children's Hospital at the University of Minnesota for an Auditory Branstem Response (ABR) test to determine whether or not she has any hearing loss.  For this test, she had to be heavily sedated so that the equipment could accurately pick up her brain's response to auditory stimulus.  We arrived at 8:00 a.m. (much thanks to Roger & Tony for driving the big kids to school today!) for our 9:00 test.

We got our own room, and at first, Alex was just given lots of toys and attention. 


Then, the nurse tried to listen to her heart with a stethoscope.  Alex was very suspicious of this nurse from the start, and did not like the stethoscope.  First, she just grabbed it and threw it at the nurse.  On the second try, she threw it while screaming what sounded like, "NO!"  The third try infuriated her, and she stared the nurse down while screaming, "AAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGHHHH!"  Alex won that round.  The nurse gave her her own stethoscope to play with and let the anesthesiologist take her vitals instead.  For some reason, that was fine with Alex.


Around 8:45, the nurse administered the anesthesia by suppository.  Most children are asleep within 5 minutes, but not our Alex!  She is strong, and hated the feeling of the anesthesia, so she fought valiantly.  Kicking, screaming, clawing and writhing ensued for the next 15 minutes until she finally succumbed in my arms.

Once she was asleep, the anesthesiologist ran a few short tests before the ABR.  First, she administered an Otoacoustic Emissions (OAE) test, which is the same test that Alex has consistently failed.  Once again, her left ear passed and her right ear failed.  Then, she ran a tympanogram, which tests whether or not the eardrum is vibrating.  If the tympanogram fails, the OAE will definitely fail as well.  Alex's failed.  This means that there is likely something blocking her eardrum from vibrating, although the pediatrician has looked in her ears at every appointment and has confirmed that the canals & eardrums are clear and healthy.  It is possible that there is fluid behind the eardrum causing pressure which doesn't allow the eardrum to move.  The audiologist recommended that we visit an Ear, Nose & Throat (ENT) specialist. 


She then hooked up the wires for the ABR, including electrodes placed on Alex's forehead and behind each ear.  This test lasted for 30 minutes, and consisted of tones being played through earbuds inserted in Alex's ears.  She played 3 different pitches in each ear (separately), starting off very loud, and gradually getting softer.  The test measures the brain's response and the goal is to determine at what volume the brain stops registering the sound.  It was very unnerving to watch the audiologist do her work.  Her brow kept creasing and she would make notes, which we interpreted as bad news.  When she was done with the ABR, she used an otoscope to look in Alex's right ear to see if she could determine the cause of the failed tympanogram.  Unfortunately, that stimulus woke Alex up from her anesthesia-induced nap, so she wasn't able to see much.


Jeff and I were on edge, expecting the worst.  Thankfully, the audiologist was able to give us the results of the ABR immediately, and the result is EXCELLENT!  Alex's hearing is normal in both ears!  I don't fully understand how her hearing can be normal if her eardum doesn't vibrate, but the audiologist said that the brainstem was able to compensate somehow.

Our next step is to see the ENT specialist, but since her brainstem is compensating and there will be no impact on the development of speech and language, there is no hurry.

Thanks to all who sent prayers and positive thoughts our way today - they sure worked!


Here she is after the test, when she was finally allowed to eat!  (No food or drink after 8pm last night -- she was a hungry girl by the time we were able to give her this bottle at 10:30!)