We had the auditory brain stem response test today. First the doctor checked for fluid in his ears. He did not have fluid but he had a lot of wax. They had to suck that out and he screamed bloody murder. Poor guy. Then we had the hearing test. Nicholas did not hear anything. The test only goes up to 85 decibels and there was no response at that level. So that means he has severe to profound hearing loss. Basically he is deaf. Now we can go to a specialist for an evaluation about a cochlear implant. Hopefully he will be a good candidate for that and that is what we are going to try to do. They said that he should hear on a normal level if he can get an implant. The other option is for him to communicate by sign language. There is a doctor in Columbia who does the implant but Nicholas will have to be at least a year old. They also might try hearing aides first but since he didn't respond to the test today they probably won't work.
I'm sorry to hear about his hearing. At least now you can start some plan of action. There are several micro-preemie moms (blogs) with babies/kids that got the implants and let me tell you...well worth it! Hearing aids are a pain in the butt! Kenny wont keep his in for nothing and that is having a negative impact on his speach and learning. Good luck!
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