Possible Hearing Problems for My 16 Month Old... Sorry It's a Little Long Winded

Call your insurance provider and tell them your son needs to see an ENT doc. This doc will be able to set you on the right path. My grandkids are on state assistance and they get full coverage for things like this.

My grandson in foster care was found to be deaf. He didn't even respond to a bass drum being banged by his head.

The ENT decided to put tubes in to see if it would help. Sometimes the ears are not draining right and they can't convey the sound wave correctly.

When the doc was inside the ear during the surgery he found debris from ear infections that the antibiotics had never healed. He cleaned out the ear canals and when my little grandson woke up he could hear, totally freaked him out, but he could hear. It was really wonderful.

Bypass the docs and go directly to the ENT, some are called ORL instead but they both do Eyes, Ears, Noses, and Throats.

I have been in this boat at one time. My DS, who is now 5, has been failing hearing tests since he was born. He failed in the hospital and we were referred to our local Child Development services. They came to our home and again did some screening tests. They couldn't get him to pass there so then we were referred to an audiologist. After seeing the audiologist we determined that there was nothing physically wrong with his ear (fluid in them or such) and were ready to get hearing aids at 6 months old. We saw an ENT at this point to make sure that there weren't any medical problems or abnormalities that would make using a hearing aid not work. I think that either way you are starting on the path to getting him the help that he needs. If you don't want to wait for that you could check into an ENT, but without insurance that can get pretty expensive. They will check his ears to make sure that there isn't fluid in them, if there is they may want to put tubes in to drain that and sometimes that makes a world of difference. Sometimes there isn't anything wrong (like with my son) and they need to do hearing tests. They won't have him, because of his age, do the test like we think where they raise their hand when they hear the beep. At this age they do a test called an OAE in which they put a sensor into his ear and play some tones and the computer scores it. Or they may do an ABR which they put sensors on his head and then microphones in his ears. They play a sound and the computer "reads" what he is responding too. This one they would need him asleep and at his age may require sedation. The ABR probably won't be done unless absolutely necessary....we had 2 done because we started this process at the ripe old age of birth! Good luck to you and I hope things go well. We are finally starting to get some answers now that our little guy is 5.
J.---SAHM of 7

Call your insurance compny for ckarification. My ped referred my son to an audiologist for a hraring test but the insuance denied the referral. They would only aprove a referal to an ENT. After a physical exam of his ears the ENT had an audiologist on his staff do the hearing test.

Yes, I used to work for an early childhood development program. They will be able to help you, but it sounds like you son needs to at least see an audiologist.

I agree with the comments that say you should see an ENT. We've been to midwest ENT, but I'm sure there are plenty that have audiologists on staff. See the doctor first, so you have a good ear exam. Then they will have the audiologist on staff do a hearing test. If the doc orders the test (which he will) it should be covered. Plus, you will get your questions answered instead of having some eval that raises more questions and doesn't really answer anything. The state thing that comes to your home is great for services (early intervention) but I don't think they are really good at diagnosing anything. Good luck.

It may be that the doctor's office already realizes that your son has a significant hearing loss and has referred him to what is called a zero to three program or early intervention; however, it sure would have been nice if they had explained that to you. Good luck. I am more familiar with programs for the blind and visually impaired as this has been my profession for almost 40 years, but I also know these programs exist for other disabling conditions as well.