Ear tubes, set 1

I cannot believe that I didn't post here about Fiona's ear tube surgery back in Nov. I better do it now, as there is more to come on the ENT front and it will only make sense that way. Here is the original post about her first hearing test, which she passed, but it already showed signs of middle ear dysfunction. Our audiologist, who I think is the BEST audiologist in the world, was very knowledgeable about skeletal dysplasias and their potential impact on hearing and she suggested a retest every 3 months. This is actually a lot more pro-active than what Dr. Pauli suggests, who says: "Behavioral audiometric and tympanometric assessment, first at 9-12 months of age and at least yearly throughout early childhood." Anyhow, I followed Sandy's advice and returned with Fi at the age of 5 months for another hearing test, where there was evidence of fluid in the pressure test bilaterally and she promptly failed her emissions on both sides too. Now this was a real shocker to me, as I have 2 other children and watch Fi like a hawk and I could have never said that she couldn't hear well. So I have armed myself with the results and Dr Pauli's hand-out and saw an ENT, who was first pushing for hearing aids - that's what they seem to do a lot of for kids with Down Syndrome in the UK, who similarly to our kids are very much at risk for middle ear infections. However after reading Dr Pauli's handout, she agreed to do the grommets, even though the youngest patient she has ever had was 10 months old. The surgery was completely uneventful. I have given them this handout about anesthesia for children with achondroplasia, as the same can apply for hypo and they were very receptive and reviewed it in detail with me. Her hearing was immediately back to normal following the surgery and she started babbling a lot more within a week or so. Sandy offered to do a quick check on her (free of charge!!!) every 3 months just to be sure that she can hear well.