Nathanial, Ethan, and Noah went in for another follow up hearing test this morning. Last time, Noah really didn't do well, Ethan did not pass and Nathanial heard enough tones to receive a "pass" but missed a few tones. Since then, Noah and Ethan have had a new set of tubes put in and adenoids taken out (which Nathanial had done two months prior to the last hearing test); so we wanted to see if that would improve things a bit.Noah did fabulous! He got to take the "big boy" hearing test, which involved wearing headphones, listening for tones, and placing a block in the basket when he heard the tone. He heard all tones today and both tubes were in place and open. He passed, but the audiologist also wants to be cautious, so he is to go in again in three months for another follow up - to be sure his hearing stays good and make sure if the tubes fall out, we catch it quickly enough that we are not messing with his speech too much. I haven't noticed a huge improvement in his speech since the new tubes were placed. He did then and still does, talk A LOT, but he is very hard to understand and that hasn't changed much. At least we know he is hearing, so we can still work harder on speech therapy. It appears that he learned to say things incorrectly and is now having a hard time breaking the habit.Ethan was next and we tried the "big boy" hearing test, but that didn't work with him. We couldn't tell if he was overly anxious about when to put the block in or not, so we went back to the other way. He also didn't do well with that. So, we have a few options here. Either he has a permanent hearing loss in his high frequency range (which is what we thought last time about all three) or he has "mixed hearing loss" which is permanent hearing loss due to many ear infections/fluid being present constantly (entirely a possibility) or he was tired/stubborn/anxious and just didn't want to cooperate any longer by the time we got to those tones. His tubes were in place and clear, so fluid is not contributing to the problem at this time. When we return for his three month check, we are going to start with the tones he missed today (and last time) to see if that makes a difference. Then maybe we will have more answer....but as I am learning, this is on a constant curve, so we may not know for a long time! The good news is, he did hear in a speech range, so whatever kind of loss he's experiencing today is not affecting his speech ability or learning.Nathanial went last because he didn't get new tubes in and his tubes were still in place and clear. He did very well with the "big boy" test, but still missed a couple of tones. His was also in the high frequency range. The plan is to continue to watch that and monitor it along with Noah and Ethan.All three boys were very cooperative and well behaved. They waited well with Daddy and were excellent back in the booth with me. They are getting to be such big boys and I am so happy that they are getting a smidge easier to take out. It also helps when we do things in the morning...by afternoon, they tend to fall apart a little easier!Part of the hearing evaluation was being done today in preparation for their IEP's, which are being written on Friday. We learned yesterday that the gentleman we had a LOT of issues with with Austin and trying to get him an IEP will be at the meeting on Friday. I need a lot of prayer to hold it together and know that this is a whole different situation and trust that he is not just on a rampage to destroy our family's education (which, OK, so it sounds a little far-fetched, but trust me, this man did NOT like Steve or I at all by the time we were done with Austin's meeting and the feeling was pretty mutual). He was not very educated in IDEA laws at that time and not at all compassionate. I'm hoping he trusts this time what our therapists have to say and that this is a smoother process since all three boys already have an IFSP. Again, prayer would be greatly appreciated!!!The LORD gives his people strength. The LORD blesses them with peace.~Psalm 29:11
