Re: Doctors and the statement

July 6, 2000

In a message dated 7/6/00 3:42:46 PM Eastern Daylight Time, beat4girl@...

writes:

<< << We suspected

something was not right with his hearing when he was about 12 months,

but his doctor told us not to worry, that some kids just talk later

than others. >>

Welcome to the list! I'd be interested to know exactly how many of us were

told that SAME statement! Seems to be " the " statement of hearing loss.

>>

Elaine,

I suspected my daughter's hearing loss around 3-4 months. Everyone,

including my doctor and my husband, told me I was paranoid. My daughter was

born with cataracts and was undergoing surgeries, so they thought I was being

overly concerned about her other senses. Well, when she was about nine

months, I was convinced she could not hear. I called my doctor, almost

hysterical, and she told me to call and schedule a hearing evaluation. One

month later she was diagnosed as deaf. Six months after her diagnosis, at

the age of 16 months, (August is almost here!), she will receive a cochlear

implant.

I have to say that if my doc had not suggested the hearing eval, I was

prepared to do it anyway. My advice to new parents is always the same: If

you feel something is not right, it probably isn't. Doctors are trained and

competent most of the time, but they are not always right. Do not give up if

you believe your child needs help. But I do know how easy it is to believe

the " professionals " . My daughter went almost two months without close-up

vision while they were trying to find the right contact lens. (It will be a

while before we know just how much her vision suffered because of it.) I

insisted that they give her the lens implants that they wanted to put off for

a year. We ended up flying to South Carolina to get the best surgeon. As it

turns out, her eyes are too narrow, and no contact lens would have fit!

Listen to your instincts! We live and learn.

mom to , 13 months

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