ENT Visit Today

Ben's right ear hasn't yet passed a hearing test after three tries, so today we had an appointment with the ENT doctor. The specialist couldn't get into the right ear far enough to even see the ear drum, so he thinks that Ben's ear canal is either blocked by fluid or just made smaller than it needs to be.

The doctor referred us to Blank Children's Hospital in Des Moines where they will do an Auditory Brain-Stem Response Test (ABR). Below I've included a link to the Mayo Clinic's explanation of the ABR test. This test will provide a better reading on what Ben is able to hear. The doctor said the test is sometimes done with the child sedated and sometimes not.

If we find that the ear canal is blocked by fluid, the doctors would likely put tubes in Ben's ear around six months of age. If they find that the ear canal is made too small, this diagnosis is more extensive, as Ben will probably need surgery to enlarge the canal around two or three years of age.

Our ABR appointment hasn't been scheduled yet. We'll let you know the date as soon as we hear more. Here's the link to Mayo's explanation of the ABR test:

http://mayoclinic.org/hearing-disorders/diagnosis.html

Ready for Fall / Minor Doctor Visit Yesterday

Ben and Charlie have picked out pumpkins and are already looking forward to Halloween! Ben is smiling lots at his big brother but yesterday was mad at him for getting in his face. Late yesterday afternoon I had to take Ben to the doctor to have a catheter put in his tummy where his left ureter is draining. Jason and I suspected it had grown shut and we were right. Our pediatrician called the doctor in Iowa City who recommended he put in the catheter and keep it in until our follow-up visit October 23. This is no problem and doesn't bother Ben at all. The only issue is changing him. We need to be extra careful to try and tuck the plastic tube into Ben's diaper as comfortably as possible, if that is possible... Ben's doing great and filling his diapers well!