Full Circle

So my sweet little baby has somehow morphed into a toddler, and we will be celebrating his first birthday in just a few days! It's crazy to me how quickly that year went by, and I thought it was time to do a little update on his hearing.

Because hearing loss is technically considered a disability, Micah qualifies for extra services through the school district (and yes, this starts from birth!). It is optional, but when they called and offered, I really liked the program coordinator and what she had to say, and then when she and a visiting teacher came to our home and met us and we talked some more, I REALLY liked the visiting teacher. So, she has been coming about once a month, just to help me keep tabs on Micah's development. We are particularly interested in learning HOW he hears, and his speech. So far there has not been a single point of concern for either of us, and because his hearing loss is unilateral and his right ear seems to be perfect, it's not likely he's going to have any problems with speech. But, these meetings are kind of a security blanket for me, at least until he really starts talking well- and it's also nice to have access to extra resources if we want them.

At our last meeting I told her I feel like I have almost come full circle. First there was the struggle with the possibility of a permanent hearing loss (which is kind of funny terminology to me, considering he never had it to begin with!). Then there was the actual diagnosis, and all the ensuing worry about what that might mean. But as Micah continued to grow and blossom and it quickly became apparent that he doesn't know what he doesn't have and is already learning to compensate for it, his hearing loss has almost become a non-issue. That's not to say there won't BE issues- he definitely hears differently, but he does hear, and most of the time it seems he hears pretty well. As he has become more mobile, he is learning to seek out the source of sounds and is usually pretty quick to figure it out. We've noticed that he has a habit of sitting on the floor and twirling himself around in a perfect circle, which I suppose could just be fun because we have hardwood floors, but I believe it is his way of scanning his environment for sounds. He is already saying a handful of words (though he stubbornly refuses to say anything even close to Mama, and seems to think it is funny, the little stinker!). He clearly understands a lot more words, too, as he should at this age. But I get why it is said that hearing loss is an "invisible" disability- because anyone who did not know he is close to deaf in one ear would probably not notice he has any kind of problem. For his sake, I hope he learns to read lips early and well!

So at this point, we've gone from "how could this be and what will we do?" to "no big deal". I am very conscious to cater to the good ear and help cue him visually as much as possible, and it has just become habit. We will continue to see the Audiologist to have his hearing tested about every 6 months for the foreseeable future, just to make sure that he's still hearing well with the good ear. Sometimes there's still a little sadness about it, like at his big brothers' basketball game today. I had a little pang when I realized that it would probably be difficult for him to play in that same environment, where two games are going on simultaneously in the same gym, because even I was having some trouble figuring out which ref was blowing his whistle. Also the crowd noise was a bit bothersome for him because it was very loud and confusing. My guess is, though, that if I don't lead him towards feeling sorry for himself, his hearing loss will always be more of a problem for me than it will be for him!