He who has ears, let him hear!

Today was Kendrick's fourth hearing test. Usually this is done in the hospital before a newborn goes home. We had it done in the hospital too, but Kendrick did not pass. They say it might have been because of fluid in his ear from birth. Two days later, we went to the pediatrician and tried again. This time, the left ear passed and the right ear failed. Two days after that, we tried again with the same result and the doctor referred us back to the hospital. I really didn't feel like he couldn't hear. God gave me a peace about it. He was startling and last Friday he began smiling at us. But, it was still scary.

So, we traipse down to the Medical center and try to find this place within Methodist Hospital--Kendrick in his sling and Cavett with a back pack full of books and his Leap Frog. This test is best done when the baby is sleeping. Therefore, I left plenty of time for us to find our way and have time to nurse just before our 11:15 appointment. Things were going fairly well in the waiting room for the first 30 minutes. I was even able to take Cavett to the bathroom and nurse at the same time!

About 11:45, the audiologist finally showed up when Kendrick was becoming cranky. We go back to the room and wait for him to fall asleep or at least be quiet. Finally, I tried nursing again, since I forgot the pacifier in the car. Of course, Cavett had to go to the bathroom again. The Audiologist sent him out and the receptionist had to take him tis time! This time she was able to get a good reading on the left, but still nothing on the right. We wait some more. By this time, Kendrick is really fussing and Cavett is asking,"Read me the book, Mommy!" The audiologist says that we will have to do another test later. Over the crying and whining, I was able to hear enough that really freaked me out- "Sedation, 3 hours, Probes and Brain Stem." I'm not really sure what the actual test was but I must have given her a look of utter desperation. She left the room. When she came back, luckily Kendrick had fallen asleep and she brought the senior Audiologist who also brought some senors. They attached one to Kendrick's forehead, one just in front of his ear and one on the back of his neck. They did the test again and he passed.

Hallelujah! Praise God! Sometimes we take it for granted that we have healthy children. We are so blessed. May they grow up not only hearing His word, but doing as well.

P.S.- After we got home, I found on the web it is called "auditory brainstem response" test.