Wait.. I'll turn on the sound...

With the introduction of the iTouch, Iphone, IPad etc. in our house, the number of applications increased as well. One of the applications we have downloaded is a Norwegian Signlanguage Application..
We used signlanguage - well, signs, when Lotte couldn't hear, and in the time she started wearing CI. So, out of interest, we had a look at the application.
It's very good. Many words in alphabetical order with a video attached showing the sign. Obviously, it's "sign", not "signlanguage" but still good to have..
Of course, we showed it to Lotte who is interested in learning the signs... She loved it... part of "loving anything that moves on a touch-screen" but she is very interested in signing...

So.. Lotte wanted to have a go at it and loved it. Entering the words, looking at the video and repeating them to us - for us to guess what it meant... Great game..

Suddenly she say's "I'll turn the sound on so we can hear what the lady says." only to find that there was no sound with this application... She was so surprised.....
Then she smiled, looked at us and said.. "Yeh.! I can do that as well". Took off her CI's and continued playing with the application for a while..
Not too long... there's not enough sound to keep it interesting....

 

5 years ago... our view

This piece was presented on a conference (NAS 2005 in Stavanger Forum) with all Scandinavian (Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland and Denmark) experts on hearing/deafness.. Lotte's mother was there to give the point of view of the parent..

Reflections of a Mother

I would like to equipe my child with several different tools that give her the chance to feel being accepted and at home in more then just one language-area. What is needed of the hearing world so that my child can be met on her terms, so that one can meet in the place she is in?

I would like my child to be able to travel on two tracks on her journey through life, which are parallell. Inbetween the tracks there are invisible bridges, that make it possible to change track whenever needed, there are restingplaces on both sides, where it is lovely to stop for a while and relax.

Or may be it is easier (and cheaper?) to just follow one single track? Then however it is not so simple to jump to the other side, where it can be good to be every once in a while, to relax, to understand and to be understood.

The scenery is probably more visible from several sides. We see beautiful things on both sides, different things, sometimes it’s easier to see around a curve. The colours seem nowhere the same, and the world actually looks a bit bigger!

To be able to get to know both tracks, the child needs several guides during the journey. People that may be have been there before, who can show the way and give a security about the fact that this road is awsome and this we are going to manage really well...

Where do we buy tickets to this trip? And at what cost?

What do the guides need to know before we go on our way, and not in the least: how do we get the child to enjoy the journey?

Mother to Lotte Sofie, spring 2005

(If you want to use this, please refer to the blog or email me.)

I can't hear... !! :-(

This morning Lotte was talking about having a sleepover with the neighbours downstairs, and how her friend was not allowed to wake her..

"But.. you can't hear, so he can't wake you.." we said to her... "And... you're normally awake first..." we added.

Lotte replied... "Nooooo"
"Yes..." we said... "You wake us up every morning to put on the CI. You knock on our bedroom door.."
"Yes, but I need my ears..".. Lotte replied.

I made a little joke.. "You should knock and then wait 'til you hear us say "come in".."

"But I can't hear she said. " and turned sad... It was a big thing for her...
The first time we see her express sadness that she can't hear. At least.. that's how it looked. Perhaps the sadness came from her needing us to ask in order to be able to hear..
Anyway, the first time that her deafness was cause for sadness with her..

It's inevitable that that moment comes, that your child realises it is lacking something. And as a parent you want to prevent that moment, push it into the future, and soften it..
In our case, it's softened I believe..
It seems that the "problem" is not that she can't hear. The "problem" is probably that in this phase of looking for independence she needs us to start hearing.. and that means waking us up..

It's probably time to teach her to pin the BTE-pouches on her clothes herself.
She has no problem putting the batteries in and starting the system up.. Since she doesn't want them on the ears, she needs help to do this..
Today, we'll teach her that. We'll go through the whole process for her to start hearing. From getting the batteries (rechargeable) and putting them in the BTE, turning them on, and more importently putting the BTE's on a shirt before she puts it on...

Think her "independence streak" will love it....

p.s.
She learned... Costs.. 5 drops of blood from her thumb due to "safety"-pin.

The shower incident...

Lotte needed to get clean.... Preferably by taking a shower...
She comes to me and asks if she can take a shower alone....
"Sure..." and after taking off the BTE's, she happily goes upstairs to the shower....

All's well... a happy child singing in the shower... Deaf, but singing her heart out.... Like I said.. all's well....
... until Lotte's mother finds out that....

Lotte has locked the bathroom door. Uncomfortable feeling: deaf child in the shower with no possibility to get in there if needed. Guess she decided it was HER shower, and NO-ONE was getting in. Not for a wash, not for a pee... !!!

So.... what to do?... How do you get the attention of a deaf 7-year old, enjoying a shower....
OK... brainstorming and with her being so visual, a piece of paper under the door should work... Waving it from left to right.....
And it did... "Yes dad... I'm in the shower. Go away!!"
Hmmm... We got her attention. Now to get her annoyed so she will open the door..... more waving....
"I'm in the shower...!!"
But she finally gets annoyed enough to get out of the shower, and opens the door...  A little annoyed, but happy that she took a shower by herself..

We took the key away... Closed the door and automatically turned off the light in the bathroom...
Immediate reaction by Lotte.... "Put the light on.. !!"

Duh... that would have been easier than waving with paper...
Next time.. :-)

p.s.
Lotte noticed us writing on her blog.. So we explained it was about her locking the shower door... She remembered...
"Why did you lock the door..??" we asked.
"Because... So you could not come in."
She did not want any help with washing her hair.. She wanted to do it by herself....
Sweet....

p.p.s. Picture taken by Lotte

Who she is..

On facebook, I have been making more connections to other parents of children with CI. In the process, I also came across a group "No Cochlear Implant" where there are fans that oppose to CI. I became a member as well, because I feel that it's easy to be in groups and agree on CI, but more interesting and important to "mingle" with people that have a different view.
It's not that I want to convince these people that they should say "yes" to CI, it's to make sure that the information they base their opinion on is good information. Not misinformation. 
Also, as a parent it's good to reply to opposite posts and make yourself think.. explain in a clear matter. Not always easy..


One of the people posting there was talking about how choosing for CI means "not accepting who the child is."
Her post was: "i don't believe in cochlear implants whatsoever. i think parents who do this 2 their child can't accept their child 4 who he/she is."

So I replied....


Ah... yes... "Who he/she is"...
The statement you don't believe in it says enough. How could your child ever be successful with CI if you don't believe in it.
We believed in it. And with hard work from our side and her side, we have seen the success we believed in.. and some more.
And "who she is..." Like any child, she's shaped by our decisions... like your child "who he/she is" is defined by the decisions of us.. the parents...
We saw the child that longed to hear, listen and speak, and that's what she is now. 
You might see the child that wants to be deaf... and I hope that is the child you have...
If you live in an area where signlanguage is the norn, he/she will have lots to talk about...
Lotte lives in an area where speech is the norm, and she can't stop talking... :-)

So... "who he/she is.."...
She's exactly what she wants to be...


--------------------------------------
Another thing that is mentioned is that the child remains deaf...
Well... 
I myself have a problem looking at Lotte and seeing a deaf child. Everything about her is about speaking, singing... The questions never stop.
And I tried to think about it.... When someone can hear.... Is that person deaf?
I can only say, "She's born deaf. Now she can hear." and I can make her journey more spectacular by focusing of the deafness she had, and the hearing she has now... but I cannot see her as deaf.. I think she has no idea how life would be without sound. Even when the CI is off, she remembers how it is to hear.... 
Actually.... She hears sound without her CI as well.. LOL.. (Will have to find the link ..)

Deaf shame...

Found an interesting post in this blog....

Sure Lotte will experience this as well... not sure to what degree though.... Up to us parents to keep an eye on it.

Yesterday Lotte commented that the children in the first grae (age 6-7) were asking her (Lotte is now in second grade) what "it" is, the BTE's on the shoulders and the coils on her head.

Lotte has no answer for them.....

Lotte explained to us that she did not like being asked all the time. Actually, I have never experienced Lotte explaining her CI to anyone. I think that there is no real explanation to her. It's how it is. I'm sure the questions will come later, but for now, she hears with CI... end of (her) story.

So, we contacted the school, and asked if the teachers in the first grade could do something about it. In itself, this is difficult. Putting focus on it could be a bad thing. In a way, the children just ask what it is. A simple "I need it to hear" would be enough explanation.. We noticed that last year, with Lotte's class-mates. None of them is interested in a 5-minute explanation on CI.... A straightforward explanation is enough to cure the curiosity..

But of course it will be a matter of time before Lotte will start ask questions herself. Will we be ready for it...??? I guess not.... How do you prepare for that... .really..

We notice how she is thriving on sound, but also how there's sometimes a part she's missing. She has her own strategies to cope with it. Guessing answers, ignoring questions, making sure she's the one doing the talking.... Many different strategies....

The best one is of course how she answers a question that ends with ".... , isn't that right?"... Can you guess the answer to that question ....????

==========================

btw.... followup on that site...

Very nice little film....

Hardly anything to do with Lotte, but wanted to share it with you all.... :-)

Take off the ears!!

It's been a while since the last update. Not that nothing is happening, on the contrary, it's just that there are soo many little things, that it looks as if nothing is happening... until one looks back.

As readers of the blog might know, Lotte does not have her CI on when she's asleep. After the bedtime story, she takes them off herself in order to indicate that she's going to sleep.
In the morning.... early, as she has no problems waking up around 6:00, she starts the day completely deaf.... Only when the rest of the house starts waking up, the CI has to go on.
Even without CI she understands a lot.
Just some weeks ago, she came down after we put her to bed, went to her mother, asked a question (remember, no CI...) with normal voice, and "red" her mothers answer.
We thought about how Lotte probably still "hears" the sounds of the voices. Even though she cannot hear, her brain might very well create the sounds that are appropriate.
I read about this once, where someone thought he was HOH, until when he was talking with his brother. Everything sounded normal to this person, until his brother put his hand in front of his mouth...
Suddenly, all sound stopped. Without being able to read lips, the brain was not able to create sound!

This morning, Lotte had been playing since 6:06.... one remembers the hour one is disturbed from a good night sleep. She played in her room and the attic and around 7:30 the rest of the family got up and started doing their things. Lotte was so occupied with playing, she never requested the CI's.

Then it was time for her to get dressed. So, she went to her room, got her clothes, and came to me... turning around in order to have me take off her CI's....

However.... she was not wearing CI, but she didn't realise it. So she demanded again that I would take off her CI.... I did nothing, and she became frustrated... "Take off the ears!!" she said...
Then her mother came in, picked up the CI's hanging on the wall, and showed her the CI's.... and only then Lotte realised that she did not have them on.
We all had a great laugh about it, Lotte included....

It's wonderful to see how she is totally at ease with being deaf, but this time we got a little peak in her world, where, even when sound is off, it still goes on in her head....

How does it sound ?? - Hearing loss.... and CI

For people that hear normally, imagining hearing loss is difficult.

For those who want to get a glimpse, here's a link to the website of Phonak with some excellent examples of how things, environment, music sounds with and without hearing loss.... (See image below)

I have been on a site where one could listen to "how a CI sounds" depending on the number of electrodes and the insertion-depth of the CI-electrode...
Will see if I can fin that site again. It gives an impression of the quality, but on the other hand, it cannot account for the brain to do it's job. (Found it - here for Adults, here for children !

Be aware.. the research is almost 10 years old.... technology moved forward.. Found another one on a PBS webside with Alan Alda here ..... from 2005.... nice!)

People that have heard but became deaf, before explain that at first the sound with CI to be metallic-like, but the brain is quick to adjust it to "normal" sound - as it was before. I recall a man that recognised his wifes voice again after 5 years of deafness. The brain is a wonderful organ!

Anyway... "enjoy" these soundfiles!

For the researchers under us... this research (pdf) might be of interest....

She's not deaf ?

It's official.. another milestone... Today... breakfast.

Lotte's sister is putting butter on her bread.. and of course, Lotte also wants to have the butter, and is "demanding" it...
So, her sister says "Patience Lotte, do you hear me? You need to have patience!"
Whereupon Lotte says "Ja-Haaaa.., Lotte are not deaf !"

So, we have it from a reliable source!

I missed it at first.. especially since we hardly use the word in our daily conversation with her. The closest we come to it when we put the CI on, and are asking if she can hear. Or when we suspect that one of the CI's is not working. But even then we use "hear" - never "deaf".
I thought she said "dead", since for Lotte, all meat and fish that is presented she asks "chicken is dead?" or "fish is dead?"
So, when my wife said - "Did you hear that.?", I realised that she did say "deaf"...

Her language (and cognitive skills) is developing so fast now. Like other summers, it seems to be triggered by being exposed to only 1 language for an extended period of time.
In Norway, more than 50% of the time she will use Norwegian (in the "Barnehage") and the rest is spent on Dutch at home. In Holland, it is 100% Dutch.
It is not that 2 languages is slowing down her development, as far as we can see. Obviously, it is first of all difficult to compare her language with what it should be. Secondly, we do not hear her speak Norwegian a lot, since we use Dutch. Only with friends visiting, we will switch to Norwegian, and she has no problem with that either. She will happily continue chatting in Norwegian.
But, the full exposure to 1 language does seem to speed up development, or perhaps just vocabulary.
So I guess...... more vacations!..... I can live with that..

BTW.... she's deaf. It's just that she can hear... Could be confusing in the future..
Ah well, she'll figure it out some day, and we'll be there to help her.

Perfect That Way

I posted the lyrics below in a post on a messageboard. The lyrics are very touching, and even though I do not see Lotte in this way, it is good to realise that there are many different people in this world.

On Hands & Voices, I found the link to the actual singer and a story about her. And, almost as a bonus, there's a MP3 there with the song.. all the way on the bottom.... or click here.

(Get your hankies out!)

Perfect That Way She was born a little less than perfect at least in that doctor's eyes he said that she'll be different much more than you ever realized that girl grew up not knowing the sound of her mama's voice God's gift to her was silence in a world so full of noise and she sings with her smile and talks with her hands she listens with her heart so she always understands she believes there's more to life than the sounds that it makes she's perfect that way shes got a sign for the thunder one for the wind and the rain she's the kind that keeps you laughing and the first to see your pain and she sings with her smile and talks with her hands she listens with her heart so she always understands she believes there's more to life than the sounds that it makes she's perfect that way she believes there's more to life than the sounds that it makes she's perfect that way she was born a little less than perfect at least in that doctor's eyes.

A reaction came on my post, saying:

"Cloggy - I am confused.... you brought up this poem which say that a deaf child is perfect that way. (I really related to that poem) Yet, you had your daughter implanted bilaterally."

My reply was:

"Fair question... My daughter is perfect, like everyone else.

And before we knew about CI, we accepted how this child was going to learn us something. A new language, a new way to "travel"

When we heard about CI, we investigated, and found out that this perfect girl would be able to join us in our hearing world. Would that make her more perfect - NO. (How can one improve on perfect?)

It would however give her more connection to her family, friends, people around her.

Would she be less perfect had she not had CI.. NO.. She would still be her.

We made it possible for her to hear. As parents, we made that choice because she was too smal to do it herself. With making the decision for her, we made sure that the possibilities that are there, are used to the maximum..

Again, she was perfect when she was born. She still is..

Perhaps you have to look at it this way... We didn't fix anything. We gave her someting."

Lotte's own will.....

Having a bright young lady in the family (2 actually) that knows what she wants and is not afraid to demand it is wonderful.... It is helping her tremendously now and she will have great benefit of it later in life....

But obviously it has it's downsides.
She has a very good idea about what she wants to wear. And most of the times it is something not chosen by her mother. (allmost by default ?)
We allready made the concession that when clean clothes are to be chosen, she can pick from two sets. This will give her enough feeling that it is her choice that she will agree.
However, yesterday she was told to wear the same clothes today (poor child... ). However, she managed to dive into the closet and find a clean pair of pants. Since this would be the first hurdle of the day - we chose to look the other way. And as expected, the second hurdle was no problem. This is "how to wear her hair".

When hurdle one (cloths) has finally been taken (this can take some time, unlike today) hurdle two grows proportionally.

Today... it went smoothly. (see picture above)

Her stubburness can have something to do with her intelligence. Even though she hears a lot, there must still be a lot of moments that she realises that she doesn't understand what's going on. She knows she's missing something.
Her way to handle this is to have very fixed ways of behaving and any deviation from this can cause a demand in returning to HER way of things.

An example was today in the pre-school. Marieke brought her and instead of leaving the normal way, she left via another door. (She had to go to the admin to talk with the leader of the school) For Lotte, this was totally "out of the normal" and she reacted strongly to that. Refusing to let her mother go.
After calming her down, leaving through the "correct" door, Marieke entered the school through another door.

But it indicates Lottes strong sense to have everything in order.

Obviously, there could be another reason than a "feeling of missing something". But if this is the case, what if she had been deaf without CI.
She would have had even more the feeling of missing something. She would be able to communicate fine with us - her parents - and her siblings. Also with the other children in the kindergarten that know sign.
But she would have missed out in communication with her grandparents, with our friends, and with her siblings when the three of them watch television or a DVD.
With more activities than now from which she would have the feeling she's missing out, would she have reacted in the same way. Would she have been earlier with these kind of responses? We will never know.

What we do know is that we have a deaf girl that has no problem explaining to strangers what happened today, what she ate, the drawings she made ect. (For the strangers, understanding might have been a challenge..)
This happened yesterday as well, on the school where her siblings go. There was a celebration and Lotte chatted with everyone willing to listen.. She enjoyed herself the whole evening..
Below, she's helping her brother and sister with making a collage. She just jumped in with all these other - elder - children and started working. Chatting away..
(AllDeaf)

Reading list... Literature.

Thought it would be a good idea to gather books here that we read... (AllDeaf)
If you make a comment with some new books, make sure you add a publishing date because for CI-related books, 3-year old books are allready OLD!

Books & films regarding deafness, deaf culture, history
Research
* "Seeing Voices" by Oliver Sachs - 1990
* "Mask of Benevolence" by Harlan Lane - 1993 (The CI-part of the book is really out of date and really not valid any more.)
* "A Journey into the Deaf-World" by Harlan L. Lane, et al - 1996
* "When the mind Hears" by Harlan Lane - 1989
* "Everyone Here Spoke Sign Language: Hereditary Deafness in Martha's Vineyard" by Nora Groce - 1988
* "Laurent Clerc - The Story of His Early Years" by Cathryn Carroll - 1991
* "The History of Deaf People" by Per Eriksson - 1993
* "Laurant Clerc: The Story of His Early Years" by Cathryn Carroll - 2002
* "Deaf World - A Historical Reader and Primary Sourcebook" - Edited by Lois Bragg - 2001
* "Når noen ikke hører" by Sissel Marit Grønlie - 1995
* "Spelend leren horen" by Gisela Batliner - 2003 (Translated from German)
* "Norske Døves Tegnspråk" by Marit Vogt-Svendsen - 1997
* "The History of Deaf People - A Source book " by Per Eriksson - 1993
* "Att växa som döv. - En antologi" - Åsa Hammar & Bo Andersson - 1988
* "Innføring i lingvistikk" - Endresen, Simonsen og Sveen -1996

(Non-)Fiction
* "The Heart is a Lonely Hunter" by Carson Cullers - 2004
* "Deafening" by Frances Itani - 2003
* "In This Sign" by Joanne Greenberg - 1984

Movies
* "Sound and Fury" by Josh Aronson and Scott Davidson (Documentary)
* "Mr. Holland's Opus" Hal Leonard Publishing Corporation - 1996 (Film)
* "Children Of A Lesser God" Paramount Home Entertainment - 1986 (Film)

Books and films regarding CI
* "Cochlear Implants in Children - Ethics and Choices" by John B. Christiansen Irene and W. Leigh - 2002
* "Sound and Fury" by Josh Aronson and Scott Davidson (Documentary)
* "Sound and Fury - Six years later" (Documentary)
* "Cecilia's Story Introduction" and "Hearing Your Life " available from by Advance Bionics (Documentary)
* "Jacobs journey" available from Cochlear (Documentary)
* "A høre til.... - Samtaler med foreldre" - Liv Strand - 2003
* "Se mitt språk! - Språkbok - en innføring i norsk tegnspråk " - Nora Edwardsen Mosand & Ann Kristin Malmquist - 1996

Experience with CI
* "Rebuilt: How Becoming Part Computer Made Me More Human" by Michael Chorost - 2006
* "Wired for Sound: A Journey into Hearing" by Beverly Biderman - 1999

Cough Medicine

Yesterday evening,
Lotte was caughing a lot while asleep. When we went to bed we decided to give her some cough-medicine in order have her sleep more comfortably.
Normally, when her CI is off, we would use sign in order to talk to her, but now she was somewhat asleep, with her eyes closed. It seemed a pitty to wake her up so much that she would notice us....

So we put on the CI and talked to her. She was sleepy, but she got the message. She could keep her eyes closed as we gave her the medicine and let her on the toilet...
It was so good for her, since when she hit the sheets again, she was sleeping allready.....

Eerste Activation - Dag 1

Vandaag was je vroeg wakker, 06:16 uur. Dan duurt het lang als je moet wachten tot 10:00 uur. Eenmaal in de wachtkamer wilde je niet mee toen ze ons kwamen halen.
Je herkent het ziekenhuis, je bent hier eerder geweest en toen gebeurden er dingen die je niet zo leuk vond.
Op mamma's arm ga je huilend mee naar binnen. Dit verdwijnt echter snel wanneer er fantastisch speelgoed te voorschijn komt.
De electroden worden gecontroleerd en alles werkt goed. Als Ole begint met geluidspulsen ben je absoluut niet onder de indruk. Er heerst wat onenigheid tussen jou en ons over het feit dat je de magneetjes moet laten zittenop je hoofd.
De geluidspulsen zijn heel zwak om je niet te laten schrikken; op deze manier "sluipen" ze je hoofd binnen. Voor ons wat minder spectaculair dan we verwacht hadden, maar het feit dat je het niet oncomfortabel vindt is heel positief , wordt ons verzekerd.
Tussen nu en donderdag wordt het geluid heel langzaam opgevoerd.

Na ruim een uur geef je aan heel moe te worden, dan is het pauze voor de lunch.
NA een uurtje slapen zijn we weer terug bij Ole, en gaat het volume weer omhoog..

NB: je maakt nog veel dezelfde geluiden als voorheen, met dezelfde intensiteit. Dat betekend naar alle waarschijnlijkheid dat je je eigen stem niet hoort.

Audiograaf: Ole
Audiopedagoog: Tove

2004-10 (October) - Pre-Operation

The operation was scheduled in October 2004. 21 months after we discovered "officially" that she was deaf. She was 26 months old.

A preop/intake friday 1st of October, and the operation on the following monday, the 4th of October. We didn't stay in the hospital, but went home in between.


Finally - she was operated. And, as one of the first in Norway, she was offered bi-lateral Ci in 1 operation.... YES THANK YOU!!!!
We thought about that allready, and decided that in time we probably would do it.



Here's a picture of an X-ray with bi-lateral CI. (Not Lotte) It gives a good impression about the size of the actual electrode..... (n.b. the big round circles are the eye-sockets. Behind there you can see the small spiral of the electrode.. )

Why would we want bi-lateral CI??
It's controversial because the idea is that the first CI is really a major improvement. The second one has less effect. The benefits are obviously that with bi-lateral CI one can hear where the sound comes from. Also, noisy environment is easier to handle because the brain can filter out a lot of the noise. This is obvious when listning through a phone. Noise on the other side is heared clearly while the person on the other side might not be bothered.
But in addition, when one CI fails, the other is still available.
Obviously, it will be two operations, but I don't believe it's double the risk. Another argument against might be that when CI is implanted in both ears, there is no option when new techniques arrive. (Stemcell for example)
But, if this would happen in 10 years, the auditory nerve would not have been used for 10 years, and who knows what the effect of that would be.

So, when we were offered bi-lateral CI in 1 operation, we gratefully accepted.

2004-09 (September ) - Testing

Fortunately, in october after all the tests confirming she was a good candidate.

Marieke took Lotte the first time to the Rikshospital in Oslo, where the CI-team arranged her to be checked. I joined the second time.
In addition we agreed to have a gene-test to see if there is any reason for Lotte to be deaf (Later, nothing was found..)

More info to be added.

2003-08 (August) - Wearing HA's

She wore hearing aids (HA's) - to no effect.
She was OK with them in the daycare/preschool, but as soon as we picked her up with the car, she would take them off..... and investigate..... and take them apart..... and we could only find 5 out of the 7 parts... Grrrrr

Lotte could actually hear one thing. Clapping of the hands. And this proved to be VERY usefull. We could get her attention across the room....

2003-07 (July) - ABR test

The official test was in july/august - an Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR) -test.

Not completely sure how to interpret the graphs..

(Below Lottes test)

  

But there the message was "profound deaf"....
Appearently / Strangely, the audiogram curve was opposite the "normal" curve for hearing loss.

Hearing aids (HA's) were fitted and programmed...

We don't recall her ever to have responded to sound, so she must have been deaf from birth. (Information regarding this can be found for example here.)

__________________________________________

ABR –Medische bevestiging

Voor de ABR moest Lotte onder narkose. Ze was te klein om zelf stil te zitten.
Ik ben met haar naar binnen gegaan in de operatiekamer zodat ze bij mij in slaap kon vallen.

Terwijl Lotte uit lag te slapen kregen wij het bericht van de arts. Die gaf aan dat ze een gehoorverlies had van 90% tot 95%. En dit van de specialist die na de eerste testen had gezegd – „maar ze hoort toch“ – Een bewijs van de belabberde kwaliteit van het test-systeem van het ziekenhuis.

Direct daarna hebben we gebarentaal-boekjes gekocht and zijn we ermee begonnen.

Het eerste woord dat we hebben opgezocht was „spaghetti“ en „pan“ want dat was de maaltijd.

  

First apointment with GP and "Specialist"

Making all these hard sounds, we decided to do some realt tests when she was sleeping.....
Nothing.... absolutely nothing....

Appointment with the doctor, with excellent help from some friends...

In february she got a hearingtest in the hospital which she passed without problems. The test was done by handheld items. Alarmclock, bel... No wonder she passed.... if you put something that makes sound on her left side, she'll look to the left... There's nothing wrong with her eyes!!