I knew there would be a retest in 6 weeks but I lost track of time and it wasn't until I received a letter in his book bag saying he had failed the second test and needed a referral that I started to be a little concerned.
I booked the appointment and I was told there was quite a wait, but for some reason it didn't take that long and I took him to his appointment at a local clinic.
I'm not sure if I have written about his ears at all yet on the blog (I'm so confused where I am on here) so apologies if I'm duplicating myself.
We saw a lovely lady who looked in his ears, put different head sets on and asked him to put little people in and out of a boat if he heard a beep etc, and by the end she handed me a leaflet and said he has Glue Ear. I was told to come back in 4 months for a retest but that it was very important to let teachers/instructors/family/friends know that his hearing is quite impaired and to make special allowances for it! Bit of a shock really because he manages so well. She said he has adapted well and does lip read. He did really well bless him and he took it all in his stride.
After 4 months, if the test was still bad, she said there was a potential he would need temporary hearing aids, and then maybe surgery if it didn't clear on its own. EEEK!
I took the leaflet and we started to walk out of the clinic when Ellis grabbed my hand, looked up at me, and said, "do you still love me Mummy?". I choked back the tears, got on my knees, gave him the biggest hug, tons of kisses and told him of course I did and I'll always love him. I carried him back to the car as I just didn't want to let go of him!
We phoned Daddy in the car and told him the news, and I explained about the hearing aids, but that we might struggle with funding for them as he was doing so well at school. It was then that we thought it might be a good idea to use the private healthcare cover that Rob had with his job.
Over the next few days, several of us, tested him. I mean we would try and catch him out to see if he was faking his own hearing test! Very silly really. The private appointment soon arrived, and we were sat in a waiting room, waiting for Daddy to join us.
The consultant arrived slightly early so Ellis and I went in without Daddy but he didn't miss much and was soon sat with Ellis on his lap.
It took the consultant all of 3 seconds to say that he had glue ear and sent us to the next room to get his hearing checked.
A lovely lady got him doing the same things as the previous doctor, but with flashier machines and she confirmed also that his hearing was quite impaired and we were sent back to the consultant to discuss the options.
We were told that as it hadn't cleared on its own in the 3 months it had been since the first failed test, that it wouldn't clear on its own and he would need grommets fitted! What no hearing aids first? Nope. He said that the sound he actually hears is like having your head under water, or cotton wool stuffed in your ears whilst in a busy pub. So having hearing aids would only make the distorted sound louder and not any clearer. The only way to make it better is to put the grommets in, clear the sticky goo behind the ear drum, and maybe take his adenoids out too, depending on their size. It was a lot to take in, but it all made sense and we were given a provisional date of the 19th September which was 3 weeks away. It also happened to be the same day as my mums replacement hip surgery! Typical.
The date was later changed to the 12th September, only 2 weeks away, and we took time to explain it all properly to Ellis. Rob showed him some videos on the computer and we talked him through it. I'm sure it bothered him, especially the needle in the hand thing but at least I knew he was prepared for it all and there would be no surprises, only good ones, like sweets!
Click for - The Operation
Following the operation, Ellis was very tired and up and down with his emotions, one minute angry, then crying, then running around happy. It's taken a good 2 weeks for him to be better and I must admit I was expecting there to be quite a difference with his hearing but it's actually been quite subtle, and he has only recently started to say that his ears are better and fixed.
Today we went for his check-up. Mum and Dad came over and I made sure I put Oscar down for a late nap so they only had Leo to worry about, and I think he sat just with the iPad so Mum was safe from being jumped on.
I picked Ellis up from his classroom, and he was looking rather tired. He was also sad that the football trophy he took to school this morning, was now broken. He moaned that he was missing Golden Hour too, which turned out to be an hour on a Friday where they get to choose what they want to do.
We got to the hospital on time and the consultant was only a few minutes late. He looked in Ellis' ears, and let Rob and I look at the fitted grommets too which was strange. They were magnified and just looked like Polos in his ears.
We were then sent to the next room for his hearing test.
He started off doing the usual people in the boat thing but there was so much outside noise that he was moved into the sound proof box and had to press a button instead. He messed around a little bit but it was fun and she said he did really well.
We were shown the results and there was a huge difference to his left ear, and his right ear was taken into the realms of normal hearing. That's great!
Another check-up in 9 months time and we will have to keep going back until they come out and hopefully the ear drums grows back. 1 in 100 have to have the ear drum patched up. There is also the possibility that the glue ear comes back and he might need more grommets fitted!
Rob and Ellis went to get the car while I booked the next appointment and very shortly into the car journey I turned round to see my baba like this. Bless him, he was shattered!
After dinner we all, even Oscar, sat around the table doing arts and crafts and learning phonics out of the boys magazines that I had bought them for a treat. I love moments like that, it's so special.
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