Auditory Neuropathy Spectrum Disorder(ANSD)

So... we've had a very busy month. Those that are close to us know that Keira had "referred" on all of her newborn OAE screens. She had an ABR(auditory brainstem response) performed at the naval hospital here in Okinawa and the audiologist felt she had mild hearing loss in both ears. However, she is not a newborn specialist so they flew us(Keira & I; we self funded Adam & Peyton for those of you that are military and wondering about aerovac) to Hawaii for confirmation & further testing. Once in Hawaii we met with a pediatric audiologist who was great and who gave us the diagnosis of ANSD. The way it was explained to us is there is a timing issue with the hearing nerve and the brain... it was described as an almost tuned radio, there is speech but it's fuzzy or distorted. The hearing loss with ANSD can range from mild to profound and we aren't sure how well... or not well for that matter Keira hears. Once she can sit unassisted they will perform behavioral testing on her in a sound booth.
Here are a couple links on the disorder... http://kidshealth.org/parent/general/eyes/ansd.html
http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/pages/neuropathy.aspx
Right now we honestly don't really know much about what will happen in the future. Depending on her degree of hearing loss she may do fine with aids... or she may need CI's(Cochlear Implants).
They've done genetic testing to see if it's an inherited hearing condition, the results have not come back yet though. I'm thinking this may be the case. I've had trouble with my right ear since childhood and after all of this coming up with Keira I finally got it checked out last week. It turns out I have severe hearing loss in my right ear. As we get more acquainted and get more information about Keira's diagnosis I will be sure to update the blog...


Nicole

~ We had a FANTASTIC Halloween & we hope everyone else did too! :)

One of Keira's two months shots.

Pali lookout, Hawaii.

Another Pali shot.

Iolani Palace

View outside the Navy Lodge, Ford Island, Hawaii.

Happy Halloween!

Took a while for Peyton to cooperate for Halloween pictures!