[me-and-mini-me]

Hi
I was visiting my friend this afternoon, and her Mum showed up. We got to chatting, and my friend's mother mentioned her grand-daughter is having so much trouble now. I asked my friend and her Mum what she meant by that, and they both started telling me about how she has changed, and the doctor thinks that she may be deaf in one ear now. I asked how she could be deaf now, when the hearing gets checked at birth, and they said it was checked, and everything was fine then, but that she has recently had many tests done on her ears, and absolutely nothing has shown up. I asked if she may have had fluid in the ear, and again, they said she was checked for it, and nothing showed up. I asked what is happening now, and they said that she was perfect, saying some words and that she knew all her colours. She now doesn't say any of the words that she used to, doesn't know her colours any more, and she screams all the time to get what she wants, and gets frustrated that nobody knows what she wants now. She has just turned two in January. What got my friend worried, which ultimately resulted in all the hearing tests, was that one day when she was at her mother's place, and the grand-daughter was there, somebody accidentally dropped a cooking pot on the tiled floor, which made a very loud noise that everybody jumped at, however, she didn't even flinch. My friend then said to her Mum, "I swear there is something wrong with her now". Has anybody ever had that happen to their child, and know what caused it?

[claireabell]

So has she had her hearing tested properly?

Hearing can change. My DD is hearing impaired so I've learnt quite a bit about it. It's possible to pass the newborn screen and then have a hearing loss discovered a few years later. Many hearing losses are progressive too.

A lot of the stuff you describe is normal 2yo stuff, like the screaming. Many kids also learn a new word, perfect it, then stop saying it for a few months (this is age appropriate and common).

However your friend is worried, so should get checked out by someone who knows what they're doing. If they suspect a hearing loss they should be seen by a paed audiologist and ENT.

[in(s)ane]

Also a developmental paediatrician.

[kay11]

I started going deaf as a teenager. Unfortunately it can happen. Mine ended up being due to a very rare immune system issue, however I wasn't diagnosed until my thirties. Thankfully it's treatable but the damage is already done and I'll never get my hearing back.

[melanieb530]

Don't want to be alarmist as it's quite unlikely but one of the first things that sprang to mind when you mentioned a girl with language loss was Rett Syndrome.
Has she had any loss or change in her hand skills and movements?

[baddmammajamma]

Loss of words and loss of skills would be major red flags for me to see a developmental paed as soon as possible.

Just to throw another possibility into the mix (with the disclaimer that I am not a doctor) -- regression in language and skills are two very common signs for autism.

Some kids with ASD don't regress -- they are born with characteristics of ASD, and those "quirks" reveal themselves over time (my daughter was like this).

Other kids are "normally developing children" until the age of 18-30 months or so, and then start to show a noticeable regression in language and other skills.

A good developmental paed will be able to look across this child's entire developmental profile to see what might be going on.

[Lyra]

Issues like this prompted us to rock up the ER at the RCH. I would definitely be seeing a doctor ASAP

[baddmammajamma]

Issues like this prompted us to rock up the ER at the RCH. I would definitely be seeing a doctor ASAP

I should have added this line to my note as well. If there have been dramatic changes in the child, I wouldn't be taking a cautious "wait and see" approach -- I'd be pushing to get in to see a specialist ASAP.

[amabanana]

I'm sorry but I also see 'red flags' for a few different things in that post. I'd be visiting a dev. paed ASAP. I agree that a wait and see approach is probably not what I would do if that were my child.

[red_squirrel]

Regression in children isn't normal.
I would see a GP and ask their advice as well as ask for a referral to a dev. Paed.
I would also have the hearing tested thoroughly.

She maybe losing hearing due to something reversible. There is also the possibility that it is the onset of one of the many syndromes out there. Or she may be experiencing abnormal brain activity such as absence seizures.

It isn't something that will go away. It needs investing and hopefully it turns out to be something as benign as glue ear. Good luck.

This post has been edited by red_squirrel: 16/02/2013, 09:57 AM