Finally, an actual adventure
posted on: 08:36 AM November 09, 2007
My Wife and her father had hearing problems, so the public health department has scheduled A-star and B-boy for regular hearing tests. A little bureaucratic screw up meant that they missed their four month check up, so we set it up closer to five and a half months.The testing involved A-star and B-boy falling asleep at the hospital. Every adventure must have at least one obstacle, right?
Right after the boys woke and and had their bottles, we bundled them into the car, the the car seat covers up, to keep them awake, expecting to be at the downtown hospital around 10. Because A-star and B-boy have such odd hours, I hadn't seen rush hour traffic for awhile. We got a little nervous, because if they fell asleep in the car, it would be hard to get them to sleep in the hospital.
They stayed awake, so we could then mull over how we had no plan on how they might fall asleep at the hospital.
At the sound proof testing lab, the Audiologist put 3 electrodes each on A-star and B-boy's foreheads and one behind each of their ears. A-star didn't like the one behind the ear, and after 2 tries, the Audiologist decided to put it on after they slept. We read them a story and turned off the lights. Then, we pulled the sheets over the front of the car seats we had brought the boys in on. The Audiologist said she would be back in 10 minutes when they were asleep. I thought it might be rude to laugh at her statement, so I said nothing.
Our little family sat in the dark.
After a little while, A-star started to cry. We tried to talk to him, but i was finally forced to pick up the car seat and swing it, something I hadn't done in a weeks. A-star had put on a few pounds. Luckily, it calmed him down enough that he did fall asleep. Through the commotion B-boy fell asleep. 30 minutes.
Then the testing began. Ear jacks were placed in B-boy one ear, and then another. We had been told the testing only took 15 minutes. Sometimes the first nap lasts less than 30 minutes. You can do the math. Plus, putting in ear jacks, despite the Audiologists' care, still disturbed the boys a little.
B-boy woke up a few minutes after his test were done and My Wife took him out of the room, where he quickly tore off his electrodes. A-star made it through his left ear, but not completely through his right. We assured that the chances that having hearing loss in one ear and not the other was slim, so we decided not to go through the whole procedure again.
For the next test, we were told they could stay awake. I'm sure that trip will still be its' own little adventure.