Resources / Family Stories

Hannah’s Story

We found out Hannah had a hearing problem when she was five months old. She didn’t pass the in-hospital infant hearing test at birth, which is not uncommon in some cases, so we weren’t concerned. She also didn’t pass her follow up appointment at our local community, but it still didn’t raise any alarm bells. It wasn’t until we went to the audiologist for further testing that we found out Hannah had moderate-severe hearing loss, which would require the use of hearing aids. I wasn’t prepared for the news. Never had I thought for a second Hannah had any issues with her hearing. She was responding, smiling, acting like a regular baby.

After the appointment, some of the early warning signs became more apparent. Hannah didn’t startle when our dog barked, she could sleep through practically anything, and wasn’t cooing much. Realizing my daughter hadn’t heard my voice, or much of what was going on around her for her first five months was really difficult. I wasn’t sure what to do and how to play with my baby.

We quickly accepted that hearing aids were a necessity and didn’t want to waste any more time. We lined up all the appointments and Hannah got her hearing aids on December 23, at 6 months old. We couldn’t have asked for a better Christmas present! To witness Hannah’s hearing aids being put in for the first time was an unforgettable experience for us all!

Just two weeks later we had our first appointment with a speech pathologist. It started off as weekly appointments, and as Hannah progressed, turned into every other week. My husband and I would have been completely lost if it wasn’t for the amazing support we received. The speech pathologist taught us practical age-appropriate play, milestones, areas we needed to work on, and answered all of our questions. Hannah didn’t quite meet milestones as fast as some of her peers, but she quickly caught up.

Today, we couldn’t be more proud of Hannah. She will soon be entering kindergarten and we are confident the support we received, and continue to receive, makes the upcoming transition not a concern.