ENT appointment

After Olivia's pediatrician got her hearing test results (low normal to mild hearing loss), he thought it would be a good idea for her to see an ENT. We had an appointment set for over a month ago but we had to reschedule it three times due to her being sick. They want to see her when she isn't sick because otherwise they wouldn't know if the fluid in her ear is from a cold or if it's always there. We got to her appointment early and there was a little boy running around the waiting room, he kept Olivia entertained for a while. As soon as we got into the exam room, she was not happy. The doctor was trying to talk to me and Olivia kept yelling, I was getting a little frustrated because he could barely hear me. The doctor was very nice though, he was more patient with her than I was. They didn't do much besides check her ear pressure and look inside. Her left ear was fine but they said the right ear had some fluid, it may be because of her recent ear infection though. The doctor also said that some kids have fluid in their ear for the entire winter and then it goes away in the summer. She is having a repeat hearing test at the end of the month and they will compare the results to her last one. I was a little upset that they couldn't tell us much more information, I was hoping to know that day if she would need tubes or not. I don't want to rush her getting tubes but I am really hoping it will help with her speech delay. I just feel like this has been a long process, I'm ready for some answers and solutions.

Liv's hearing test

Olivia had her hearing test yesterday and it didn't go very well. She doesn't like doctors and I knew it was going to be a tough visit. She was sick last week and I didn't know if that would affect the results, the doctor said she had some congestion in her ear but it shouldn't make too much of a difference. Then she wanted to put something that looked kind of like an earbud (that's the best way I can describe it) in Liv's ear for the first test but Olivia was crying and screaming so that didn't work. After we gave up on that, we went into the sound booth to start a different test. They played sounds and it seemed to be going well, Olivia was looking towards the sounds and the doctors voice whenever she talked on the microphone. We tried the other test again and we were able to get it done. Olivia cried most of the time so the doctor didn't get everything she needed but she said it was enough. During the test, Olivia kept doing the sign for "all done" and she had the saddest look on her face, it broke my heart. Her test results showed that she's in the low normal to mild hearing loss range. I was actually surprised to hear that, I guess I was just hoping that her hearing was fine. I even made the doctor repeat what she said because I was caught off guard a bit. She told me that we need to come back for another test in three months to compare the results. She also said that a hearing aid would be the solution for mild hearing loss. At first, the thought of a hearing aid made me a little upset but it's really not the worst thing in the world. We have been through much tougher times. I obviously don't want Liv to have any hearing loss but at least it would explain why she isn't talking much. I would be happy to know the issue just because that means we could fix it. The doctor said I shouldn't worry just yet, so I'm not going to.