Hannahs Ears- Advice?

[lizbud]

I hope the Dr can uncover the cause & help Hannah feel better soon.
Have you already made the appt.? Whether it is physical or psychological,
it seems to make her very uncomfortable and that's not good.

[Cataholic]

J has what I call a noise intolerance. He covers his ears and cries at fireworks, he can't be in the bathroom with me and the hair dryer running. Loud noises are frightening to him- though some of that he has grown out of.

I am glad you have a ped that listens and does something. I had such a stressful time dealing with J's throat clearing, with not only the ped- multiple times, but the pediatric ENT, too! I don't think the word pediatric infront of a speciality is all that its cracked up to be. The adult ENT made the difference, with him.

Good luck, and getting it evaluated is the right step.

[sparks19]

I hope the Dr can uncover the cause & help Hannah feel better soon.
Have you already made the appt.? Whether it is physical or psychological,
it seems to make her very uncomfortable and that's not good.

Yeah im hoping she can help us or send us to
Someone who can.

I am calling in the morni g to make the appt. I can always get in same day so she will most likely be at the docs sometime tomorrow.

She has good days and bad days. Cataholic that sounds a lot like hannah. Public restrooms are her worst nightmare. Even with no one else in there she holds her hands over her ears

Sometimes it seems the ear covering comes before the noise so sometimes she covers her ears just in case there is a loud sound.

This only started about a month ago so its a pretty recent development and came on suddenly

[Asiel]

I think I'll go along with the noise sensitivity. Sometimes it can be caused by tinnitus or even fluid in the middle ear that distorts sounds to varying degrees. In any case I'm glad you have what seems to be a great doctor who won't just brush this off and will look for the cause....hope everything works out without trouble.

[Pinot's Mom]

Tanya, I have noise sensitivity, and have had as long as I can remember. I had MANY ear infections in my youth, and that may have something to do with it. I've never had it evaluated. I sympathize with Hannah, and you all, as this is a difficult thing to deal with. I wish you luck; keep us updated.

[sparks19]

Hannah goes to the doctor at 2:30

I'm thinking it's a sensory thing but of course I will be open to exploring other causes.

Hannah is sensory sensitive as it is... doesn't like to get her hands dirty without having them wiped off right away, has issues with food textures, will only wear certain clothes and has to wear them with sleeves pulled up if it's long sleeved. Just a bunch of different little things but this is the only one that is affecting day to day life.

A friend of mine that works with children with sensory issues recommended a bunch of books to read about how to help children who have sensory sensitivities so I think I'll get a few of those... even if this ear covering thing isn't sensory it could still help me with a few other hurdles

I'll update with how the doctors visit goes.

[sparks19]

First of all... it's hard to convince people that something is "wrong" with your child when she walks past the nurses station (in the outfit she picked out. striped green dress, purple clip on earring, pink tights and red glittery shoes) waving at everyone and saying "OH hi everybody. How are you?" to everyone she sees and then asks the doctor "So what do you wanna do today?" LOL

but that's another story.

The doctor said her ears look a little bit red but not infected. She's sending us to an audiologist to have a hearing test first and see if that comes up with anything.

If that doesn't yeild any results then we are going to talk more in depth about seeing someone that can help her deal with that and help US to help her deal with that.

It SEEMS that perhaps covering her ears is how she deals with a stressful or unusual situation and maybe not so much that it's actually hurting her ears. Because she is having some constipation issues and sometimes if it's really hard for her to go she'll sit down and cover her ears until she's done. So that's what makes us think it's more emotionally related than actual pain related

[Karen]

I'm glad she'll see an audiologist anyway - and you can tell her it is kind of a fun thing, they put headphone on and you get to play games like "raise your hand when you hear it beep!" I got to see one as an adult, which eventually led to my being diagnosed with an acoustic neuroma, but the audiologist was the most interesting, interactive exam.

That way you can also rule out any ear problems, and focus on behavior, if that's what it is!