Come Again?

Samuel had his adenoids removed and tubes inserted into his ears in the summer of 05'. It resulted in a marked improvement for both of the areas that we had hoped for; less ear infections and less open-mouthed breathing/borderline apnea symptoms at night. The boy was snoring, mouth gaped, flies comin' and going. He was prone to infections and lots of goopy noses. Emma had the same procedure when she was a wee little 1-year old and it made the same incredible difference. I can't make a medical claim to understand it, but both kids ended up healthier than they had ever been and the chronic runny noses were history.


O.K., Enough of the boring medical history. Here's the funny for the day:

His ENT doctor checked him out today to see if the tubes were working their way out (they were and that's good) He suggested a hearing test because we had not yet done one. I was pleased because as his speech develops, he still struggles with words like, "two-tee" (cookie), "tracher" (cracker), and the one with the best *cringe* factor (I'll give you the correct pronunciation) "firetruck". The woman that gave the hearing test was a lovely grandmother-type with loads of patience and a very quiet voice, which had me questioning whether I should hop in that chair and check my own hearing!

She placed Sam in chair and gave him instructions:

Lady: You will repeat the words that I say, okay?

Sam: Otay.

She closed the door to the big freezer-style, sound-proof room and sat across from him on the other side where they could see one another through this little window. As soon as that door was shut I began to dream about building one of these rooms in our house. Can you imagine? A room that was void of all sound? This was worth pondering....

She began the test...."sidewalk" ........."help"........."hot dog"........

It's funny because after all the words she used (probably 50-75) the one that he remembers and has talked about is "hot dog".

He laughs and says, "Mom, she say, HOT DOG! Dat lady say, *HOT DOG*!!!" and then just cackle and laugh his head off. It doesn't take much.

Then she tells him that she will switch the headphones and he will begin to hear noises or beeps. He is informed to let her know when he hears these "noises". The rest of the test goes something like this:

Lady: OK Sam, if you hear a beep then just raise your hand or tell me, okay?

Sam: Otay

Lady: (after a brief pause, she raises her eyebrows) Did you hear anything, Sam?

Sam: nods yes

Lady: OK Sam, if you hear a beep then I want you to say, "I heard that"

Sam: I heard dat.

Lady: Very good, Sam- but wait until you hear the beep to say, "I heard that"

Sam: I heard dat.

Lady: This time, wait until you hear the beep, OK?

Sam: Otay

Lady: (after 2nd brief pause) Did you hear that?

Sam: I heard dat.

Lady: Can you say, "I heard that" right after you hear the beep?

Sam: I heard dat.

I am, at this point trying not to wet my pants because I know this boy so well. First of all, I know his hearing is impeccable because I have gone stealth-like in his dark room before, while he is sleeping and have him rise up and say, "momma, whatcha doing?" I'm sure this is not funny to her, but it's about the funniest thing I've seen all week!

The lady mentions that he is on the *verge* of being the right age to properly administer this test and I'm thinking that she's probably on the *verge* of pulling her hair out.

Thankfully, by the end of the visit, she has enough information to conclude that his hearing is fine and I think to myself (so is his sense of humor!)