September 13, 2012

Speech Banana Revisited

Here is a link to my original post about the audiogram and the speech banana. These are two very important things to Audrena's hearing journey. Today, I can say that Audrena cooperated beautifully in the sound booth at USD's Speech & Hearing Center, and we got a great audiogram!

Audrena tested at 20-30 decibels across the frequencies! We have been told that a cochlear implant patient will never achieve normal hearing, and typically they will be in the 30-40 decibel range. Now, I do know several who hear at 15-25 decibels with their implants, so it's entirely possible. However, we are thrilled with today's results! Thrilled! Audrena has achieved the speech banana levels! This means wonderful things for her speech and language development.

Through all the ups and downs of this journey, one thing has remained constant. The doctors, Audiologists, and other professionals at Boys Town National Research Hospital, and the doctors and clinical grad students at USD Scottish Rite Speech, Language, and Hearing Clinic have been top notch. Even if Audrena had not achieved such great results, we would still be able to say that with confidence. They have been nothing short of fabulous, and we would recommend them to anyone! But because they have changed our baby's life and opened up a world of opportunity for her, we will forever be grateful to them and to Advanced Bionics. If I sound like I'm delivering a sales pitch, well maybe I am. Just a little. Audrena is a success story in our eyes, and they have changed her life, so they deserve some public recognition.

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