Hearing Update after her Brainstem study

Update: Last Monday (6/30/14), we had Katie's Sedated Auditory Brainstem Response study. She went under anesthesia (which was upsetting for me and her!)...

BEFORE ABR

 AFTER ABR (I cried when I saw her like this!)

  ...We had waited for nearly 2 hours as they tested her brain's responses to sound without any hearing device AS WELL AS with a bone conduction device. the results were fantastic.
Without any hearing devices, Kate's hearing loss is in the moderately-severe range, with the quietest sound she can hear being about 65-75 decibels (ex: very loud speech, dog barking, lawn mower)...

The HUGE NEWS was this: when they tested Katie's hearing WITH a bone conduction hearing device (similar to the one she is borrowing from a online friend).... Katie's hearing was NORMAL!!!! 

WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?!?!?

It means that at least one of Katie's cochlea (her inner ears) work perfectly. It might be both of her ears that are working or one that's doing the job for both (we will eventually do imaging to see her ears' anatomy). It is only the absence of ear canals that block the sound waves from getting to her perfect inner ear(s). The bone conduction hearing device solves that problem! YAY!!!

Katie was SO ready to get out of the hospital!

'Mama and Baba, why are we still in here? Let's bust out of this lame joint!' ;) Cutest patient ever!

This Thursday, we went to the ENT and audiologist and are setting up our plan to order two bone conduction devices (on a soft headband for now). We are THRILLED that Katie has a great prognosis for hearing! :)