Nearly 2 weeks ago Quinn had tubes put in his ears. Big deal, lots of kids get tubes- right? Not so much.

When I would tell people he was getting tubes they would say, “ah, ear infections?” And I’d have to explain that he’s only had 2 or 3 ear infections in his 4 years of life, and not the 14 a year that often ignites talks of tubes. Quinn failed his hearing test at school…then again at the audiologist. The audiologist stated that Quinn couldn’t hear much below 45 decibels, which is a relatively normal speaking volume-except for in this house 😉 The ENT said that there was a significant fluid build-up behind his eardrums- no real “reason” like 7 million ear infections…just poor drainage with stuffy noses, etc that most of us don’t notice.

After Quinn’s surgery, specifically right when we got home at 10am and proceeded to my bedroom to take a nap, he heard the cat eating- presumably for the first time. He sat up in bed and said “WHAT’S THAT SOUND?!” Describing this specific revelation in Church cracked my voice and I couldn’t share that Quinn cried when I yelled from one room to another with him standing right next to me- because it hurt his ears, or that the next several days were filled with walks to the bus stop that made him stop dead in his tracks to look around at where any given sound came from.

Quinn’s speaking volume is gradually getting lower too, and our house is becoming a quieter place as well. I have to pay attention to his new sensitivity. If I snap loudly at him, he’s been driven to tears. If the house gets loud and full of commotion, he seems to either retreat or overreact as if it’s sensory overload (which it is).

It’s another new way of life around here, as my big man hits FOUR YEARS OLD TOMORROW!

Birthday post will come tomorrow 🙂

Love you buddy!

xo

andrea