ENT Visit and Noise Overload

Nolan's tonsillectomy/adenoidectomy/PE tubes post-op appointment was today. These trips to Buffalo are quite wearing, with four hours in the car (round-trip). The ENT is Nolan's least favorite doctor (apart from the urologist, though we rarely see him anymore). I promised him a treat after the appointment, since he was quite upset about seeing the ear doctor.

The post-op appointment went well. We saw the nurse practitioner and she noted Nolan's runny nose (he nearly always has a cold) and checked on his tubes. They're in and functioning, which is no big surprise since our audiologist checked them on Thursday. We also discussed his post-operative state, which is generally good. He still does not sleep through the night most nights, but this could be due to his reflux and not necessarily due to apneas (central or obstructive). The sleep study in August will tell us if the obstructive apnea has been eliminated, and hopefully the central apnea will be greatly reduced, as well.

She was concerned about having to increase the volume on his hearing aids, but they don't have his hearing test report yet. I told her that his hearing levels aren't drastically different, but his aids had been set to levels recorded a year ago. There has definitely been change in a year, so he needed to be reprogrammed. She was concerned about the progression, though we're not sure if it is a permanent conductive or permanent sensorineural change (we didn't run bone conduction). John Tracy will run testing in July, so I'm not worried about it. Either way, it is a permanent change, so the increase in amplification is only a good thing.

We left the ENT's office in Depew, and I thought about heading to East Aurora to the Explore and More Children's Museum. Unfortunately, they're closed on Monday. Not knowing what to do, I headed toward Orchard Park and took them to Chuck E. Cheese.

Chuck E. Cheese must be the worst place on the planet for a deaf or hard-of-hearing child. The "background noise" must have been at 90dB! Still, Nolan was literally dancing for joy, and we were the only people in the place. The employees had just run the tickets through the machines, so they told the kids that they could grab all of the left-over tickets. Matt and Nolan ran around the arcade in a giddy, hyperactive state, clutching tickets and thrusting tokens into games and rides.

This ride had its own camera.

I did use sign language at Chuck E. Cheese, because Nolan couldn't hear anything in the place. I was concerned about losing him in the arcade, but I only handed him one token at a time. Within a few seconds, he would reappear, calling out, "Money! I need more money!"

Pizza, juice, and several cheap plastic "reward" toys later, we headed home. We don't have to see the ENT again until October, which is a great relief! We are now "doctor free" until late June (kidney ultrasound- routine monitoring because of his posterior urethral valves)!