Hyperacusis? Nope! Tonsillitis? Possibly...

I took Mia to see my baby's ENT yesterday for another opinion on her hearing sensitivity issues. I told him what the other doctor quickly diagnosed her with near the end of our appointment with her and he did not agree that she has hyperacusis. He said that this is very common in children around age four to have a "severe hypersensitivity" to sound. He believes that is what she has....and she should outgrow it by age six. Yay! We have been seeing this doctor for the past year now for my youngest son (who we got a GOOD report about yesterday. James is outgrowing his laryngomalacia and will not be needing surgery!!) and totally trust his opinion.

One unexpected issue that came up was he took a peek in her mouth and said her tonsils are the size of two huge walnuts and he thinks she needs to have them taken out. He asked me:

"Does she sleep with her mouth open or closed?"
"Closed."

"Does she snore?"
"Yes."

"Does she choke on certain food and, if so, which ones?"
"She has in the past...and just two days ago she choked on carrots. Usually, it happens with raw fruits and veggies."

"Have you ever seen her stop breathing at night?"
"I actually have, but figured it was just a fluke thing."

He said these things are all a result of enlarged tonsils. She is a slow eater because she is working harder to chew everything up so it can pass between those two large walnuts in the back of her throat. Poor girl! And, here I am trying to get her to hurry up and eat not knowing there is a reason why she is eating soooo sloooow.

He went on to tell me when she is asleep, everything in that area relaxes and those tonsils get closer to one another, preventing air from getting through. Her brain then send off a trigger to her body saying, "WAKE UP NOW! BREATHE!" and she quickly starts to breath again. This prevents her from ever entering into that deep sleep that her body needs.

So, the ENT believes they need to come out. But, for now, I am supposed to keep an eye on her at night for the next two weeks. He wants me to go in and sit in her room while she is sleeping for a few minutes and just listen to her breathing. And, then a decision will be made in two weeks if those big walnuts need to come out or not.

IMPORTANT: Should the tonsils need to come out, she will need to stop her JRA med (Indocin) four days before the procedure and for two weeks afterwards. Cod liver oil will need to be stopped, as well.

Which is something we will be bringing up today when we make the trek into Boston for an appointment with her rheumatologist....