Bad Hearing

[bad ears]

My son is a twin, and they both have Autism. Daniel constantly puts Foriegn bodies in his ears. He has had 3 surgeries since Jan.2002 just to remove the foriegn bodies. His ear specialist says that there is nothing physically wrong withhis ears to cause him to do this. I think it is the way he is hearing that causes the pain. He has severe head smacking and cring outburst constantly. Where can I get help for Daniel to be hospitalized and asessed for a solution before he damages his ear permantely? Please, please, help us!

[bad ears]

My son, Daniel is 11 years old.I know that it is definitly the way he hears. He had an ABR done before he was diagnosed with autism. That was when he was 3 yeaars old. His hearing was perfect then.Daniel is non-verbal. He communicates with PECS board. He will tell me that his ear hurts,but to what level of pain he is feeling thenoises he will not communicate to me.I have observed him to try to figure out what sounds bother him. He is under the care of University of Kentucky for his autism. The doctor suggested skeet shooting ear phones. They work, he likes wearing them, but he still puts things in his canal to bloke it up. It is as if he has to have that feel of something in his ear! He goes back for post opp. check tomorrow. At my request the ear specialist has had the audiologist make him an hearing aid mold that fits in the canal as well as the outter part of his ear. I am praying for this to work. I really appreciate the responses and helpful suggestions that were given. You all will be in my prayers.Thank you.

Bad Ears

[Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D.]

It's not clear that hospitalization is warranted. The fact that your son is under the care of a specialist is important and the guidance is worth following. Do you think you should obtain another opinion about your son's condition? Also, depending on your son's age, he may benefit from treatment via medication and a specialized school program. Is he already engaged in such services?

[worried mum]

I am not a doctor or a medical professional but I have read lots of articles on autism and Aspergers and I have read that children with Aspergers disease do sometimes have extreme responses to certain noises (screams, bells, alarms etc.). I wonder if it is a certain noise that your son was trying to block out when he did these things? Was it in the same room/ house or with the same people?  
Glue ear is also common - maybe your son was having problems with this condition but it had cleared up when your son has seen the specialist? (Glue ear tends to be worse in the winter - does your son complain about earache at this time or ever? Has he had any speech problems? My son was diagnosed with glue ear which caused a loss of hearing, he didnt start speaking until 2 1.2 and then its after 3 that his speech picked up a lot -  it cleared up on its own but I am waiting to see if it reappears in winter, and if it does I will contact the consultant)
Good luck

[kidcare]

Has an audiologists checked his hearing?  There are several types of test that can be done..OAE,sedated ABR and others.  If this has not been done, I would start here.  Certain noises bother autistic individuals and he may be putting things in his ear to cut out the noise.  Ask the audiologists if special made ear plugs would help. Some parents have tried auditory training to de-sensitize their children to sounds.  You did not say the age of your child, but if he is in school does he put things in his ear there?  The teacher maybe able to watch and let you know when this behavior occurs.  You should also document and see if there is a correlation between the activity and putting items in his ear.  I hope everything works out.