Early Intervention Makes a Difference

Sandy and Clarence Belisario learned that their daughter Jennifer had a hearing loss soon after her birth, thanks to the newborn hearing screening program at their local hospital. But that was just the first step in discovering what this meant for Jennifer. The full effects of Jennifer’s hearing loss were realized when her parents began to teach her words. “We noticed that we needed to stand directly in front of her so that she could lip-read what we were saying,” said Clarence. 

When her teacher noticed that she wasn’t responding to questions, Jennifer’s pre-school conducted a hearing test. The results confirmed that Jennifer had an 85% hearing loss in her right ear and a 50% loss in her left ear.  “We sought the help of a local ENT physician, who determined that Jennifer’s hearing loss was the result of a congenital stapes fixation,” said Clarence. As a first course of treatment, he recommended that she be fitted with hearing aids. He told them that potentially her hearing could be restored through surgery. 

They followed his recommendation for hearing aids, but were hesitant about surgery for Jennifer. At the time, Jennifer’s mother, Sandy, was a patient of Dr. William Slattery, a neurotologist at the House Clinic.  Sandy’s positive experience with Dr. Slattery in treating her own hearing loss compelled her to seek his advice about her daughter’s loss. Based on Dr. Slattery’s recommendation, the Belisarios chose to move forward with a stapedectomy procedure to restore Jennifer’s hearing, starting with the right ear.  

Dr. Slattery points out, “Congenital stapes fixation is a rare form of pediatric hearing loss that tends to occur bilaterally, meaning in both ears. Also, unlike most pediatric hearing loss, which is more often sensorineural (nerve-based), congenital stapes fixation usually produces a conductive hearing loss, and the loss does not progress with age. The good news is that conductive hearing loss can be fixed surgically.”

A stapedectomy is an outpatient procedure where the surgeon removes all or part of a malfunctioning stapes bone in the middle ear and replaces it with a nonreactive metal or Teflon prosthesis. The prosthesis allows sound vibrations to pass from the eardrum to the inner ear.

Three days after Dr. Slattery performed the outpatient surgery, the Belisarios were having a dinner conversation when they suddenly noticed that Jennifer could hear. A few months later, Dr. Slattery performed a stapedectomy on Jennifer’s left ear. Jennifer now is able to grow up with normal hearing in both ears.

“While it is always important to have early screening, as Jennifer’s case illustrates, it’s also important for children to have further testing to determine what type of hearing loss is present,” said Dr. Slattery.  “We usually wait until they are five or six years old before we perform a stapedectomy procedure because they are less likely to develop otitis media, or middle ear infection problems, by that age.”

Clarence and Sandy couldn’t be happier with the outcome of the surgeries for their daughter.  “Early hearing screenings are so important to every child,” said Clarence, reflecting on their recent experience.  “Jennifer was able to have her hearing fully restored. We are so grateful to Dr. Slattery and the two House organizations for giving our child the benefit of being able to go through life with normal hearing.”
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