After Corlena was born she failed two hearing tests at the hospital, the family thought that it could just be something that may pass or thinking perhaps the tests were wrong, her parents, Cori and Kalonda Cloyd, waited two months to bring her back to the hospital for more testing.
Again, her hearing showed severe impairment, which was then confirmed by a specialist, according to Fox 2 Now St. Louis.
Whenever a baby is born, there are two main types of hearing screening tests used to screen hearing in babies. Both of these tests are safe:
Otoacoustic Emissions
One of the tests is called otoacoustic emissions or OAEs. For this test, a miniature earphone and microphone are placed in the ear, sounds are played and a response is measured. If a baby hears normally, an echo is reflected back into the ear canal and is measured by the microphone. When a baby has a hearing loss, no echo can be measured on the OAE test.
The second test is called the auditory brainstem response or ABR. For this test, sounds are played to the baby’s ears. Band-aid like electrodes are placed on the baby’s head to detect responses. This test measures how the hearing nerve responds to sounds and can identify babies who have a hearing loss.
The two tests can be used separately or together. In some hospitals, babies are first screened using OAEs. Babies who do not pass on the first OAE test can be given a second test using the ABR. Some initial reasons for babies failing their hearing tests may be fluid still in the ear from the birth canal. That is why many technicians test the baby more than once before the bay is initially released to go home.
MUST READ: Wow! A Baby Born With Half A Heart Has So Much To Give
When her grandmother makes popping sounds with her mouth, Corlena is shown turning toward the woman and staring in shock for a moment before crying out in joy. When her grandmother starts clapping, Corlena is shown staring in amazement.
Check out the video below:
https://youtu.be/LB6C1e23vhU
Kalonda shared the emotional video on Facebook, and it’s received over tens of thousands of views already.
She wrote, “Thankful this morning for life, family and this bundle of joy. She received her hearing aids for the first time yesterday and……the joy on her face!”
“Wow, she was shocked that’s so amazing,” commented one friend.
One thing mom wasn’t expecting though – she had thought that with Corlena able to hear herself for the first time, her voice might get quieter – but no such luck.
“And we thought receiving her hearing aids she will be a little bit quieter. She said y’all thought wrong. ..lol,” the mom laughed on Facebook.
She explained that Corlena, who lives in St. Louis, Missouri, was born full term and otherwise healthy but failed her first hearing tests at the hospital.
The Cloyd family was helped by the The Moog Center for the Deaf and Missouri First Steps to bring their little bundle of joy’s hearing to life.