McKay’s “Magic Ears”: How Our Audiology Team Helped Him Hear Again

McKay Hansen’s journey at Primary Children’s Hospital began in February 2014 when doctors diagnosed him with Stage 4 neuroblastoma at the age of 3. Over the next year and a half, McKay received chemotherapy treatments, a stem cell transplant, and spent many days in and out of the hospital.

After beginning the first round of aggressive chemotherapy, McKay’s mom noticed he started to have trouble hearing. “He often asked us to repeat what we were saying,” says Shae Hansen, McKay’s mom. “It wasn’t uncommon for us to hear the words ‘what’ or ‘huh’ come from McKay when we talked with him.” McKay’s hearing was monitored and in September of 2014 testing confirmed that chemo treatment had damaged his ears.

He was diagnosed with hearing loss in both ears.

McKay’s audiologist, Adrienne Jackson Johnson AuD, recommended hearing aids when the hearing loss was diagnosed. “McKay met a lot of different caretakers during his time at the hospital, but for some reason he connected with Adrienne. She was the first person whose name he remembered,” says Shae.

‘Magic ears’ as he calls them, were given on October 2, 2014. “When he put the hearing aids on for first time, he got this big smile on his face. You could tell that he was recognizing sounds again,” recalls Shae.

“One of the more rewarding experiences has been to see him doing so well and enjoy how well he has accepted using his hearing aids,” says Adrienne. As McKay’s ear grows our audiology team makes new ear molds to attach to the hearing aids. McKay chooses fun, bright, and swirled (even glitter) colors for each new set of ear molds. He even chose red for his hearing aids because he loves Lightening McQueen. McKay finished his cancer treatment in July 2015. Shae says she is grateful for the amazing team at Primary Children’s Hospital.

“We’ll take the hearing loss because it means he’s here, and he survived the cancer.”

October is Audiology Awareness Month

Facts About Hearing Loss

• 1.2 million children have hearing loss.
• Hearing loss is the most frequently occurring birth defect.
• Hearing loss occurs more frequently than any other condition we screen for at birth.
• 98.6% of the babies born in hospitals have their hearing screened prior to discharge in Utah
• 1 out of 10 Americans have hearing loss, which is more than 28,000,000 people.
• 3 out of 1,000 children are born with a significant permanent hearing loss hearing loss.
• Hearing can be tested at any age,the earlier the better.
• The ear has over 25,000 tiny hair cells to help you hear the nuances of sound.
• Excessive noise is the number one reason for hearing loss.

Facts about Primary Children’s Audiology Program

• In 2014, Primary Children’s Audiology team fit 261 hearing aids.
• 12 audiologists and a newborn hearing screening coordinator that see patients.
• 3 outpatient centers in Bountiful, Taylorsville, and Riverton, UT.
• We care for children from birth to 21 years old and diagnose and treat all types of hearing impairments.

About the Author

Primary Children's Hospital

Primary Children’s Hospital ranks among the best children's hospitals. Located in scenic Utah, everything in our hospital is focused on providing the best care for children. For more than 90 years, we have been committed to helping children, families, and communities across the western United States.

http://primarychildrens.org

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