Luka passes his hearing test

Neborn Hearing Screen test kit on wheels

As part of routine screenings for babies born in Australian hospitals, Luka had his hearing screened by a technician here in the special care nursery.  The screen involves a pretty 'spacey'-looking headset that plays a set of 15,000 'clicks' in both ears.  Small electrodes are attached to the forehead and the back of the neck to read the brainwaves as he processes the clicks.  A progress bar for each ear shows the brain activity. In order to pass, the bars for each of the ears have to be completely filled before he runs out of clicks.  What made the event rather special for everyone is that Luka's profoundly deaf grandmother, or Ouma, was here to hold him during the procedure.

Luka having his hearing screened while being held
by his deaf Ouma Estelle

Susan's mother, Estelle, was born profoundly deaf in Pretoria, South Africa, the youngest of four siblings.  Her deafness however was not discovered until the age of four and a half, at which time she had already taught herself how to lipread to understand her family.  By the age of six she received her first hearing aid and recalls the fright of her life when she heard an airplane overhead for the first time.  Today, she is an accomplished professional academic researcher with a PhD in Information Sciences.  She speaks four languages (Afrikaans, English, French and German), managed her own aerobics exercise club for 20+ years, and recently founded and presently chairs the largest chapter of the Ret Hat Society in South Africa. Today Estelle is a frequent speaker at events, is often featured in publications including national magazines and recently on a national talk show program on television.  She was selected for the South African national field hockey team in the 1970s, but was unable to accept as she moved to the US with Susan's dad to pursue his Masters in Engineering in Seattle. She is an avid player of the organ, has a larger music collection on her iPod than Susan, and loves painting and drawing South African wildlife.

Needless to say...if there was something wrong with Luka's hearing, we were not concerned that it would 'hold him back'.  We are happy to report however that despite a first 'inconclusive,' he passed the second round with flying colors.  Next up, eye exam...no accomplished blind family members to report on that we know of...though Chris did have a blind dog that was quite cool.