Colorado boy defies deaf diagnosis, doctors credit parents’ intuition and testing

DENVER (KDVR) — A Colorado boy preventing to have the ability to hear is making unimaginable progress after docs consider he was born deaf.

Kash Clark was born proper earlier than the COVID-19 pandemic hit. He had failed his new child listening to screening and weeks later, many providers shut down, so stepping into the hospital grew to become an enormous danger.

The new child’s failed screening wasn’t a purple flag to mother and pop as a result of Kash’s older brother didn’t speak till he was round age 2, so this appeared regular. 

“However then round 20 months, we type of observed that he wasn’t responding to his title, and we did a clapping check whereas I used to be standing behind him and pop was standing in entrance, and he didn’t reply to me,” Kash’s mother Olivia Clark mentioned. “So, we scheduled a listening to check as quickly as we might.”

“He really has a genetic situation that’s autosomal recessive, that means that neither father or mother displays the situation, however they get one copy of the gene from mother and one copy of the gene from dad, and when that particular mixture occurs, it ends in deafness,” Brittney Slaff, HealthONE pediatric audiologist mentioned. 

Kash met with the group at Rocky Mountain Pediatric ENT Associates and extra exams lead docs to his deaf analysis. An MRI then confirmed Kash certified for cochlear implants.

“I’ve by no means seen anyone undergo it as quick as he did,” HealthONE Pediatric ENT Dr. Ryan Mitchell mentioned. “He’s about three months out from his surgical procedure. He’s doing nice.”

At 2 years previous, Kash is defying his preliminary deaf analysis, studying methods to converse and signal on the identical time.

His household and docs hope his success story can function a studying lesson for a lot of.

“As we come out of COVID precautions and as we ramp as much as being totally operational once more, if your loved ones was impacted by problem scheduling appointments, be sure that they arrive in,” Slaff mentioned. “It’s by no means too late. It’s at all times a good suggestion.”