CHAPTER 321: 321 HAPPY EVEN WITH LITTLE EXPERIENCE

Liu Banxia checked the child’s breathing and pulse, which seemed fine.

"That’s how it is, sigh..." The child’s mother sighed.

"Please don’t worry for now. Our whispering won’t have much effect on your child. Could I take him for a brain CT scan now?" Liu Banxia proposed.

"We’ll have to plug his ears. I usually use earplugs for him at home. I forgot to bring them today because we were in a hurry," said the mother.

Liu Banxia nodded, found two cotton balls, and cautiously plugged the child’s ears. He didn’t need a gurney. The child wasn’t heavy, so Liu Banxia took him straight down to the basement level and managed to get an urgent CT scan.

Thankfully, the child was unconscious at this point. Otherwise, a tranquilizer might have been necessary.

"I don’t see any problems," Wu Bo stated once the CT scan was done.

"Sigh... If there’s nothing wrong, then the child might genuinely have schizophrenia," Liu Banxia sighed.

"Let’s do an EEG and observe him long-term. If conditions allow, we can also apply appropriate stimuli to see if we can identify any issues," Wu Bo suggested.

Liu Banxia nodded. "Doctor Peng from Neurology suggested the same. I’m really not sure anymore. Often, patients with a three-year history of schizophrenia can be identified just by their eyes."

"But this little guy, his gaze is normal, and his emotional expressions are normal as well. The more normal he seems, the more abnormal it is, right?"

Wu Bo smiled bitterly at him. "It’s up to you guys to investigate from here on out. All I can do is analyze the images."

"Thanks, Brother Wu," Liu Banxia said and then carried the child out.

"Doctor, how was it?" asked the child’s mother urgently.

"Currently, it looks like there are no problems with his brain. Next, we need to do an EEG," Liu Banxia replied.

The child’s mother looked visibly disappointed. She had really hoped to find some sort of diagnosis all this time. Even if it was a brain tumor that required surgery, it would be better than the child’s current state.

"The consultation hall on the first floor is a bit chaotic, so I’ll take you directly to an Internal Medicine ward on the second floor to rest. I’ll have someone bring the machine over later, and we’ll do the examination there," Liu Banxia added.

"Thank you, doctor," the mother said gratefully.

Her gratitude was sincere. They hadn’t received this level of care at any other hospital before. Taking her child for tests at other hospitals had always been an ordeal.

Upon arriving in the ward, Liu Banxia had barely set down the child, intending to find someone to bring over the EEG machine, when he noticed the child was clutching his white coat.

"It’s very quiet here, and there’s no one in the surrounding rooms. You can rest here peacefully," Liu Banxia said, removing the cotton balls from the child’s ears.

"I’m groggy," the little guy mumbled.

Liu Banxia patted his head. "You just fainted, so you’re still a bit out of it. Uncle will give you an EEG in a bit to try and find out what’s wrong, okay?"

The little fellow nodded.

Seeing how well-behaved the little guy was now, Liu Banxia found it truly hard to believe he had schizophrenia.

He didn’t call, just sent a text message to Peng Bo with the ward number, asking him to bring the EEG machine.

If it truly was schizophrenia, could he be this dependent on me? How could that be possible?

After waiting a while, Peng Bo arrived with someone, pushing the EEG machine. Liu Banxia personally attached the electrodes to the little guy, who showed no signs of discomfort.

"He just had another episode. I’ve seen the CT results; his brain is completely normal," Liu Banxia said.

Peng Bo nodded and began to observe the child carefully.

The child was calm now, but his hand still clutched Liu Banxia’s white coat.

"Let’s observe for now. If that doesn’t work, we’ll have to do a stress test," Peng Bo said.

"What symptoms did you see when he had the episode just now? All of them. Recall carefully; it’s possible we missed something."

"I opened the door, and after a loud ringtone, the kind from a senior’s mobile phone, sounded in the corridor, the child started to have an episode," Liu Banxia recalled.

"I held him then. He struggled for a bit before fainting. When he has episodes at home, are there any symptoms or warning signs beforehand?" Liu Banxia then asked the mother.

The child’s mother shook her head. "It’s like that too. He’s just afraid of loud noises; he can’t stand them once they get loud."

"Then can you tell Uncle what you feel when it gets loud?" Liu Banxia then asked the little guy.

"My head hurts, my ears ring, and I feel dizzy," the little fellow said.

"During previous check-ups, he would have tinnitus. That doctor said it was auditory hallucinations. Because he’s young, his brain can’t properly process such hallucinations, so that’s why he has these problems," the child’s mother added.

"Oh, right, sometimes before he faints, his eyes also move, like he’s rolling them upwards. We haven’t looked closely, but it seems to have happened a few times," she continued.

"His eyes move?" Liu Banxia couldn’t help but raise his voice slightly, then quickly lowered it when he realized.

"Brother Peng, do you think the child’s problem might not be in his brain, but his ears? That tinnitus could be actual tinnitus, not auditory hallucinations?"

"The eye movement, could that be nystagmus? One of its inducing causes is otogenic. Anyway, I just don’t see how this child has schizophrenia; he’s been so well-behaved this whole time."

Peng Bo glanced at him, smiled, and nodded. "Actually, it’s very simple to test your hypothesis. Pinch the child’s nose and see. If there’s a reaction, then this illness can likely be diagnosed; you’re probably spot on."

Liu Banxia was momentarily stunned, then an inexplicable joy welled up in his heart. Seeing Peng Bo’s confident expression, it seemed he already had a strong suspicion.

"Uncle is going to pinch your nose now. Keep your eyes open and look at Uncle, okay?" Liu Banxia said patiently to the child. Only after the child nodded did he pinch his nose.

In less than a minute, the child’s eyeballs began to show nystagmus. Although the movement wasn’t large, Liu Banxia, who was watching intently, clearly saw it.

"Amazing, Brother Peng! What illness is this?" Liu Banxia asked, trying to suppress his elation.

"It’s neither an internal medicine nor a neurological disease. Get someone from ENT to take a look. It’s most likely Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence. I’ve heard of it, but never seen a case," Peng Bo said.

"It’s because his superior semicircular canal has a dehiscence. So, due to sound-induced reasons, the pressure in his inner ear increases, causing syncope and nystagmus."

"If the noise is constant but doesn’t reach the inner ear pressure required to cause fainting, how long could even an adult endure that dizzy, muddle-headed feeling? And notice, the child’s hearing isn’t very good right now; he’s been listening very intently when we speak."

"Doctor, are you saying that the problem lies in his ears?" The moment Peng Bo finished, the child’s mother rushed over and grasped his hand.

Peng Bo nodded. "That’s about right, but we need an ENT doctor to confirm the diagnosis. If it really is this illness, it can be corrected with surgery."

"Wait a moment. I’ll ask an ENT doctor. If he has time, we’ll take the child over directly," Liu Banxia said.

Du Fancheng was the one he could ask. They originally planned to establish an Otolaryngology (ENT) department as well, but due to a shortage of doctors, it had to be postponed until more could be recruited.

Upon receiving Liu Banxia’s call, Du Fancheng was also interested and told him to bring the child over directly. Similarly, this disease wasn’t very common.

Liu Banxia once again put cotton balls in the little guy’s ears, informed the staff downstairs, and then, carrying the child and accompanied by Peng Bo, headed towards the ENT outpatient clinic.

Fortunately, it wasn’t too far. Liu Banxia was now pinning all his hopes on Du Fancheng.

"Little guy, when you eat, can you hear the sound of yourself chewing? And can you usually hear sounds from inside your body?" Du Fancheng asked with a smile.

The little fellow looked at him in surprise and nodded, but his hand gripping Liu Banxia’s white coat never loosened.

"Old Du, what’s going on here?" Liu Banxia asked, astonished.

"We basically don’t need any more tests. In a bit, we’ll do a simple little test to see which ear is the problem, then a CT scan will reveal it," Du Fancheng said with a smile.

"This is also a symptom of Superior Semicircular Canal Dehiscence. His ears can hear internal body sounds, and they’re amplified. It’s quite contradictory, isn’t it? He can hear internal sounds amplified, but conversely, his hearing of external sounds is somewhat impaired."

"Old Du, can we do the surgery here then?" Liu Banxia pressed.

Du Fancheng nodded. "We can. Tomorrow or the day after should be fine. This condition is very distressing; after all, some patients can even hear the sound of blood flowing in their vessels."

"So, for these past three years, he has constantly had tinnitus and heard sounds that many people can’t. Kid, you’re really brave. Uncle admires you. I’ll arrange your surgery as soon as possible."

After saying this, Du Fancheng gave him a thumbs up.

The little guy had a happy expression, but he reached out his small arms and hugged Liu Banxia’s arm.

Liu Banxia felt quite heartsore. Although the correct diagnosis should have been a happy occasion, he truly couldn’t feel happy. Why did the child resort to self-harm? This kind of suffering could really drive a person mad.

Even though Liu Banxia was a skilled surgeon and Peng Bo was a senior attending neurologist, neither of them understood the details of this disease as well as Du Fancheng.

After a simple examination, they found the problem was with his left ear. Then, they rushed back to the Emergency Center for a CT scan, which made it very clear and directly confirmed the diagnosis.

DING! Consultation complete!

Received 300 Experience Points, Diagnostic Skill Proficiency +100 points, 1 Glory Point.

Although the reward given was small, Liu Banxia was truly very happy right now.

The experience was low because he hadn’t diagnosed the illness himself. But why was he happy? Because this little guy would finally be free from the suffering that had plagued him for three years by tomorrow afternoon.