Can he hear??

If you had asked me that question yesterday, I would have said, "Of course, he can hear." But, this morning our world was rocked just a little by the news that Elijah may have a hearing impairment.

To say it was unexpected is an understatement. He responds to us speaking and is afraid of loud noises. Heck, even that state of the art ear exam in Guangzhou (the one where they squeezed the toy beside his ears to see if he turns his head), didn't pick up on any deficit.

We had the hearing exam done because of his speech. We had him evaluated for his lagging speech and they found only a mild delay. But, the therapist, seeing that I had to translate many of his words, admitted him to the program based on "Clinical observation". Thus, we had to have his hearing tested just to make sure he would be able to hear the speech therapist that would work with him.

Now we wait to get an appointment with the expert at UNC. I pray it will be quick, because Elijah will age out of the program when he turns three,(in 3 months), and then will have to transfer to the school system. The school system may or may not continue the therapy.  So, we are hoping and praying that we will get in quickly and that he will not have a substantial hearing loss.  The test result today could be caused by fluid buildup or other factors that can resolve themselves. We are also praying that that will be the case. So for now, we have to wait for answers before we can get speech therapy, bummer!!