Hearing Evaluation

We've been taking Jonathan to speech therapy (once a month is the schedule) and they requested we have his hearing checked just to rule out the possibilities of hearing loss or damage. Tuesday we took him and at first he was a little uncomfortable. If you've ever had a hearing eval or taking a small child it is kind of scary as the rooms are fairly small and built sound proof - feels like a vault. She tested the pressure in his ear using a small scope which blew a small puff of air into his ear canal. This tested his ear drum and looked for moment to sounds. Normal should look like a bell curve and Jonathan's was flat with a few small bumps. The primary reason for that was fluid in his ear. When it came to hearing his level is 20. Best practice says anything less than 15 is normal. The conclusion was that we'll return in a month for another exam. Hopefully the fluid will be gone and we'll see significant improvements. If the fluid remains and there is no improvements that he will immediately be recommended to a ENT (ear, nose, and throat doctor) and possibly need tubes placed in his ears. Obviously having his ear drum not respond to sound was a good thing (as good as it can be) because this is most likely the leading cause to his speech delay (not that he's too far off course). If we can fix the hearing then more than likely we can fix the speech.

On another note, prayers should continue to be said for Josh's dad. He passed out while driving yesterday and went off the interstate - amazingly he is fine and there is no damage to his truck. The tests show that he has had a heart attack (they can't tell exactly when). He had a heart cath this afternoon and the results showed he has one blocked artery and a leaky valve. He'll have two different tests tomorrow and that will tell us what needs to be done - medication, surgery, defibrillator, etc. Josh leaves for Ft. Kent Friday for four days on a fishing derby so needless to say he's pretty shook up (even though he won't admit it).

God is good and He is in control!