I've been meaning to blog about this for the past week or so, but it's been so hard to deal with that I've intentionally been putting it off. But, since I've received some calls from people wondering how we're doing, here we go!
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Well, it's officially been confirmed that Jack does indeed have a mild hearing loss in both ears. Unfortunately, the experts don't know what caused it, & they can't do further testing for another month or so. At that point, he'll get a CAT scan, an MRI, and possibly some blood work to try to determine if whatever's wrong can be fixed. We're not very optimistic about that, because most people that have a hearing loss never find out what caused it. However, for the time being, we're goin' with the flow & doing what needs to be done to ensure that he'll be right on track when he starts to speak. And that means hearing aids.

Doesn't he look thrilled?

I have been dreading this for the past month or so. And yes, I did cry a little. But overall, the whole process was as painless as the good folks at the Arizona School for the Deaf & Blind (ASDB) could make it for us. They have an early childhood intervention program, and they'll be working with us for the next 3 years to make sure that Jack doesn't fall behind in his language skills as he grows.

Jack was a little teary-eyed, too.

I have to admit that they're not anywhere near as bad as I thought they'd be.

See? He's wearing them in this pic.

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I think that the folks at the ASDB thought that the improvement was going to be a lot more drastic than it has been. So, on the one hand, that's good! He was hearing almost everything before. On the other hand, it's depressing that he has to wear these hearing aides when his hearing loss is so mild. Since he got them, we've mostly just noticed him turning his head to sounds or voices that are coming from across the room. It's nice to know that he's hearing everything now, but also comforting to know that he wasn't missing all that much before.

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Hopefully this will get less hard as time goes on. I'm told that attending the parent support groups & being with other people that deal with this will be helpful, although I still am having a hard time with the idea that my son will be "different" from now on. I'm afraid for him- how he'll be treated by other kids, how he'll be viewed by others, and most of all, that he won't feel "normal" as he grows.

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But we perservere, and once we get used to this, I'm sure something else will come up. That's life, after all, isn't it?