Some of you already know, but Avery is having surgery – to get ear tubes inserted and her adenoids removed – this Thursday. The short version of the story is that we recently learned she has a hearing problem\u00c2\u00a0(due to fluid build-up in her ears), and she needs the procedure to help both her hearing and her speech. The long version of the story is…<\/p>\n
As I’ve hinted here in the past, Avery has always been behind in her speech development. I\u00c2\u00a0tried not to panic\u00c2\u00a0about it – I knew I shouldn’t compare her to Zoe, who was an early talker, and I know kids develop at different paces – but as Avery got older and was still difficult to understand, my gut told me something wasn’t quite right. I didn’t believe the problem was cognitive – she was bright and she seemingly understood everything people said to her – and the people around her (first Elena, then her teachers and doctor) weren’t overly concerned. Something, though, prompted me to get Avery officially evaluated earlier this spring, and the speech pathologist confirmed that Avery was speech-delayed. We started “talk class” (as Avery calls it)\u00c2\u00a0and listened to the pathologist’s suggestion to see an ENT right away. She thought, based on the tone of Avery’s voice, that\u00c2\u00a0a physical\u00c2\u00a0issue\u00c2\u00a0could be the culprit.<\/p>\n
The ENT appointment was two weeks ago, and we learned there that Avery’s ears are\u00c2\u00a0completely full of fluid and that\u00c2\u00a0her hearing is “significantly impaired.” Avery hears as if she’s under water: Everything is muffled. The doctor said\u00c2\u00a0Avery’s obviously done a great job of compensating for\u00c2\u00a0her lack of hearing (since no one suspected a problem),\u00c2\u00a0but\u00c2\u00a0the hearing issue is likely\u00c2\u00a0the reason why her speech hasn’t developed as it should. It’s difficult to speak correctly if you can’t hear yourself talk!<\/p>\n