When Lauren was two years old, we decided to investigate her almost total lack of speech, discovered she wasn't talking because she couldn't hear, and, after a bit of mandatory parental agony about interventions, had grommets put in her ears. It made an enormous difference, literally overnight. By the end of the same day she was saying 'shopping' for the first time instead of 'opping'. Within days she was saying so many new words, and within weeks she was so much more fluent.

Since then, although it's been taking a while for her speech to catch up with that of her peers, there have been very few problems with her ears - a couple of infections, the usual sort of thing. This year the problem seems to be back. Her hearing is terrible. The paediatrician says her ears are at 45% and 48%. Trying to hold a conversation with her this week has been quite a strain - a constant stream of 'huh?', 'pardon?', 'what?'. I have to talk in a raised voice all the time. She's remarkably patient about it.

So I am ducking out of here early this morning to take her to the ENT. I suspect we'll be booking a grommet op for next week.