Deaf Ears Healed

Elijah at 1 Month

This is the story of our third born son, Elijah Rain. He was born deaf, but now he can hear!

Elijah was born on December 6th 2009. The next day, Elijah was taken for his hearing test, which all newborns undergo within the first days of birth. They were gone for 3 hours; I remember being very bored in the hospital bed! When they finally came in, the nurse gave us the news that Elijah did not pass his hearing test. They had tried multiple times, and sort of got a reading on one ear but nothing on the other. We didn’t know what this meant, except that we needed to have him checked by a different doctor.

Honestly in that moment, it wasn’t real to us. The nurse said we would have to follow up with our doctor and that was all we thought. The truth that Elijah was actually deaf had yet to be proven. When Elijah was a month old, our pediatrician referred us to an ENT doctor in town. The first test was to check for fluid and the second was to test his range of hearing. The results came back that he was not hearing normally, so he was referred to Koisar’s Children’s Hospital where he would undergo a more in-depth test. We were still not given an actual diagnosis.

At Koisar’s they had to give him a sedative, and they hooked him up to several machines; it took all day. I remember when the doctor called us into her office she excused herself for a second and came back in with a box of tissues. The box of tissues broke the news to us, even before she could speak. She explained all the reasons why Elijah could have become deaf: heritage or damage during birth or in the womb. None of these reasons really matched anything we had experienced, but we listened. She said there was no hope, and that there is no cure for deafness! So we only asked one question! Now what?

The next step was yet another doctor that specialized in childhood deafness. That was where Elijah would be fitted for hearing aids and we got a real idea of what “partial hearing” actually meant. The most eye opening day was when they put his hearing levels into a computer and let us listen to a conversation heard by normal hearing and then with Elijah’s hearing. It was heartbreaking! I couldn’t hear anything that sounded like full sentences and I couldn’t hear the higher voices at all. Hearing aids would amplify everything and help him to hear better, but it was going to be a long road. At 4 months, Elijah had hearing aids, which meant being refitted often for new ones due to his ever-growing ears.

Elijah at 6 Months

During this time a specialist came to our house to work with him on his sensory skills. They said he would most likely be behind with his milestones due to the hearing loss.

At the same time, we as a family started praying for Elijah’s ears to be healed. It wasn’t just my husband and I; it was all who knew us. Our entire church body prayed for him continuously! Every week someone new would lay hands on him and speak a prophetic word over his life!

He was called out as a Prophet and a Healer several times.

One time my friend remembered the story about Jesus spitting in the dirt and putting mud on the blind man’s eyes, so she went and got dirt and spit in the dirt and put it in his ears! Nothing was too radical or too simple. We ALL believed for this miracle! God heals deaf ears!

When Elijah was 6 months old, we drove 5 hours to visit a family friend to have him pray. This pastor had witnessed deaf ears healed; we knew he had faith for it. He said, “Elijah, would be healed this year, or God had a specific purpose for him being deaf longer.” This was not the sudden healing I had gone for but I knew I had followed in obedience by seeing him.

Thanksgiving 2007

As our one year check-up with the ENT doctor approached a couple events were taking place at the church. First was a baby dedication that occurs one or two times a year.

It is simply a time to pray for our children’s lives and declare a blessing over them. We dedicated Elijah to the Lord. I remember our good friend specifically praying healing and destiny over Elijah during the dedication.

Second was a Monday night prayer meeting, set especially aside for healing. I took Elijah and everyone prayed over him. This is when I felt we encountered real breakthrough. Elijah was responding more to sounds and we were hopeful.

On December 11, 2007 we went to our ENT appointment. We went through a very familiar drill: sit in a quiet room, test for fluid on the ears and test for hearing. When we had finished the test, she hands me the paper that had the markings of his levels and said they would refer us to Kosairs again, because the levels were different then the first test. I looked at the paper, and now having some experience at reading the results, my heart leapt! He was hearing more-a lot more-- about 80% better than he had ever tested! Some tones were even in the normal range! I asked the doctor about it, and she refused to offer false hope, but I was more than hopeful, because I knew God had touched Elijah’s ears!

I immediately called my husband to give him the good news. When I hung up the phone I remember shouting and screaming praises at the top of my lungs! It was the only appropriate response. Within 10 minutes, all of my family and most of the church knew. Good news travels fast.

On Sunday morning, it was time to make sure everyone knew. I am so thankful for that morning. Pastor Ray had us share the news, and we all rejoiced. Thankfully, God is not just an 80% God, He is 100%. The entire church raised their hands and prayed for Elijah again. Not one person was going to be left out of this miracle. It was such a heartwarming response of love from the church. We were all united by love and compassion for Elijah.

We went to what would be our final appointment at Kosiar’s. We got called to the same little desk, but this time there was no box of tissues. She told us that his hearing was perfect, actually better than perfect! She wasn’t as excited as us, because she was assuming they had made some horrible mistake 12 months ago, but we were not mad, we knew that God doesn’t make mistakes and he had healed our baby!

For about a year after this miracle, everyone still asked, “How is Elijah’s hearing?” Even though we had told everyone he had been healed, there was a hesitation to believe or a fear it wasn’t real. Elijah is now seven and we still rejoice over his hearing! We’ve had to do other tests for school physicals along the way and he always passes. I’m honored and so thankful to be Elijah’s mom.

-Written by: Lori Rogers