Has anyone’s LO been diagnosed with hearing loss due to middle ear dysfunction? Do they wear hearing aids?

Long story short (well as short as I can), our LOs ear drums are unable to move due to fluid. At the initial appointment in the early weeks we were told if it doesn’t improve by 3 months they’ll fit bone conduction hearing aids (they bypass the eardrums).

Fast forward to today and my LO failed the test for the 3rd time and has been identified as having speech delay, yet they still haven’t given us hearing aids.

The audiologist basically said they can’t do the surgery to drain fluid until after 12 months so we just have to wait. Which I understand due to risks of anaesthetic.

But 12+ months of not hearing seems like an awfully long time in terms of speech development. So why wouldn’t they fit the hearing aids like they said they would? Then we could wait as long as required for surgery without impacting speech.

Seeking a second opinion this week. Sorry for the frustrated rant.