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Childhood hearing problems |
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by AZMom  (August 2007) (rank 78th) |
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I am writing this as hearing problems run in my family, and I think it is important to look for the signs and understand why hearing problems may occur in childhood.
My Mother, Brother and Sister all suffer from varying degrees of hearing loss which is heriditory. I was
lucky enough not to born with hearing loss, although I have since suffered a slight hearing loss in adulthood.
It is estimated here in the US that hearing loss is found in around 1 to 3 babies in every 1,000. If it is treated early, generally within the first three months, then most hearing problems can be successfully treated.
Causes of hearing loss
Evidence suggests that the following factors may cause hearing loss in babies:-
Baby was born prematurely
complications with the birth
spent time in the neonatal ICU
was given medications that could lead to hearing loss
has a family history of hearing loss
frequent ear infections or other infections such as meningitis
had high bilirubin which required a transfusion
exposed to loud noises
Most of these can be detected at birth. However, hearing loss caused by infections and loud noises may not manifest itself until your child is older.
Signs of hearing loss
It is important to look for the signs of possible hearing loss as your child develops.
Young babies are likely to be startled when exposed to sudden loud noises such as a door slamming. As your baby gets a little older (around 3 months) s/he will start to recognise familiar voices. From around 5-6 months your baby should be able to turn towards sounds and by the age of one most children can imitate some sounds and tend to say a couple of words such as dadda and mamma. If your baby is not reaching these milestones, it may indicate they are experiencing some hearing loss.
Some of the signs that your toddler may be experiencing some hearing loss are limited, poor or no speech, frequently inattentive, difficulty learning, failing to respond to conversational level speech, may increase the television volume and may respond more to vibration sounds and or noises they can feel. My brother's hearing loss is in one ear, and as a toddler he would watch television with his 'good' ear slightly turned towards the sound.
Hearing Testing
There are two main types of hearing tests used in children, behavioural and physiological. The behavioural test is frequently used to observe the childs response to a variety of sounds such as tones or speech. The physiological test is used for children who are too young for the behavioural test, and they estimate the hearing function.
Treatment
The most common treatment for children with hearing loss is a hearing aid. However, these did not work well for my brother or sister. Other non-surgical treatments may include some form of hearing rehabilitation, which could be auditory or listening therapy and lip reading.
If you feel that your child has hearing loss discuss this with your GP in the first instance and ask for a referral to a hearing specialist.
