All About Bluetooth Hearing Aids
Do you remember the hearing aids your parents or grandparents used to
All About Pediatric Hearing Loss
Information About Childhood Hearing Loss
To most people, hearing loss is often seen as a problem of older generations. But what many don’t realize is that it can also affect even the youngest children. In fact, 5 out of every thousand newborns have some form of hearing loss, and 32 million people who have hearing loss are actually under the age of 15. Hearing loss in the young carries with it a special set of problems.
Common Causes of Pediatric Hearing Loss
There are several causes of hearing loss in children. The most common is genetic – 1 in 2 of all cases are passed down from the parents. Of these cases, 1 in 3 are ‘syndromic’ – it manifests as a symptom of another condition such as Down’s syndrome.
Other causes account for 1 in 4 of all cases. Infections could sometimes be the cause. The Cytomegalovirus (CMV) is an infection some newborns acquire before birth. Afflicting 3% of newborns, this causes hearing loss in 50% of cases.
Further causes could be the use of ototoxic medication or drug and alcohol use by the mother during pregnancy.
Signs your child may have a hearing impairment
You can determine whether your child might have impairment by observing the following signs:
Newborns to 2 years old
They fail to produce individual words like ‘mama’ after they pass their first birthday. The child doesn’t startle from loud noises. They don’t turn their head towards the origin of loud sounds. They can hear some sounds but cannot detect others.
Children from 2 – 16 years old
They fail to follow basic directions appropriate for their age. Their speech might be unclear or their responses to your questions might be postponed. They may watch TV with the volume too loud. They might complain about finding lessons at school difficult to understand.
Hearing Loss Treatments available for Children
Having your child diagnosed with hearing loss is a painful time for any family. Parents will often blame themselves even if the issue is from no fault of their own. But the most important thing for parents to do is identify their child’s hearing loss quickly. Studies show that with early diagnosis and correct treatment, even deaf children can develop communication skills as quickly as those who have normal hearing. Early diagnosis is also essential because in order to learn to talk, children need to be exposed to speech sounds as soon as possible.
Sequence of hearing care
There is a process by which sufferers of pediatric hearing loss are be treated. For infants to go on to develop hearing issues, the initial step is a meeting with their pediatrician or primary care physician. The physician determines the nature of the hearing loss and makes an appropriate referral.
In those cases where the child is born with hearing loss, an audiologist informs the parents. They run tests to determine the severity of the hearing loss, provide hearing aids and fit your child with ear molds.
In addition to the audiologist, the child will likely be referred to an ENT physician. It is their job to find the root cause of the problem and decide whether it can be remedied by medicine or surgery.
The next course involves a speech and language therapist. They will periodically check the child’s language development and make sure it is progressing in a timely manner. They will also help the child produce speech sounds correctly.
