Common Hearing Issues

What are some common hearing issues?

 

Our hearing screener performs a general screening for hearing loss. We hope that before our screenings, most children who have congenital or severe hearing loss would have been identified at birth or at well-care pediatrician appointments.

In between checkups, it is not uncommon to have acquired or transient hearing problems. The children who fail our hearing screening usually end up having ear infections, fluid on their ears, or impacted earwax. Without treatment, ear infections can lead to permanent hearing loss. Frequent ear infections can also lead to hearing loss. Even temporary hearing loss can be detrimental to speech and language development.
Accidently mislabeling a child with hearing loss can be easy. You might think a young child is not interested in what you are saying or is flat out ignoring you. The child may be labeled as unintelligent or slow. It is important to recognize the signs of hearing loss so their root problem can be addressed.

Signs of a hearing problem in children:

• Has difficulty understanding what people are saying.
• Speaks differently than other children her or his age.
• Doesn't reply when you call his or her name.
• Responds inappropriately to questions (misunderstands).
• Turns up the TV volume incredibly high or sits very close to the TV to hear.
• Has problems academically, especially if they are newly developed.
• Has speech or language delays or problems articulating things.
• Watches others in order to imitate their actions, at home or in school.
• Complains of ear pain, earaches or noises.
• Cannot understand over the phone or switches ears frequently while talking on the phone.
• Says "what?" or "huh?" several times a day.
• Watches a speaker's face very intently – many children's hearing loss escapes detection because they are very successful lip readers.