Signs Hearing Problems Children
Many toddlers may seem not to hear at least half of what their parents say, but in most cases, it’s just a matter of selective listening or inattention. The child who truly doesn’t hear well usually exhibits one or more of the following signs of hearing loss (although some of these may also be exhibited by a child with normal hearing) :
- An apparent inability to hear what is said by others, all or part of the time.
- Difficulty hearing when the sound comes from the side or the rear and when not facing the speaker directly; many hearing impaired children instinctively learn some rudimentary lip reading and so understand more when they can see the speaker’s lips.
- A consistent lack of response when spoken to quietly.
- A consistent inattentiveness to any verbal or other auditory cues.
- An apparent inability to follow any directions (more so than is age-appropriate).
- A limited vocabulary – both receptive (the words that are understood) and spoken – compared to peers, the child may be mislabeled “slow” because of this development delay.
- A lack of response to music – the child doesn’t clap, sing along, or move rhythmically to music, or enjoy or recognize frequently played tunes, even those designed especially for children.
- Lack of response to the nuances of language (can’t seem to tell from the tone of your voice whether you are angry, sad, joking, and so on).
- Lack of response to environmental sounds (the ring of telephone or doorbell, the buzzer on a timer, the sing of a bird, the howling of the wind).
- Difficulty distinguishing between similar sounding word (door and store, Sue and shoe, fake and shake), particularly when the word begin with f, sh, or s.
- A tendency to give inappropriate answers to questions (“Do you want to play with a puzzle?” “No, I not hungry.”).
- A tendency to favor one ear when turning toward a sound.
- An inability to hear very low sounds, such as the ticking of a watch.
- A tendency to turn the volume of the TV and tape player up too high or to stand very close to them, as if to hear them better (though a toddler with normal hearing may occasionally do this put of curiosity).
- Complaints about ringing or pain in ears.
Children who are at risk for hearing problems should have a formal hearing screening early on, even if they do not display any of these signs., children are considered to be at risk if :
- They have been diagnose as having a medical problem such as Franconia syndrome, which is associated with hearing deficit.
- There is a family history of inherit or unexplained childhood hearing loss (among siblings, parents, cousins, and so on).
- They were exposed in utero to a viral infection known to affect hearing (such as rubella), particularly during the first trimester.
- They weighed in under 1.500 grams or 3 pounds, 4 ounces at birth.
- They were born with ear or facial abnormalities.
- They had low APGAR score (under 4) at birth, or experienced serious problems as newborns – such as asphyxia (oxygen deprivation), seizures, or intracranial bleeding, or if they received prolonged ventilation.
- They were given potentially ototoxic (ear damaging) medications (such as Gentamicin) or contracted an illness (such as bacterial meningitis) that can cause ear damage.
Even the smallest suspicion of a hearing problem warrants audio logic testing, especially in a young infant. A child doesn’t have to be profoundly deaf to benefit from treatment; in fact, the child with only a mild hearing deficit may benefit most from therapy. Any hearing deficit that goes undetected and untreated can lead to poor language and learning skills, to a bright child being mistakenly labeled “slow” or even “retarded”, and to low self-esteem.