Guide To Hearing Assessment In Infants And Children

No kid is ever too young to have his hearing ability tested. In fact, there are some hearing tests for newborns that could help you identify whether everything is alright with your little angel’s hearing abilities. These are of huge importance because they help identify hearing problems in their early stage. Therefore, the sooner a hearing problem is identified, the sooner the right treatment can start.

If you have any worries regarding the hearing abilities of your kid, make sure you mention them to the health care provider of your child. They will refer you to an experienced audiologist (health care professional specialized for hearing problems) who will complete the needed tests in order to make good hearing assessments on your child’s hearing abilities. Finding the right cause of hearing loss will help the audiologist to make the right diagnose, thus provide you with the right solution.

There is some common behavior in kids who experience hearing loss. If you notice some of the following, it is more than important to contact an audiologist.

• Sad – sometimes kids are too young to understand why people shout at them when talking.
• Frustrated and angry – If your child experiences hearing loss, chances are he might feel angry most of the time because they are not being able to communicate and hear well what other people say.
• Shy – this usually happens when they are around strangers; in this case children usually keep quiet which is oftentimes interpreted as being shy when in fact they cannot understand what people are saying.
• Quiet at school – These children are often quite and closed in themselves because can not hear the teacher and follow the instructions.
• Misbehaved – A problematic behavior can sometimes be the camouflage of hearing loss in kids.
• Exhaustion – Although we may not be aware of it, but hearing takes a lot of energy. That is why kids with hearing problems feel exhausted by the end of the day.

There are several tests that infants, toddlers, and young children can undergo. They are non-invasive and painless. After your kid undergoes the needed hearing assessments, the audiologist will talk with you about the outcome and recommend an appropriate treatment or medical intervention if needed. Depending on the cause and severity of the hearing loss, cochlear implants, hearing aids and a combination of assistive listening devices and speech therapy may be some of the recommended forms of treatment.

• Hearing aids – These hearing devices are commonly used and can help you hear clearly again. There is wide range of advanced models that provide high-quality hearing assistance. Depending on your needs you can choose from behind-the-ear hearing aids or those that are almost entirely in the ear canal.
• Cochlear implants – These are surgically implanted devices that stimulate the auditory nerve directly in the inner ear. They work perfectly well for kids and infants who can not benefit from hearing aids.
• Speech therapy – Kids who suffer form hearing loss that has affected their speech may also need a speech therapy after getting cochlear implants or hearing aid devices. This therapy can definitely help them catch up on speech delays.
• Assistive listening devices – There are a lot of hearing aid production companies that offer assistive listening devices that are discreet and work great towards helping children improve their hearing abilities.

So, if you notice anything unusual in your kid, make an appointment at the audiologist. Hearing tests are painless and accurate, so if this is your case, you might as well react about it on time, your child’s wealth is the biggest wealth.