1. Delay in speech/language development
There is a wide range for language development for babies and young
children. However, there are certain
milestones that all children should reach by a certain age including babbling,
word approximation and phrases. These
general guidelines are well established and available on multiple websites including American Speech Language Hearing Association (ASHA). A baby or young child who is not making
normal strides in speech and language development may have hearing loss and
should be tested by a hearing specialist.
2. Articulation errors or child speaking
differently than his/her peers
As
children’s language progresses some toddlers and grade school children may
present with hearing loss by demonstrating articulation errors, or speech
patterns that differ from other children their age. A child can have seemingly normal hearing
and speech development outside of articulation errors, but these errors can be
a sign of a mild-moderate hearing loss.
Children with a moderate hearing loss may hear well enough for language
to develop, but may not hear parts of words clearly causing articulation errors
will occur. Any child requiring speech
therapy for articulation errors should have his or her hearing tested, as hearing
loss may be the underlying cause of the problem.
3. Turns up volume loud on TV
Some children, just like some adults, like to
listen to the TV or music more loudly than others. However, a child who routinely turns the
volume up louder than is considered comfortable by others in the room, or who
always moves closer to the TV to hear, may have hearing loss and should be
evaluated by a hearing specialist.
4. Does not answer when you call
Children certainly learn quickly how to tune
out adults or can be very focused on an activity and may not respond. However, when you call a child and he
frequently doesn’t answer, hearing loss could be the reason. If the lack of response particularly
happens, when a child has his back to you, or for other reasons cannot see your
face or gestures, then consideration should be given for hearing testing.
5. Academic problems
Historically, children with hearing loss were
thought to be less bright than their peers with poor performance regarded as a
reflection of a less intelligent child.
While we are better informed today, there are still children who enter
the school system and for a variety of reasons have previously undiagnosed
hearing loss. These children will have a
harder time following oral instruction and may not hear the teacher well enough
to understand the information, particularly in a noisy classroom. When a child is struggling at school, and the
teacher notes difficulty in following oral instructions, the hearing should
always be tested as part of the academic assessment
6. Complains of ringing in ears
In general ringing of the ears, or
tinnitus, is a problem that does not often affect children. However, with a significant increase in noise
exposure for pre-teens and teenagers, primarily through personal music players
and gaming devices, there has been an increase in complaints of tinnitus. Tinnitus can be a sign of early hearing loss
and when a young person complains of tinnitus, noise exposures should be
explored and hearing tested.
The ENT Faculty Practice is an Ear, Nose
and Throat (ENT) and Allergy specialty practice located in Westchester County with additional offices
throughout Westchester, Rockalnd and Orange counties.