Tuning Out May Signal Hearing Loss
If your child seems to tune things out, the problem might be with his hearing. Although there are symptoms of hearing loss, they often go unnoticed or are written off as slow development. The truth is that hearing loss can be the cause of slow development. If left undetected it can lead to speech and language disorders, poor performance in school and delayed social skills.
Just as regular immunizations are vital for healthy babies and children, following the recommended schedule for hearing screenings can catch a problem in the early stages when treatment may be easier and complications fewer.
When should your child get his first hearing screening? Experts say that newborns should be screened before they leave the hospital or before they reach one month of age and many hospitals are now following these guidelines. Approximately two to four of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing, making hearing loss the most common birth disorder.
The next hearing exam should be at age 3-5, a time when so many preschoolers suffer from middle ear infections that may cause hearing loss. After that, school-aged children with no previous problems should be screened every year, from kindergarten to third grade, followed by screenings in seventh and eleventh grades.
Most schools and many childcare centers facilitate these recommended screenings but you may wish to have your child tested by a certified audiologist or speech-language pathologist if you suspect hearing loss or are concerned about delays in your child’s speech.
When hearing loss is caught early, a child can receive early intervention, increasing the chance that development of language and learning skills will be on target with those of his peers.
And, what should you do if your child is diagnosed with hearing loss? An obvious first step is working in partnership with your child's pediatrician, any hearing specialist, and with your kid's school, preschool, or child caregiver. There is also a wealth of information available to assist parents. A recommended site for parents of hard of hearing and deaf children is Help Kids Hear.org. It contains news articles, links to research related materials, resources, facts and figures, a discussion forum, and more.
Just as regular immunizations are vital for healthy babies and children, following the recommended schedule for hearing screenings can catch a problem in the early stages when treatment may be easier and complications fewer.
When should your child get his first hearing screening? Experts say that newborns should be screened before they leave the hospital or before they reach one month of age and many hospitals are now following these guidelines. Approximately two to four of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing, making hearing loss the most common birth disorder.
The next hearing exam should be at age 3-5, a time when so many preschoolers suffer from middle ear infections that may cause hearing loss. After that, school-aged children with no previous problems should be screened every year, from kindergarten to third grade, followed by screenings in seventh and eleventh grades.
Most schools and many childcare centers facilitate these recommended screenings but you may wish to have your child tested by a certified audiologist or speech-language pathologist if you suspect hearing loss or are concerned about delays in your child’s speech.
When hearing loss is caught early, a child can receive early intervention, increasing the chance that development of language and learning skills will be on target with those of his peers.
And, what should you do if your child is diagnosed with hearing loss? An obvious first step is working in partnership with your child's pediatrician, any hearing specialist, and with your kid's school, preschool, or child caregiver. There is also a wealth of information available to assist parents. A recommended site for parents of hard of hearing and deaf children is Help Kids Hear.org. It contains news articles, links to research related materials, resources, facts and figures, a discussion forum, and more.
