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Doctor Can My Baby Hear?
Doctor, can my baby hear? That question is usually put
to me by an anxious mother, worried about the consequences
of her child's frequent ear infections. Other times the
parents notice that the child doesn't seem to respond
to sounds as other babies do or perhaps is not developing
speech at the same rate. In older children, maybe the
TV is constantly turned up too loud or the child returns
from school having "failed the hearing test."
Any of these situations is an indication for a hearing
evaluation and it should be undertaken by a qualified
physician and/or an audiologist. If a problem is diagnosed
or suspected, the child should be referred to an otolaryngologist
(ear, nose and throat specialist) for complete evaluation
and treatment.
Hearing loss consists of two basic types. In general,
the hearing loss caused by middle ear disease is temporary
and can be corrected. The hearing loss due to inner
ear or nerve disease is usually permanent and not correctable
except by a hearing aid. In children the most common
form of hearing loss is due to middle ear infection
and middle ear fluid. Other causes include a perforated
ear drum, ear wax and "swimmer's ear." Causes
of nerve or inner ear hearing loss include birth defects,
premature birth, a family history of hearing loss, severe
viral infections such as chicken pox or measles and
certain other problems such as thyroid disease. In some
cases, middle ear infection can involve the inner ear
and the hearing loss resulting from such infection is
usually permanent. Consequently, middle ear infection
should always be treated and recurrent or persistent
middle ear disease should be evaluated by the ear, nose
and throat specialist.
One reason that hearing loss is sometimes not detected
in early childhood is the commonly held idea that these
patients are "too young" for a hearing test.
Not true! Methods have been devised for testing the
hearing in patients of all ages. Infants and young children
cannot raise their hands or shout out words but they
do move their heads and blink their eyes in certain
special ways in the presence of noise. Trained professionals
can detect these movements and make a good assessment
of the child's hearing. Even newborn or premature babies
can have their hearing tested by a recently developed
technique known as brainstem auditory evoked response
testing. This test measures the brainwaves produced
in response to certain noises and it requires no participation
from the baby. It is completely painless and is usually
performed with the child asleep.
Another reason why hearing loss is sometimes not detected
is the advice "leave him alone and he'll grow out
of it" or "she's just not paying attention."
Innumerable cases of hearing loss have been undiagnosed
because of this unfortunate attitude. Children must
be able to hear in order to learn to speak and many
studies suggest that uncorrected hearing loss at an
early age leads to learning disabilities later in life.
Hearing loss can be diagnosed and treated at any age
and if you suspect hearing loss in your child, make
sure he receives the proper evaluation and treatment.
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