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Six Signs Your Child May Need A Pediatric Hearing Test

3 October 2014

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Hearing loss can affect children in all aspects of their lives. It may cause slower language, social and academic development. While most infants are screened prior to leaving the hospital after birth, hearing loss can occur as children grow. According to the Palo Alto Medical Foundation, 1 in 50 children are affected with loss of hearing. If you suspect your child may be suffering from hearing loss, pay attention to see if your child displays any of these six signs:

1. The child talks at a consistently loud volume: Often when children have hearing loss they do not know the level of their own voices. They speak at a higher than normal volume and do not recognize that they are louder than others in the room.

2. Television and music the child listens to are deafening: If a child has difficulty hearing, you will begin to notice the volume of televisions and radios are excessively high. You may also notice that the child turns one ear, most likely the good ear, toward whatever they are listening to.

3. The child misunderstands communication: Whether it's following directions or just being involved in a conversation, a child with hearing loss typically struggles with communication.  You may notice that the child answers a question with a completely opposite answer than what was asked.

A child with hearing loss may misunderstand directions often or have to watch what others are doing in order to imitate since they didn't hear the original instructions.

It is important to note here that some children just do not focus well on listening to directions; just because your child has difficulty understanding does not mean he or she has a hearing issue.

4. Your child speaks differently than other children the same age: Children develop their language skills based off of the sounds they hear. If they are not hearing certain sounds clearly or at all, they may not learn to speak those sounds. A speech pathologist can usually help in determining if hearing may be an issue and can refer your child for hearing tests.

5.Your child complains about earaches or whooshing noises: Tinnitus is the whooshing sound that occurs in one's head; it is a common complaint of children who may be suffering from hearing loss. If your child has an undiagnosed severe middle ear infection or has recently experienced a head injury, it may be affecting his or her hearing. Therefore, any consistent complaints of ear pain or tinnitus should not be ignored.

6.School is difficult for your child: There may be many reasons that a child may struggle at school, but hearing loss can be a cause that is often not recognized. Ask your child's teacher if any of these signs are noticed in the classroom. If your child is not learning as quickly as the other children it may not be a learning disability, but something that could be easily fixed with a hearing aid.

Any of these signs can be symptoms of other issues, but if your child struggles with one or more of them, it may not hurt to have their hearing tested. The earlier hearing loss is detected, the easier it will be to find a solution for and the less long term affect it will have on the child. 

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