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Hearing loss in children (continue)

A baby’s hearing fully develops while he is still in the womb, and it plays a key role from the very first moment of his life.  Hearing allows children to understand speech, which will help them to understand abstract concepts.  From infancy, our ears constantly supply us with vital information and enable us to experience emotions.  Our sense of hearing also allows us to recognize danger, and even when we are asleep, our ears remain receptive to unusual or important sounds.

What causes hearing loss in children?  About 3 to 4 in every 1000 newborn babies have significant hearing impairment.  Hearing loss can be inherited or can be caused by illness or injury.  Genetic factors are the cause of about 50% of all cases of congenital hearing loss in children

Prenatal illnesses account for 5-10% of the cases of congenital hearing loss and include infections during pregnancy, toxins consumed by the mother during pregnancy or other conditions occurring at the time of birth or shortly thereafter.  Babies born prematurely also have an increased risk of having a hearing loss.

After birth, trauma to the head or childhood infections, such as meningitis or measles can cause permanent hearing loss.  Certain medications can be the cause of a child’s hearing problems.  Temporary hearing loss are usually caused by ear infections like Otitis Media but it can lead to a permanent hearing impairment if left untreated, and must be treated quickly and correctly.

Generally, earwax serves a useful purpose and does not harm your child.  If, however, your child suffers from hearing loss due to excessive earwax, go to your family doctor for help.  Do not try to remove earwax yourself.  Never put cotton buds or other objects into your child’s ears.  You could cause permanent damage to your child’s hearing.

When you are worried about your child’s hearing it is essential that your child be tested by an audiologist to confirm your suspicions.  The audiologist will refer your child to an ear, nose and throat specialist for treatment if the cause of the hearing problem is temporary in nature.  If there is permanent damage she will assist you in making important decisions regarding your child’s hearing.

When you realize that your child is suffering from hearing loss, you will probably feel shocked and helpless, at first. It may be difficult to accept what the doctors tell you, which is a perfectly normal reaction, and it can take time to accept the reality of a hearing loss.

After some time, you will come to terms with the situation. Your and your child’s task then becomes to make the best of it. By then, you will have asked yourself many questions about your child’s daily life and future. But we are all different, and no two parents react in the same way.

The best approach is to be honest and open-minded. Ask all the questions you can think of. Seek help from audiologists, doctors, other parents in the same situation, family and friends. The professionals can provide information and guidance. Parents of hearing-impaired children can help you with their experience. Family and friends may provide you with psychological and moral support.

Remember that you are not the first parent to have a hearing-impaired child and that hearing-impaired children are better able to cope than you might realize.

If your child suffers from hearing loss, hearing aids may be the best remedy to improve the hearing ability and minimize the adverse effects of his or her hearing problem.

Fitting with hearing aids at the youngest possible age is extremely important. An untreated hearing loss strongly affects your child’s ability to learn, socialize and communicate. When your child has begun using hearing aids, you must remember that it takes time to get used to them.

If your child needs hearing aids, there are many things you must consider.

• Type and degree of your child’s hearing loss.
• Your child’s general abilities and level of activity. The hearing aids must be robust and able to withstand the impact from normal playing and resistant to dust and moisture.
• The hearing aids must have audio ports for hook-up to radio transmission in classrooms and elsewhere.
• Children often like colourfully finished hearing aids.

Parents of young children should also be aware of the hearing aid feature allowing them to deactivate the manual volume control. Young children have difficulty properly setting the sound level.

When so many factors are involved, you will need the assistance of an experienced audiologist. She can help you find the right hearing aid for your child, fit and adjust it, and inform you about all relevant aspects of hearing impairment and hearing aids.

The best way to help is by being loving and understanding. Getting used to hearing aids requires strong motivation, support and participation from you as a parent. Advanced, well-fitted hearing aids are not very useful if the child does not wear them or if they are not maintained.

Your child needs to be involved with the problem and understand why he or she should wear hearing aids. During this process, communication and motivation are very important for your child’s willingness to wear hearing aids. The greater the involvement and the more the child understands, the greater the willingness.

Every child learns, socializes, communicates and grows up. What children learn, how they socialize and how they communicate depend on the individual as well as social and cultural factors. Every child grows up in his or her own unique way. This is, of course, the case for a hearing-impaired child, as well.

Hearing loss does not necessarily limit the child’s development, communication, learning or socializing. But growing up with a hearing loss is different from growing up with normal hearing – and sometimes it is more difficult and demanding.

Hearing loss in children

The first 3 years of life is the most important time for a child to learn language.  Hearing is essential for a child’s development right from birth.  Hearing and sight are some of the most important senses a child uses to orientate themselves in the world and which they need in their future development.

It is important to identify hearing problems as early as possible because they can affect your child’s speech and language development, social skills and education.  Hearing loss in infancy can be difficult to recognize. In almost two thirds of cases, parents are the first to suspect hearing loss, with other health care providers suspecting it first in approximately 15% of cases, and paediatricians in roughly 10%.

Early hearing screening as well as paying attention to the child’s responses and general behaviour is important for starting treatment as early as possible. Children as young as age 4 weeks can benefit from a hearing aid.

Hearing milestones your baby should reach in the first year:

• Most new-born infants startle to sudden loud noises.
• By 3 months, a baby usually recognizes a parent’s voice.
• By 6 months, a baby can usually turn his/her eyes or head toward sound.
• By 12 months, a baby can usually imitate some sounds and produce a few words.

With a simple hearing test, 80-90% of hearing loss can be detected. But even if your child passes the new-born screening test, hearing loss that is genetic or progressive in nature can manifest itself when your child is a toddler or older.

Parents are recommended to watch for the critical developmental milestones in the child as they can be used as a guide to help detect a possible hearing loss.

The most important clue that indicates a possible hearing loss is delayed or absent speech.

Small children will typically have a hearing screening carried out in which an instrument is used to measure whether there is any sign of hearing loss.  An OAE (otoacoustic emissions) or AABR (automated auditory brainstem response) test is used to screen for hearing loss.  No activity is required from your baby, other than lying still.  Screening takes only a few minutes and results are available immediately.

A possible hearing loss is more difficult to identify in older children, whose speech skills are already developed.

Nevertheless, the following guidelines can help parents detect a possible acquired hearing loss.

• Your child seems to hear fine sometime and then not respond at other times
• Your child wants the TV volume louder than other members of the family
• Your child says “What?” more often
• Your child moves one ear forward when listening, or he complains that he can only hear out of his “good ear”.
• Your child’s grades fall or his teacher notes that he does not seem to hear or respond as well in the classroom as other children.
• Your child says that he didn’t hear you. This may seem obvious, but many parents assume that their children are not paying attention when in fact there may be an unidentified hearing loss.
• It appears your child is just not paying attention.
• Your child starts to speak more loudly than previously.
• If your child looks at you intensely when you speak to him, as if concentrating, he may be depending more on visual cues for interpreting speech.
• You just have a feeling, but you can’t put your finger on what your concern is. Don’t let that stop you. Make an appointment at an audiologist to ease your mind.

Older children will typically be given a battery of hearing tests to determine the type and degree of hearing loss.  If a child has a hearing loss, it is important that they are treated as soon as possible.

I continue to believe that if children are given the necessary tools to succeed, they will succeed beyond their wildest dreams!”
— David Vitter, Former U.S. Senator

Hearing loss in older adults (continued)

As you probably noticed by now, there is an adjustment period to wearing hearing aids.  It can sometimes take up to 4 months for you to get used to your hearing aids and to get the most benefit out of them.

The following principles will help you to successfully transition to better hearing health:

1. Acceptance

The first step begins even before the purchase of hearing aids.  When you admit and accept your permanent hearing loss, it prepares you to get the help you need.  It helps you to stop hiding or denying a hearing problem – and at last you can end the pretence that you understand speech, when most often you do not.

2. Positive attitude

A positive attitude is a personal choice and helps to achieve better hearing.  Success is not achieved just by purchasing hearing aids.  You must have a desire to learn and have the determination to increase your ability to hear.  When hearing aid use is approached with a positive attitude, success is far more likely to be achieved.

3. Education

Personal education is the most effective remedy for hearing loss.  You can participate more in your adjustment to hearing aid use if you know more about your hearing loss and treatment.  Hearing is a complex function that requires not only ears, but the cooperation of the brain and your other senses.

4. Realistic expectations

To obtain success your need to set realistic expectations.  Hearing aids will not make you hear perfectly, it will help you hear better.  Remember that the learning curve can take from six weeks to six months.  Focus on your improvement, success comes from practice and commitment.

5. Practice and patience

A combination of practice, time and patience forms the last principle of success.  Once you have used your hearing aids enough for your brain to acclimate, you will be able to hear without thinking so much about hearing.

Helen Keller once said,

“Blindness cuts us off from things, but deafness cuts us off from people.”

The impact of hearing loss on personal relationships can be huge.  Although typically considered to be a personal problem, the experience of hearing loss is shared and managed by both the person with hearing loss and those closest to them.

Family, friends and colleagues can do a lot to help you hear better.  Let them know about your hearing instruments, and tell them what they can do to make communication easier for you.

Here are some of the things your friends and family can do to help:

• Try to move closer to the person with hearing loss when communicating.
• Sit or stand where your face is well lit to make your facial expressions and lips easy to read.
• Do not talk while chewing or smoking.
• Do not speak from behind a newspaper or from another room.
• Do not lean your cheek or chin on your hand while talking.
• Try to talk slower.
• Try rephrasing the sentence when the person with hearing loss does not understand, rather than just repeating yourself.
• Avoid talking in noisy doorways and next to open windows.
• Communicating in an echoing room is difficult – try to find a place where your conversation is not distorted.

Our hearing is, of all the five senses, perhaps the most precious.  When we lose it, we lose contact with the people we love and the world in general.  Our sense of hearing helps to keep us safe, together with helping us communicate and socialise.  We rely on our hearing in so many ways, which is why we should treasure and protect it.