Hearing is a critical part of a child’s development. Even mild hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to speak and understand language. However, hearing problems can be treated very effectively if they’re
caught early – ideally before a baby is three to six months old.
Hearing is a critical part of a child’s development. Even mild hearing loss can affect a child’s ability to speak and understand language. However, hearing problems can be treated very effectively if they’re
caught early – ideally before a baby is three to six months old.
Hearing loss in babies is a common condition, affecting about one to three out of every one thousand babies.
A number of factors can lead to hearing loss genetics, being premature, jaundice, infections and drugs and about 30% of the time no cause is found.
Later on in life, children can also lose their hearing due to conditions such as meningitis, trauma and medication.
Screening for hearing acuity can occur within days of the birth with automated machines that are able to give a result in seconds.
As the child becomes older, specific age-relevant tests are used. However, the first clue to a child’s hearing loss is often the parent’s suspicion.
Delayed language development, poor concentration and age-inappropriate behaviour can all point to a hearing problem.
Broadly, hearing loss can be divided into two categories – conductive hearing loss and sensorineural hearing loss.
Conductive hearing loss refers to a problem with the ear canal or middle ear, which houses the eardrum and hearing bones, and is largely mechanical in nature.
Sensorineural hearing loss refers to a problem in the cochlea, where the sound energy is converted to electrical impulses, or along the hearing nerve.
Once hearing loss has been identified, half the battle has been won. The earlier it is picked up, the better for the child.
Treatment is multi-disciplinary and involves an audiologist and speech therapist, ENT specialist, teachers and parents.
Conductive hearing losses are best assessed by an ENT specialist, who can often normalise the hearing with minimally invasive procedures.
Hearing aids are the primary treatment for sensorineural hearing loss – no longer are they bulky, ugly and ineffective.
Today’s hearing aids are fashionable, comfortable, inconspicuous and restore hearing to a degree thought impossible only a decade ago.
Teachers also become involved with optimalising the classroom for children with hearing loss. A specialised amplification device called an FM system may help in school.
They work like a personal radio station to improve hearing in group or noisy environments and can also be fitted for home use.
In addition to hearing aids or FM systems, hearing rehabilitation may include auditory or listening therapy and speech (lip) reading.
Speech therapists are invaluable in this regard. A cochlear implant transmits sound past the damaged cochlea directly to the hearing nerve.
The technology behind cochlear implants has progressed in leaps and bounds over the last few years, and the effects they have on the lives of hearing impaired children and adults are profound.
Unfortunately, they remain prohibitively expensive and are only covered by some medical aids. In short, hearing loss in children is no longer the life-limiting spectre it once was.
With early recognition and prompt treatment, it is virtually always possible to provide a normal life for these special children.
