It’s common to ignore a child’s deafness. You may suspect deafness if you discover that you need to repeat things to your child, if they constantly demand that the television or radio be turned up louder than you would expect, or if their school achievement suddenly declines. In most cases, your doctor will identify hearing issues in infants during developmental examinations or other routine consultations, but you might be the first to notice that your baby is not responding to sounds or learning to talk as quickly as you believe he or she should. You should always inform your doctor about this.
EARSTUBS AND MYRINGTOMY
When the eustachian tube, which connects the middle ear and the back of the throat, is clogged and the middle ear fills with fluid, a simple procedure called a myringotomy may be performed on a child. The surgery is often performed as a day surgery under general anesthetic.
What happens
To allow the fluid to drain out of the ear, a tiny cut is made in the eardrum. In order to allow air to freely circulate in the middle ear and dry up the tissues, a thin plastic tube is typically put into the hole next. Adenoids may need to be removed together in some circumstances. The tube often remains in place for around six months before naturally dissolving. The eardrum hole then recovers fast. You won’t be asked to take your child back to the hospital as long as the symptoms don’t come again. The child shouldn’t swim or immerse his or her head in the tub while the tube is in place.
Hearing evaluations for kids
Every kid should have regular hearing tests throughout early childhood, ideally at 8–9 months, 3–years–old, and 5–years–old. Your family doctor will perform preliminary hearing tests based on your child’s age.
Under 6 months
The physician will produce a loud noise and watch for surprised reactions.
Between 6 and 12 months
The simplest way to test this is to have one person keep the baby’s attention while the other distracts them with quiet noises, such crinkling tissue paper.
After one year
The doctor will examine the child’s speech because hearing capacity is frequently reflected in speech development.
Your child will be referred for specialized hospital testing that can assess the nerve response in the inner ear to sound regardless of your child’s age if the results of any of these tests indicate that your child may be deaf.
LOUD MUSIC AND HEADPHONES
Many older kids and teenagers like using headphones attached to a station to listen to music. But, parents need to be aware of the potential risk these provide to hearing.
The dangers
Headphones are completely safe at regular volumes. Yet, your child might be tempted to increase the volume, perhaps to drown out outside sounds, which could harm his or her hearing permanently. The fact that your youngster argues that the volume is not uncomfortable high is not a reliable approach to determine what level is safe because the sound need not be painfully loud to harm hearing. A useful guideline is that if others in the room can hear the music when your child is wearing headphones, it is likely that the volume is too high.
