The Hearing Center and Your Child

There are several milestones that each child needs to reach as they grow, starting from the day they are born. If your child is not responding to sounds around them or their language is not developing as it should, you may want to have them see a specialist at your local hearing center.

There are certain auditory abilities that are measured as early as for newborns. As a baby grows, there are certain sounds that they should be able to hear and responses that are expected when a baby is tested through daily activities. These include being startled when there is a sudden noise, turning toward where the sound is coming from, imitating the parent or other loved one, making babbling sounds, and eventually being able to form short sentences. If something does not seem quite right, call your doctor, who can connect you with a hearing center in your area so that you can pursue further testing for your child.

Most states require some type of hearing testing at birth and these are usually required before you leave the hospital. There are two different tests that are performed on an infant. One is the Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions test, where a plug is inserted into the baby's ear and sounds are sent through it. This tests how the ear reacts to the different sounds. If the baby has any hearing loss it won't respond. The baby won't feel a thing since it is usually done while he or she is asleep. The other test that is performed on a newborn is the Auditory Brainstem Response test, which uses electrodes that are connected to the baby's head. This measures how the brain responds to various sounds. Because you can find these problems in a baby's early days, it can be treated in time for the earliest stages of the child's development.

As the baby becomes a toddler, symptoms of hearing loss may manifest themselves and an auditory will again be necessary. This is usually done through play audiometry, where a machine sends different pitches and volumes into your child's ears through earphones. The child will be asked to give some sort of indication when they hear the sound, such as squeeze a toy. Another test that the hearing center may use to test a toddler is visual reinforcement audiometry. During this test a child is expected to look at what is making the sound. A child is rewarded for a correct response. This type of test is usually performed between the ages of 6 months to 2 years.

If your child is older and has recently started complaining of hearing loss, contact your hearing center so that you can have it checked. One test that may be performed is pure tone audiometry, which uses electrodes that are put on the ears. The other test is tympanometry. This is the one that is usually done in your doctor's office and tests the middle ear's ability to function. It can't test how well your child hears, but whether or not there is any extra pressure on the middle ear. This requires a child to sit very still, so it is not usually performed on children younger than 4 or 5.

If your child's hearing problem is detected earlier there is a higher likelihood of being able to reverse the hearing loss or augment auditory ability through the use of various auditory devices.