How To Detect Early-Life Hearing Issues In Your Child

Many parents worry about their children having early-life hearing issues. These can derail their education and slow down their growth and development. What are you supposed to look for as a parent? After all, you’re not a hearing specialist. Here are some ways you can prevent hearing loss from affecting the child’s well-being as they grow older.

Get newborn screening

One of the most effective things you can do is get newborn screening. The idea is to screen your child for hearing loss issues quickly and painlessly so you can tell whether they have any problems with any part of their ear. Medical professionals usually carry out two types of tests on your baby:

1. An otoacoustic emissions test, which involves placing a tiny probe inside the ear canal. This measures sound waves produced by the inner ear when it processes soft clicking noises.
2. An automated auditory brainstem response. This is where medical professionals place sensors on your baby’s head to see how your child’s nerves respond to incoming sounds.

The combination of both of these tests can tell you whether your child has an auditory hearing issue and whether they require hearing aids.

Age-by-age developmental milestone monitoring

Another way to detect early hearing issues in your child is to perform age-by-age developmental milestone monitoring. The idea is to make sure your child is at the right stage for each age they reach.

• From birth to 3 months: Your baby should start to blink and react to loud noises, and their eyes should widen when they hear doors being slammed or dogs barking. They should also appear more calm and soothed when they hear your voice.
• At 4 to 6 months: Babies should turn their eyes and heads toward interesting sounds. They should also respond to you when you talk to them, and they should notice your voice.
• From 7 to 12 months: There will be more direct turning to even softer voices and sounds. They may also be able to start understanding simple words like “bottle,” “no,” and “goodbye.”
• From 1 to 2 years: They can follow simple requests, and they should be pointing at pictures in books when names are called.

If they’re not doing these, it could indicate a developmental hearing issue. Don’t assume that just because your child’s hearing is fine at birth that it continues to be fine during their early development stages. Sometimes hearing loss can develop during the first year of life, usually because the ear canal becomes blocked.

Look out for red flags

Finally, you want to look out for red flags during your child’s development.

• Do they respond to their name or instructions after age 1? If they don’t, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
• Look for evidence that they might hear some sounds but miss others. For example, you might notice that they’re able to listen to deep male voices but can’t hear high-pitched sounds at all.

If they start to speak later than their peers in nursery school or have unclear speech, it could be a sign of hearing loss. Make sure you take them to the audiologist to get them checked out.