Babies, a day or two after birth, undergo a test called newborn screening. The infant may be fit as a fiddle after the screening, but it is possible to develop hearing loss the weeks or month after.
Needless to say, attention must be given in the observance of these symptoms of hearing loss in babies, toddlers and young children.
From infancy to second year symptoms of hearing loss
The bracketing of these signs and symptoms reflects the stages of development of a child. The list signals the onset of hearing loss in a child.
Birth to fourth month:
The next five months:
The following six months after:
The subsequent nine months afterwards:
Toddler to preschooler child symptoms of hearing loss
A child at this stage in life may have the possibility of hearing loss whether drastic or gradual. Here are signs and symptoms to check:
These signs and symptoms of hearing loss should never be taken lightly by any parent. It is the physical, mental and psychological well-being and the cultivation of a character and personality in a child’s life is what weighs heaviest.
If your children suffers a hearing loss, it is necessary to take a hearing test to determine the extent of damage and the severity of hearing loss. For more details of our hearing aid prescription and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
Neglect in the treatment of hearing loss will result in serious health issues along the way. Not to mention the immediate effects of hearing loss, there could also be long-term effects that compound your wellness, mental health, and psychological well-being.
Untreated Hearing Loss in Children
Children with hearing loss will most likely suffer difficulties in learning at school, language comprehension, speech impairment, social interaction, and behavioral complications. These difficulties are directly proportional to the severity of loss of hearing.
Pre-school children with this condition will not know the sound of words which leads to speech derailment. When at school, that same child will have lesser academic performance, peer isolation, loneliness that becomes depression which may lead to erratic behavior.
Untreated Hearing Loss and Serious Illnesses
A study in 1994 done by a group of physicians and health and hearing care professionals sought to compare brain changes over a set period of time of ten years. The study participants were all adults where one group is with hearing loss and the other group with normal hearing.
During and after the ten-year study, it was apparent to the researchers that hearing loss had a big influence on the brain. Normally, the brain does shrink as we age, but hearing loss is a catalyst, or makes the shrinkage even faster.
Brain atrophy, as the study had shown, was persistent in all the years of the study and the researchers had come up with a measure of the loss at a cubic centimeter, additionally annually.
They had also pinpointed the location of the brain loss at the place where processing of sound and speech would normally occur. This region of the brain loss has three parts. Two of these three parts are believed to be involved in another serious illnesses.
Alzheimer
This is the most common form of dementia and affects more women than men. The loss of memory in Alzheimer’s Disease may be characterized by symptoms of depression, sleep disorder, anxiety and agitation.
Treatment for this disease may not be that far in the future since in 2017 researchers had found an alternative route to reconnect brain synapses that may even prevent memory loss.
If your children suffers a hearing loss, it is necessary to take a hearing test to determine the extent of damage and the severity of hearing loss. For more details of our hearing aid prescription and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
Babies have now grown into toddlers and they are beyond crawling, balancing to stand and walk. They have become toddlers that race through the living room, screaming and jumping with face covered in peanut butter. Not for long, they are young children in crude wooden carts in a race.
One good thing in the growth and development from a baby to a toddler to a young child is that they have become accustomed to the presence of the hearing aid on their ear; a big relief for any parent. The unintentional loss, the damage of the device will still be there, though.
If hearing loss, however, occurred or commenced within toddler age (three years old) to pre-teen, the same recommended steps are advised by leading authorities and organizations in health and hearing.
Evaluation
A hearing loss professional will do a hearing test on your child to determine the extent of damage and the severity of hearing loss. It is important for the parent to understand that early treatment will prevent the child from language and speech trouble and learning difficulty.
The same professional may also recommend the best and suitable type of hearing aid to that particular child. Not all hearing aids are exact remedy for every child. This device will also help the child socially in school and at home.
After selection of the hearing aid type, the audiologist will adjust the loudness of the sound that is most comfortable for the child.
Selection
Hearing aids basically fall into two types with variations for each type, namely:
Of the two main types, the BTE is best for toddlers and young children because:
On the other hand, an ITE hearing aid is not preferred because:
Accessories such as retainer cords to prevent loss and damage, telephone coil, etc., are available.
For more details of our hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre to get a hearing aid prescription.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
Babies are a blessing to parents and need tender loving care in their infancy. Right after birth, babies undergo newborn screening to check for irregularities in their blood, ears and heart. If they pass the screening, well and good; if not, a trip to an infant health professional is needed.
Birth Defect
Hearing loss right at birth is considered a congenital birth defect. As such, it must be given ample priority by the parent and must be treated as early as possible. In the first years of a baby, phenomenal growth in weight and height can be witnessed.
This defect, whether at the outer, middle, or inner ear, can severely affect the baby mentally and, in the not so distant future, psychologically if delayed or remain untreated.
Effects of Hearing Loss
Absence of sound as a stimuli to a baby’s brain will give the child:
Babies with hearing loss may soon misunderstand things other people say since the child never heard it the right way. The child may also have quite a difficult time with new words along the way, more so, pronounce it correctly.
With this mental deficiency, the child might soon become a loner at school he might be talking gibberish making him a social outcast at a very young age.
Treatment to Hearing Loss
After consultations and tests of the hearing capacity of a baby, a hearing aid may be used by an infant as early a few weeks or a month after birth. This device will provide pertinent sounds to the baby’s brain so the child will connect a sound to its meaning.
Since hearing aids come in different styles, and babies are so naturally busy once they are awake and they grow fast, the best style for them would be hearing aids with earmolds that can be replaced or re-shaped as the baby grows.
Along with this, the parent must give full attention to the baby as they gradually get used to the presence of the device behind their ear(s); hearing loss may also happen in both ears.
So, hearing aids for babies and children with hearing loss are definitely beneficial where it not only treats the defect but also forms the character and personality of the child.
If you think your baby needs a hearing aid, make sure to get a hearing aid prescription. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com
Sadly, there are still quite a number of incidences of babies born deaf or with hearing problems.
A baby can be born deaf for non-genetic and genetic reasons.
Some non-genetic causes are as follows:
Anoxia
When the baby gets caught in difficulties during birth, when the brain loses oxygen it could lead to a condition called Anoxia which causes loss of hearing.
Viral Infections
Herpes, Rubella, Cytomegalovirus, Toxoplasmosis, and Syphilis are some of the infections that can cause hearing loss in babies if their mothers had them during birth.
Jaundice
High levels of bilirubin in the bloodstream caused by a liver that does not function properly, can lead to sensorineural hearing loss if not treated.
Preterm labor
Babies who have low birth weight or born before the pregnancy reaches full term are susceptible to birth injuries that lead to loss of hearing.
Newborns who weigh less than 1500 grams (3 pounds, 5 ounces) at birth have an increased risk of hearing loss
Genetic factors associated with hearing loss on the other side, have this for an explanation:
Autosomal Dominant
This rare condition accounts for 15% of babies with hearing loss. This happens when one parent carries an abnormal gene. Even if the gene from the other parent is normal, the abnormal gene will still cause hearing loss.
Autosomal Recessive
This happens when both parents are carrying the recessive gene and pass it on the baby. Parents are usually not aware that they carry these genes so when the mother gives birth to a deaf baby, everyone will be surprised. 70% of incidences of hearing loss among babies are attributed to this inherited trait.
X-Linked
This is the rarest genetic cause of hearing loss. X-Linked inheritance happens when an abnormal gene is lying on the X chromosome. Girls have two X chromosomes while boys only have 1 but even so, there are more cases of this among boys than that with girls.
While genetic causes are completely unavoidable, much can be done to avoid child hearing loss by making sure all the non genetic factors will stay as far away from both the mother and the baby since these situations are mostly within human control.
Keeping fit and religiously following doctor’s advice can minimise the incidence of child hearing loss. Being on a constant watch with what is happening to both the mother and the baby is a proactive move that can ensure accidents and birth difficulties have lesser chances of happening.
If you think you need a hearing aid, make sure to get a hearing aid prescription. For more details of our hearing test & assessment, and hearing aid services, please contact HK Hearing & Speech Centre.
Source:
HK Hearing & Speech Centre
Specialist of Hearing test & assessment,
and Hearing Aid Prescription
https://www.hkhearingspeech.com