The ability to hear surrounding sounds is a unique ability. It allows you to fully interact with the world and society. Moreover, the singing of birds, the sound of rain, and the sounds of the ocean fill our life with new emotions and impressions, making it more colorful and happy. Hearing problems are a big problem. It can come unexpectedly or develop gradually over many years.
Unfortunately, the hearing organs are complex and fragile. As a result, they often suffer from the influence of various factors, which are very numerous in modern life. The result of such an impact is hearing loss, gradual isolation from society, and the development of physiological and psychological disorders. Therefore, it is very important to notice hearing problems as early as possible. After all, the sooner you start treatment, the more effective it’ll be and the less problem you’ll have in the future. This is true for adults. For children, everything is initially more difficult and dangerous!
Why is it important?
According to statistics, the average time of treatment from the onset of hearing problems to the visit to the audiologist is about 10 years. During this time a person experiences some difficulties, but at the same time, he is in no hurry to seek help. The problem develops gradually, so a person gets used to new changes and consults a doctor in cases where hearing problems already interfere with daily life and create serious difficulties at home and work. However, after consultation, such a person most often uses hearing aids, which completely restore the ability to hear. The patient receives qualified assistance and fully restores the quality of his former life.
But in the case of children and adolescents, things are different. What is the difference? Hearing is not only the sounds around us. This is the most important feeling for human development. Indeed, thanks to the ability to hear sounds, we learn and analyze the objects around us. In addition, the ability to hear is a key factor for speech perception and development. Thus, healthy hearing is very important for the full development of the child.
If a child experiences hearing difficulties from early childhood, then he’ll lag behind his peers in development. There may be problems with speech abilities, adaptation to society, etc. Not to mention the problems that await the child at school. It’ll be difficult for him to study the school curriculum in the required volumes. That is why it is so important to monitor the health of hearing in children. Their development and future life depend on it!
How to check hearing acuity?
The problem of hearing loss is most often noticeable not to the hearing impaired, but to those who communicate with them. In case of hearing loss in a child, it’ll be noticeable first of all to parents.
The sooner parents notice the disturbances in the perception of sounds, the sooner hearing can be corrected, ensuring the baby’s normal development. The kid will quickly catch up with his peers and won’t be different from other children. The main condition for successful treatment is to notice the problem in time. You can do it both at home and contact an audiologist.
Self Hearing Test
Children have hearing problems for a variety of reasons. In order not to miss the onset of the disease, parents should know how to test the child’s hearing at home and what to look for first. The sooner a problem is noticed, the easier it’ll be to deal with it by contacting a doctor.
In the first year of life, the baby can only respond to sound with reflex movements. At home, the Moro reflex clapping method is used to test hearing. If you clap your hands loudly, being out of sight, then a child with normal hearing will definitely flinch. The Moro reflex is based on this. With it, any mother can conduct a hearing test at home. The test does not give an ideal result, but it allows you to exclude severe congenital hearing loss. To carry it out, we put the baby on a flat surface in a calm state. It can be a bed, a table, or a scale. Then, you need to clap your hands hard 20-30 cm from his ear and look at the reaction. If the baby flinched in surprise or even cried out of fright, then everything is fine.
Don’t forget to have your hearing checked as your child gets older, including adolescence. If you don’t want to go to an audiology clinic and your child doesn’t complain about hearing, then use the online hearing test. This is a simple online test that’ll show if there is a problem or not. Of course, it does not replace the diagnosis of a doctor. Nevertheless, an online hearing test is enough to notice any hearing problems for further consultation with a specialist.
Modern methods of testing hearing in children
Timely diagnosis is the most important step in helping a hearing-impaired child. The sooner you discover the problem and start solving it, the faster and easier it’ll be for the child to adapt to life in society. Do not wait for the child to withdraw into his quiet lonely world. There are several methods to determine the state of hearing in children.
Today, every baby is checked at the maternity hospital. Audiologists perform a visual examination and a screening test using the induced otoacoustic emission (OAE) method. They record the results on the baby’s card.
UAE allows you to assess the status of the cochlea. Normally, nerve cells emit oscillations in response to a sound stimulus. With sensorineural hearing loss, otoacoustic emission is absent. Thus, the study helps to identify hearing problems in newborns in the first weeks of their lives. Of course, the necessary treatment is immediately prescribed.
Hearing loss is a serious problem. It makes life difficult for an adult. But the disorder is even more dangerous for children, because of which they lag behind in development. Fortunately, today there is everything necessary for the early detection of hearing loss and its effective treatment. The main thing is to pay attention to the strange behavior of the child and seek help in time!
