Loss of hearing is one of the most serious problems affecting children today, yet the least recognized. Did you know that over a million children suffer from a hearing loss significant enough to affect other areas of development? Hearing loss that goes untreated can impair your child's language development, academic development, and/or social development.

Language Development

Your child's most important learning takes place between birth and four years of age. Everyone learns to speak by listening first; to do this, your baby must have adequate hearing abilities.

Academic Development

One of the most common reasons for learning problems in school is due to hearing loss. Often attention problems can be contributed to lack of hearing.

Social Development

Communication difficulties can affect a child's relationships with others. When a hearing loss is present, the social development of the child is greatly affected.

THERE ARE FOUR TYPES OF HEARING LOSS

Sound waves are changed to electrical impulses by the ear. Sound enters the outer ear and passes through the ear canal to the eardrum. The sound causes a vibration of the eardrum which results in movement of the tiny bones (ossicles) in the middle ear. From the middle ear, the sound is transmitted to the inner ear where hair cells change the sound to electrical impulses that travel along the auditory nerve to the brain where sound is perceived. If any part of the ear is not functioning properly, the result is hearing loss. Hearing loss can be temporary or permanent.

• Conductive - Damage to, disease of, or malformation of the outer or middle ear results in this type of impairment. Otitis media, frequently seen in young children, is an ear infection which causes a conductive hearing loss. When a conductive hearing loss is present, sounds are muffled and weak. This type of loss can be temporary or permanent.

• Sensorineural - Damage or malformation of the inner ear (cochlea) or the auditory nerve causes a sensorineural loss. Sounds are distorted or omitted. Sensorineural hearing loss is generally permanent.

• Mixed - A combination of conductive and sensorineural hearing loss.

• A central hearing loss is the result of damage causing hearing centers of the brain to receive incorrect signals. A person with this impairment may hear, but not understand. It is generally difficulty for a child with a central hearing impairment to follow simple commands, typically when more than one direction is given at one time.

Several factors may result in hearing impairment. Some of the factors that may affect a child's hearing are: Rubella, measles, ototoxic medication, hypoxia (lack of oxygen), Rh blood type incompatibility, toxemia, premature birth, hyperbilirubinemia, maternal infection, low birth weight, middle ear problems, such as eustachian tube dysfunction, infection, fluid or otosclerosis. Environmental factors, certain medications, childhood diseases and childhood injury, such as a head injury, can affect hearing also. Hearing loss may also be inherited. Therefore, if there is any history of hearing impairment in your immediate family, it is important to check the hearing of your children.

Sometimes a hearing loss is suspected if the child is frequently inattentive or exhibits lack of concentration, has poor academic performance, or has a problem with frequent colds and earaches.

Early intervention with hearing impaired children is essential. The sooner a hearing loss is detected and treated, the less dramatic the effects will be on the child.

A child is never too young for a hearing evaluation. Audiometric tests are adapted to the age of the child. If you suspect your child has a hearing loss, seek professional advice and help. Help is available from your family physician or pediatrician, an otologist, or an audiologist.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR You can do some simple observational tests to find out if your child's hearing is normal, provided you know what to look for. The following are some developmental guidelines:
Newborn to 3 months	Baby startles to loud sounds. Baby is soothed by mother's voice.
3 to 6 months	Turns eyes and head to search for sound location. Responds to mother's voice.
6 to 10 months	Responds to his name. Responds to environmental sounds, such as a ringing phone. Understands common words such as no, bye-bye, etc. Jabbers in response to human voice.
10 to 15 months	Can point to or look at familiar objects when given instruction. Imitates simple words and sounds.
15 to 18 months	Uses some single words (dog, mom, no, etc.) Identifies body parts when prompted. Follows simple, spoken directions.
2 Years	Follows simple commands without visual cues. Can repeat phrases.
3 Years	Can locate a sound source. Demonstrates understanding of words like "go", "me", "in", "big".
4 Years	Can give connected account of a recent experience. Can carry out simple directions with more than one element.
5 Years	Can carry on a simple conversation. Speech is clear and easy to understand.

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