Our children can improve in leaps and bounds, whether we see changes in skills like their reading or their academic process, but there can be times when we see our children aren’t keeping up with the other children in their class. There could be many reasons for this, but if your child has not been listening recently or you feel it’s tough to get through to them, it could very well be that they are losing their hearing or experiencing some form of hearing difficulty. So what do we do in these situations?
Observe
The best thing to do at the very beginning is to pay attention to your child’s behavior. While ignoring hearing loss perils can be devastating in the long run, you need to take some time to document any particular signs or behaviors that indicate hearing loss. There are common signs such as a loud TV volume, them speaking very loudly, or not responding to their name. Ensuring that you take the time to document any of these particular behaviors can help you create a compelling case for your pediatrician.
A pediatrician can perform any preliminary assessments and if there is any sign of hearing loss they may refer you to an audiologist. It’s important to note that their hearing “peaks and troughs.” Ear infections are common in children and conditions such as glue ear are something that can arise either before an infection or of their own accord. If your child is waking up in the morning with leaky ears or their pillow is covered in some form of liquid this could be a sign of glue ear.
The Evaluations and Solutions
If a pediatrician recommends a pediatric audiologist for further evaluation, the tests such as audiometry and speech and language assessment can help to identify any delays in hearing loss. If it is determined that your child is experiencing some form of hearing loss, it doesn’t just mean that they need to wear hearing aids or cochlear implants. There are other approaches such as speech and language therapy that help them develop their communication skills.
It all depends on the level of their hearing loss. Everybody can learn communication methods or approaches to better be involved in conversations, for example positioning ourselves near a person’s mouth. It’s essential to be age appropriate. Speech and language therapists are able to provide great insight into how you can give your child the support and resources they need.
Helping Your Child Develop
Any child experiencing some form of hearing loss can be overwhelming for the parents, especially if there’s no history of hearing loss or something has caused the problem directly such as exposure to loud noise. But we have to remember that our child’s needs should be met and this can be a very isolating and scary time for them. Young children don’t want to be seen as different and we have to be an advocate for our children and ensure that their needs are met, but also their education does not falter as a result. Children don’t want to be separated from their friends and if at the time of a hearing diagnosis, they have been forging friendships with children in their class, anything to make them feel different is going to result in our children feeling anxious.
The great thing about young children is that there is no discrimination, but as kids get older, any little difference is picked on and picked apart. So this is where we have to give our children the tools in order to be the best version of themselves without feeling like they are going to be ostracized. This also means that you need to have consistent communication with the school. Your child needs to have the relevant support so they can learn the same as everybody else. That regular communication with the school will make a big difference and it’s a very tough thing to get right, but as a parent, it’s vital that we don’t wait for the school to contact us. We must be proactive to ensure that our children are having their needs met.
As our children get older, experiencing some form of hearing loss can make them truly understand that they are different, which is not something they want to hear. But as they get older, they can almost come to a conclusion that, despite this thing occurring, it is their superpower. As parents, we can unconsciously treat them with kid gloves, but what we must remember is that with regard to hearing loss, there are so many different solutions available, it’s just about making sure that your child has the right ones to make them feel empowered.
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