About one in 1,000 children in Germany is born with severe hearing loss, and others have moderate or mild hearing loss. One possible consequence is that these children learn to speak only to a limited extent or not at all, which affects their overall development. Therefore, a hearing impairment must be detected as early as possible. You can read about how to recognize and treat hearing loss (hypacusis) in children here.
Consequences of hearing loss in children
For optimal development of children, good hearing is absolutely necessary: Only through good hearing do children learn to speak and understand, to communicate, to perceive intermediate tones and accents correctly in conversation, and to find their way in life. Poor hearing is often associated with loss of orientation, for example in road traffic, and with learning problems, and later career choices are also restricted. Therefore, it is extremely important that hearing disorders are detected as early as possible.
Forms and causes of hearing loss
Depending on which area in the ear is affected, a distinction is made between conductive and sensorineural hearing loss:
- Conductive hearing loss: in this case, sound only reaches the inner ear to a reduced extent or not at all, because the transmission in the ear canal or middle ear is impaired. Conductive hearing loss is usually temporary, for example, in the case of an earwax plug, a middle ear infection, or a tympanic effusion. However, hearing may remain permanently impaired as a result of recurrent infections, as this can deposit calcium on the ossicles and therefore they can no longer transmit sound so well.
- Sensorineural hearing loss: here the sound reception and processing in the inner ear is reduced – usually due to damaged sensory cilia. Sensorineural hearing loss in young children is usually congenital and exists on both sides; premature babies are particularly affected. In older children, for example, drugs, infectious diseases such as mumps and measles or meningitis lead to mostly irreparable damage to the inner ear.
Causes of hearing loss in infants can be triggers that occurred before, during or after birth. Triggering factors before birth include alcohol consumption by the mother or diseases of the mother, such as severe viral infections, metabolic diseases or syphilis. Problems during birth, such as lack of oxygen or premature birth, can also cause hearing loss. After birth, inflammation or infectious diseases are the main causes of hearing problems in the infant. In addition, the growing noise pollution in everyday life also leads to hearing problems in children and adolescents. Whether it’s music boxes for the youngest children, battery-powered fire engines and toy guns for the older kids, or constant noise from “buttons” in the ears as well as sound reinforcement in clubs and at concerts for the teenagers: Some teenagers today already hear worse than their grandparents. A further classification is that according to congenital and acquired as well as temporary and permanent disorders. Depending on the degree of hearing loss, one speaks of mild, moderate and profound hearing loss as well as deafness (residual hearing loss). Among permanent hearing disorders in children, one-third each are genetic, acquired, and unexplained.
Detect hearing loss in children early
With painless, objective hearing testing methods such as the otoacoustic emissions (OAE) test, more than 95 percent of congenital hearing disorders can be detected in the first few days of life. Since the beginning of 2009, such a hearing test has been included in the health insurance benefits for babies in the first three months of life. At later pediatric examinations (especially U3, U4, U5), the child’s hearing is checked again. With this screening, it is usually possible to detect existing hearing disorders early enough so that appropriate therapy can prevent speech and developmental delays from occurring in the first place.
Criteria for healthy hearing in childhood
Nevertheless, you as parents should observe your child well in everyday life. If it meets the following points, it probably goes through a normal the hearing and speech development and you do not have to worry about its hearing:
- In the 4th to 6th week of life, it is normal for infants to be startled by sudden loud noises. With good encouragement from parents, they should calm down again.
- In the 3rd to 4th month of life, infants laugh voiced and babble.They should also move their eyes in the direction of the sound source.
- Infants in the 6th to 7th month of life can usually utter their first two-syllable “words” and listen to music.
- At 10 to 12 months, infants respond to being spoken to softly from about a meter away. They should also understand prohibitions.
- By about their second birthday, infants should be able to follow instructions whispered in their ears.
Tips for simple “listening tests”: the sounds and tones should be made so that the child can not see or feel the source, so that he really reacts only to what he hears and not to other stimuli. The sounds should vary in loudness, brightness, and dullness, as sometimes only certain pitches are not perceived correctly.
Signs of hearing problems in children
If one or more of the following applies to your child, you should talk to your pediatrician. While each child develops at his or her own pace, it is better to be safe than sorry when the slightest signs are present. For example, mild hearing loss can only be detected by a hearing test; close observation of the child’s behavior alone is not enough. These signs indicate hearing loss in children:
- The child makes no progress in his speech development; even speaking short sentences is difficult for him.
- If it is addressed, it responds only delayed or not at all.
- The child is not frightened by loud noises (for example, door slamming) or does not wake up.
- It can not imitate sounds or animal sounds.
- It has difficulty locating sounds and does not respond to sounds and speech outside its field of vision.
- It can not designate everyday objects such as items of clothing or body parts.
- The child has few social contacts and is a loner.
- In the child, ear infections accumulate.
Treat hearing loss in children
If the suspicion of a hearing disorder is confirmed, there is no time to lose: Even in children who have outgrown infancy, hearing loss left untreated for a long time hinders development. If possible, therapy for congenital hearing disorders should begin within the first six months of life: Children’s auditory pathways need acoustic stimuli in the first years of life to mature properly.
Therapy options: Hearing aids for children
Most children’s hearing can be improved with hearing aids. These should be expertly fitted, usually by a specially qualified hearing care professional called a pediatric acoustician. In addition to hearing aids, which amplify sound, some children also receive a cochlear implant, which processes the sound waves. Depending on how old your child is and how hearing and speech are impaired, other measures accompany the therapy:
- Speech therapy
- Auditory training
- Learning lip reading and sign language
- Assistance in coping with everyday life (for child and parents).
Parents as a support for the treatment
It is important that you as parents stand by your child’s hearing problem and support it. You should not make your child feel that he has a flaw – this can lead to a lack of self-confidence, loss of open-mindedness and limited enjoyment of life. A child will only learn to cope with his or her hearing loss and accept a hearing aid if his or her parents do the same. Hearing aids must be worn regularly. In addition, it makes sense to inform the people with whom the child interacts about the hearing loss. Otherwise, communication problems with all the social consequences, such as school difficulties and loneliness, are inevitable.
