It’s no surprise that as a parent, you can be hyper-aware of your child’s health. From a sniff of a cold to a change in behavior or activity level. Your children’s health becomes something you really focus on when there are subtle changes that occur.
Parents shouldn’t ignore the subtle changes that can happen in a child’s hearing. After all, their hearing is a vital sense that they’ll want to ensure is in good condition.
Spotting problems early can be useful not only to prevent further damage but to help provide a fantastic quality of life, whatever the hearing loss may be.
In this guide, we’ll look at why subtle changes matter when it comes to hearing health and what subtle signs to watch out for when it comes to potential hearing problems.
Why subtle changes to hearing health really matter
There are some subtle changes that can happen that are important to look out for. But why do these subtle changes matter? What impact do they have on your child’s health beyond just being able to hear?
Critical developmental window
Infancy and early childhood are some of the vital years when it comes to learning to speak and having a strong understanding of language. With hearing loss during this time, it can significantly hinder what is a critical development window in your child.
Not spotting the potential signs and addressing them quickly enough can often have detrimental impacts on their development as they get older.
Cognitive impact
Mild hearing loss can often affect cognitive development, which makes it harder for children to be able to process information. This is particularly the case when it comes to noisy environments like classrooms.
This impact, especially at a young age, can have a lot of fallout not just in childhood but in adulthood, too, if not addressed early enough.
Academic performance
For those who struggle with hearing loss that goes undiagnosed, it can have a detrimental impact on academic performance. This can often be misunderstood as something else, especially if the hearing loss isn’t identified or even suspected to be the reason for the failings.
Difficulty following lessons, understanding teachers, and keeping up with peers can all lead to poor school performance that further impacts their opportunities in the future. Academic performance and hearing loss are something that are often connected, but are missed when it comes to a child’s ear health.
Social and emotional struggles
There are several emotional struggles and social environments that can be hard to contend with when a child has hearing loss. They may become extremely frustrated, irritable, withdrawn, or even act out because they cannot effectively communicate with others.
Not being able to fit into society because of their hearing loss can often lead to low self-esteem, which can really diminish a person’s quality of life and happiness in general.
Children might become frustrated, withdrawn, irritable, or act out because they can’t effectively communicate or fit in socially, leading to low self-esteem.
Subtle signs to watch for
There are some subtle signs to watch out for when it comes to hearing changes in kids. These subtle signs are often not really noticeable until you really pay attention. Others might be fairly obvious and set off alarm bells. With that being said, here are some subtle signs to look out for if you suspect your child has hearing loss:
- Saying what? frequently when being spoken to
- Turning up the TV or device volume
- Appearing frustrated or unengaged with the conversations being had
- Difficulty following conversations or instructions given
- Withdrawing from social interaction
- Trouble sleeping due to ear discomfort
What to do if you suspect a hearing issue?
As a parent, it’ll likely go against your instincts to ignore potential problems, especially when it’s to do with your child. Therefore, if you suspect a hearing issue, you don’t want to dismiss it. Instead, you want to take note of the issue and see if it’s a one-off or something that happens frequently.
Once you’re sure that hearing loss might be present, then you can go about consulting a professional. Early intervention is key in order to give your child the right support and to ensure they thrive.
Hearing tests and what to expect
Hearing tests are a good way of figuring out what potential hearing loss your child has, especially if they’ve not had a hearing test since birth.
A hearing test will typically involve an audiologist who will ask about your child’s hearing, as well as any potential family history of hearing loss or damage. Checking your child’s ears with a camera, they’ll then perform a number of tests to find the softest sounds they can hear.
All of this helps to create an audiogram that essentially maps out the child’s hearing loss. These results are then discussed after to decide on management plans like hearing aids or cochlear implants. The results will follow a certain structure from normal to severe loss:
- Normal: Softest sounds heard between -10 and 20 dB.
- Mild Loss: 21-40 dB; trouble in noisy places.
- Moderate Loss: 41-70 dB; difficulty with quiet sounds and speech.
- Severe Loss: 71-90 dB; significant difficulty hearing.
It’a worth avoiding exposure to any loud noise at least twelve hours before the test. Think about what struggles you’ve noticed with your child and ask the child themselves if they are able to communicate it effectively.
Above all, it’s a good idea to make sure you’re well prepared for the check, as well as preparing your young one for it too. It’s good to know what they can expect when it comes to a hearing test so that it’s not alien or worrying.
Thankfully, there are a lot of options and opportunities out there that are worth exploring. With that being said, don’t ignore these subtle hearing changes when you spot them. It could be the difference between a poor and great quality of life for your child going forward. Use these tips and do your own research to figure out what hearing damage your child may have.
