Can a child's hearing be tested? What are the ways to diagnose it? This is a question that worries millions of parents, especially when it comes to an infant and there are suspicions of possible deviations from the norm.
Testing children's audio sensitivity is a paramount duty of hearing care, because hearing disorders should be treated promptly.
How to test a child's hearing?
Modern medicine has capabilities that were not available (at least) 20 years ago, which allow diagnosing the presence or absence of auditory abnormalities immediately after birth.
During the years of active development of audiology, a lot of useful knowledge has been accumulated, and many methods of examination and screening programs for hearing in newborns have been developed, as well as early hearing aid for babies aged 3 to 6months with congenital abnormalities.
It should be noted that it is impossible to test the hearing of a child, as in an adult, since this requires more complex diagnostic techniques. This task is not easy and entails great responsibility, since the earlier the disease is detected, the more favorable the prognosis for rehabilitation will be. The most important aspect in the diagnosis of hearing impairment in children is the correct and thorough sequence of actions that allow you to outline a strategy to combat the disease.
How to check the hearing of a month old baby?
Comprehensive audiological examination of young children appeared thanks to a technique invented back in 1976 by Debra Hass and James Jerger. Its main principle is that in pediatric audiology, a correct diagnosis can be made with only a few tests, not just one. Therefore, the diagnosis of the baby's hearing abilities should include behavioral audiometry, as well as general research methods in the complex. Modern research methods consist of:
- Behavioral audiometry (depending on baby's age).
- Audiometry objective.
- Audiometry impedance.
- Registration of otoacoustic emissions.
- Short-latency auditory evoked potential recording.
The results of the behavioral sound measurements must be confirmed by the results of objective audiometry, since each of the tests helps to separately examine the desired areaauditory organ.
After a thorough analysis of the results, the doctor collects all the information into a single whole and recreates a real picture of the child's condition. But how does an audiologist test children's hearing? Based on the general principles of audio diagnostics in infancy, the doctor experiences behavioral responses in response to a sound stimulus, after which he draws conclusions.
What does an objective due diligence include?
This diagnostic includes the following aspects:
- Collecting data on possible causes of auditory pathology.
- Research of ENT organs.
- Analysis of the course of pregnancy, childbirth and the development of the baby in the first weeks of life.
- Checking for genetic abnormalities and their possible impact.
- Compiling a questionnaire for parents to be able to assess the characteristics of the behavioral reactions of the baby according to age.
- ABR screening to test hearing in infants immediately after birth. It is he who allows you to exclude or determine auditory neuropathy.
Conductive violations
With these pathologies, the inner ear works as expected, but the main problem is localized either in the middle or in the external hearing organ. Such disturbances are often temporary and treatable, and one of the causes may be a sulfur plug that clogs a narrow ear canal and stands in the way of sound to the eardrum.
Sensoneural disorders
With these lesions of sound patencythe cause is the pathology of the inner ear, which, unfortunately, cannot be corrected. There may be several reasons for such a defect, and the main ones are:
- genetic diseases in which hearing loss occurs;
- maternal viral infections during pregnancy;
- pathological toxicosis;
- taking some antibiotics;
- birth trauma;
- newborn asphyxia;
- profound prematurity;
- Children's infections (encephalitis, meningitis, scarlet fever, complicated flu).
Hearing test
Despite scientific and technological progress, not every modern maternity ward is equipped with the necessary equipment that allows diagnosing hearing impairment in newborns. Therefore, if your baby was not examined immediately after birth, then at the slightest hint of abnormalities, take him to the clinic to see an audiologist, otologist or otolaryngologist as soon as possible, without waiting for the physical examination, which is usually carried out at the age of four months.
How is a newborn diagnosed?
The fact that the baby in the womb hears sounds has long been proven. But some children are surrounded by deep and impenetrable silence, and according to statistics, the probability of this is about 15:1000, and the reasons for this can be very different. It is impossible to test a child's phonemic hearing without a screening test, since the baby cannot tell you whether he hears something or not. And it is done witha special sensor that transmits special sound signals, and the responses of the cochlea are transmitted to a special microphone and recorded. After that, the received data is analyzed, and the doctor gets an idea about the state of hearing of the newborn.
After confirmation of deviations, the ASEP method (short-latency auditory evoked potentials) is prescribed, which allows to determine the degree of auditory pathologies. Later, acoustic impedancemetry is prescribed, which helps to detect the presence of fluid in the eardrum or a violation of the functions of the ear canal.
Baby Parent Test
Immediately after the birth of a child, attention should be paid to his reaction to sound stimuli. If he regularly does not pay any attention to them, then you should be alert and answer yourself the questions below:
- Does your baby flinch to loud noises?
- Does he freeze from a loud sounding voice in the first month of life?
- Does a 1-month-old baby turn to hear a voice behind him?
- Does a three-month-old baby react to a mother's voice?
- How does a four-month-old baby react to the sound of a rattle, does he turn his head?
- Has your 2- or 4-month-old baby learned to coo?
- Does he babble at five months of age?
- Does baby make new sounds at ten months old?
- Does the child understand the meaning of such words as "daddy", "mother", "give","can't", "bye" or "hello" at ten months of age?
- Does he say simple words at the age of one?
If you can answer yes to all of the above questions, then there can be no cause for concern.
Test for children after a year
After a year, the child gets older and deviations are easier to notice, the main thing is to be attentive and know the answers to the following questions:
- Does a child notice that someone is talking to him if he does not see him?
- Does your child often ask again when you talk to them?
- Does the child show increased attention to the facial expressions of the speaker?
- Does he turn up the volume on the TV too much?
- Have you noticed that the child does not hear the voice on the phone? Does he put the phone in one ear and then the other?
If you are interested in the question of how to test the hearing of a child of 3 years old, then check his reaction to the simple sounds of musical toys (harmonica, drum or pipe). How does the child navigate in space when you play the sound, moving out of his field of vision? If he turns his head, freezes, begins to actively move in search of a source of irritant, then everything is fine and there is no reason for concern.
Noticing such deviations, you should visit an audiologist for advice and a further plan of action.
Which method is suitable if the baby is older?
How to test a child's hearingolder age? If he already pronounces words well and clearly, then you can find out about the state of hearing abilities with the help of speech. To do this, you need to move away from the child by 6 meters and pronounce various words in a whisper from this distance. First, it should be turned to you with the right side (with the left ear plugged with cotton wool), and then vice versa. If the baby does not hear the words, then the distance needs to be gradually reduced, he must repeat the words you said. To keep the child interested, you can imagine everything as a fun game.
What to do?
From the moment of diagnosing hearing anomalies in a child, first of all, you should think about purchasing a hearing aid, since its timely purchase will allow a small person to adapt to society and the world around him as a whole. His future directly depends on this.
Hearing aid selection should be based primarily on quality, as the longer it lasts, the better.
If you make a diagnosis in a specialized center for the rehabilitation of children with hearing problems, then most likely, experienced specialists will select the right device right on the spot, which, of course, will save you both time and nerves. After all, a hearing aid is a purely individual thing, and the selection should be made based on: the age of the baby, frequency, size of the ear canal, as well as the condition of the ENT organs. Therefore, when answering the question of where you can test your child's hearing, you should be guided by several aspects.
Children under the age of 15 can use behind-the-ear devices. During the recovery period, each trimester of the baby should be examined by a specialist who monitors the positive dynamics and adjusts the hearing aid, since the slightest cold knocks down his settings. It is impossible to do this on your own, since an incorrectly selected frequency or increased volume can completely atrophy what is left of the auditory nerve. It is also important to attend special classes for deaf children, which are taught by experienced audiologists, in order to teach them to listen and pronounce words correctly.
