Guest Author - Kelli Deister

It is important for parents and care givers to be aware that there are numerous warning signs of hearing loss in children. Some of those warning signs are as follows.

As a parent, or daycare provider, you may notice that the noise levels become increased over time. This means that your child reaches a point where a previous level of noise is no longer adequate for them to hear the program they are watching on television. Another sign to be aware of is the necessity for you to repeatedly call your child. Oftentimes, this could mean that the child in question has simply tuned you out, in favor of their program; however, it can also signal a degree of hearing loss. Lastly, there are speech difficulty issues. If your child has difficulty, as they learn to speak, in pronouncing particular words that most other children of their age have already mastered, this may indicate that they are not hearing the words properly; thus, signaling possible hearing loss.

Should you notice any of the above warning signs in your child, I encourage you to contact the child’s pediatrician for a hearing test. A simple hearing test will provide the pediatrician with enough evidence as to whether your child will need a more thorough and advanced test. It is imperative that you catch the hearing loss early on, in order for your child to have the best opportunity of success in school.

As parents and care givers, we can also take necessary steps to prevent hearing loss in our children. We must be careful to monitor the levels of the television in our home, as well as being careful to monitor the level of sound that comes from the child’s walkman or CD player. Many times, our child will have the level of their headset at an extreme noise level, which can cause some degree of hearing loss. We can also keep the radio in the car at a healthy noise level, in order to prevent any hearing loss in our children.

Prevention, even in this area, is best.