Assessing Hearing Loss in Infants and Young Children

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Assessing Hearing Loss in Infants and Young
Children
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• Doesnt your child respond from a distance or to
  familiar sounds and other voices?
• Does your child find it difficult to understand
  words clearly?
• Isnt your baby startled by loud noises?

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Although its often difficult to tell if your
child is suffering from some hearing conditions
or problems as it usually occurs gradually when
the child is developing, there are screening and
evaluation tests carried out to asses hearing in
newborns and young children.
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Why Hearing Tests and Assessments?
Hearing loss is a common problem that can
congenital that is present at birth or acquired.
While you may notice or spot signs and behaviours
that indicate hearing loss in your child during
their development, screening tests are conducted
shortly after birth to identify children with
significant hearing loss or impairment.
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Routine hearing tests can help detect hearing
issues in an infant or child early on and provide
support and a suitable treatment they may need in
the near future. Without these routine
screenings, your childs hearing disorders could
go undiagnosed for months and years and cause
delays in their speech and language development
as well as educational progress troubles.
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When is a childs hearing tested or checked?
It is always advised to have your childs hearing
tested promptly so that the child can be provided
with the medical support and help he/she needs
early on. Generally, a childs hearing is tested
within a few weeks of birth, also called newborn
hearing screening and is considered a routine
test for all children.
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Some children may require a follow-up to their
newborn screening at around eight months to one
year of their birth. Most children go through a
screening test when they start their school. The
test may be conducted at school or the hearing
centre nearby your location.
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Screening Tests for Newborns and Young Children
Newborns are screened for potential hearing loss
and impairment using two quick tests namely
automated otoacoustic emissions (AOAE) test and
automated auditory brainstem response (AABR) test.
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The AOAE test involves placing a soft earpiece in
childs ear and playing sounds to take up the
response from the inner ear and analyse the
results. AABR test, on the other hand, uses three
sensors that are placed on the childs head and
around the neck and clicking sounds are played
through soft headphones. The sensors detect
responses from the childs brain and hearing
nerves that are analysed to detect issues.
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For young children, there are a number of
screening tests including speech perception test,
tympanometry, bone conduction test, visual
reinforcement audiometry, play audiometry and
pure tone audiometry that spot potential hearing
issues in them. These test are usually conducted
at an audiology department or hearing centre and
possible solutions to the childs hearing
disposers are advised by the audiologist.
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