hardofhearingchildren.com by PAM Candlish MLS
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Non-technical Signs of Hearing Loss in Children

Parents see the child every day. They are in the best position to observe the child. They also have a tough time trying to define deafness in a child by banging pots as we did, or speaking to the child behind their backs. Not all children with hearing problems are profoundly deaf, in fact most of the children have mild or moderate hearing losses, and can appear to hear well.

An excerpt from Not Deaf Enough

On Early Diagnosis

1) Early and accurate identification of hearing loss is essential because there is a critical learning period for best language development. Babies need to hear from birth in order to build a memory of what they hear. (Rubin,1993)

2) Prenatal and Early Infancy Indicators for hearing loss : 

A. There is a family history of hearing loss. 

B. Their mothers had viral or other non-bacterial infections during pregnancy such as rubella, herpes, syphilis, etc. 

C. There are abnormalities of the head, face, or external ears. 

D. They have birth weight less than 3.3 lbs.. 

E. They contract bacterial meningitis. 

F. They show high levels of bilirubin. 

G. They have severe asphyxia, coma, seizures or the need for continued ventilation. (Martin,1991) 

H. Admission to Newborn Intensive Care for more than five days 

I. APGAR scores of below 4 at one minute and below 6 at 5 minutes (newborn vital signs measured at birth). 

J. Drug or alcohol consumption during pregnancy.

3) If the baby does not seem to alert to loud noises close to the ear, start checking for the possibility of hearing loss.

4) During the first six months all babies babble and make all the speech sounds. Check the vocal sounds the older baby makes when babbling and compare them to charts of normal speech-sound development.

5) If you think your child has a hearing problem, persist in getting an early and correct diagnosis. The parent is usually right.

6) Get a second opinion if the professional thinks there is no problem but you are sure there is a problem.

7) See an audiologist as soon as possible and discuss the need for a Brainstem Auditory Evoked Response (BAER) Test.

8) Get hearing aids on the baby as soon after birth as possible.

9) Children of all ages who have hearing problems often have a high proportion of middle ear infections.

10) Signs of Hearing Problems in Early Childhood  

A hard-of-hearing infant may indicate his/her hearing loss by various signs at various periods of his/her infancy.

A) Zero to six-months. A hard-of-hearing baby may have: 

1) No response to sound by startling or withdrawing. 

2) No location of sound by turning head. 

3) Loud crying, excessive crying, no crying. Babbling is not a guarantee of normal hearing; most babies, including those with a hearing loss, babble in the first six months.

B) Six to twelve months. A hard-of-hearing baby might: 

1) Reduce babbling or lack a variety of sounds, the classic symptom of hearing problems. 

2) Limit babble to labial sounds which the baby can see. 

3) Limit babble to lower, easily heard sounds such as ah and oo.

 4) Look for visual cues and get more involved in complex pictures

Not Deaf Enough by Patricia Ann Morgan Candlish, Washington DC:A.G.Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, 1996. 

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