Hearing Loss in Children

Hearing loss can affect a person's life forever. Most people think that hearing loss only caused by natural aging or hearing being exposed to loud noise. The fact is, hearing loss can occur as early as birth. Being born prematurely, being given certain medications, complications at birth, family history of hearing loss, and yes, being exposed to very loud sounds or noises, can all cause hearing loss in children.

I choose to write this article because having hearing loss has affected my life greatly, and it still does. As a child, I was never given a hearing test until I was 7 and only after I started having ear infections constantly. The pain would be so bad that I would be banging my head against the wall to knock myself out or distract myself. In my case, I was genetically predisposed to hearing loss. My father had it and his ancestors had it "back to when they were doing mastoidectomies on kitchen tables", as my father would say. He was a father to 11 children. Luckily, only my one sister and I were affected by it.

Perhaps if I had had a hearing test earlier in my childhood, things could have gone different for me. My hearing in right ear continued to decline. I did poorly in school because I could not hear the teacher and was a social outcast because I would constantly be asking, "What?". Some people even thought I was mildly retarded because I never seemed to understand what they were saying. I became very withdrawn and shy and basically never spoke to anyone and they didn't speak to me.

The years passed by and there seemed to be no hope of restoring my hearing. I had a few tumors and five mastoidectomies done on my ear. As a result, I have a "fish gill" scar behind my right ear, as does my sister, who has had the same amount of surgeries. We also have enlarged ear canals from the surgeries. My left ear now looks a bit deformed due to the procedures. They had attempted to use the cartilage from the top of my ear and graft it onto my ear drum. At the time, this was a cutting-edge procedure. It failed, however. Five surgeries and eighteen years later, I have absolutely no real bones in my right ear. Everything is synthetic and exists solely so that I don't have ear infections. My right ear is completely defunct.

My life is still greatly affected from my hearing loss starting when I was a child. Many times I will miss my name being called in a doctor's office, I still ask "What?" so much that people who don't know me might think I am mildly retarded (I was actually told/asked this). When I had my daughter, I feared I wouldn't be able to hear her and wake up in the night for her. I hear siren's of police cars and ambulances later than I feel comfortable with. Everyone who knows me knows to walk on my left side, as I won't hear a word they say if they walk on my right. Some people talk in a tone that is too low for me to hear. Honestly, it's very frustrating to have a hearing disability as I do. People get irritated at you for making you repeat themselves, or they might mumble something important and think you heard it (this happens a lot with me and my husband). I am grateful that I am not completely deaf, but being half-deaf is akin to being half-blind. You live your life a lot differently and it affects your life socially and emotionally.

Hearing loss in children can be prevented. Catching it as early as possible will better the chances of reducing significant hearing loss. It is important to get your child's hearing screened early, and evaluated on a regular basis throughout life. Even if your newborn passes the hearing screening administered at the hospital, it's important to watch for signs that he or she is hearing well. Most infants will startle at a loud noise, turn their head or eyes towards the sound. After your baby is a year old, signs of hearing loss include limited, poor, or no speech. Many parents mistake this for a social or verbal problem, when in fact, it could mean that the child cannot hear the sounds very well in order to learn language.

A pediatric audiologist should be sought to test the child's hearing. Family practice doctors are not skilled enough in the area of hearing loss. (Example: a family practice doctor told me it was safe to swim underwater, which exacerbated my ear problems, caused numerous ear infection and led to tumors in my ear. He was ill-equiped to handle properly evaluating my hearing loss and its cause and therefore contributed to the decay of my right ear).

An ear specialist should be sought if the hearing test is concerning. One of the best in the country is Michigan Ear Institute. Although it was too late for much to be done in my case, the doctors are highly specialized, reknown doctors that deal specifically with ear problems and hearing loss. Many of their doctors have invented all sorts of new procedures and been published in numerous medical journals. I would not rely on school-administered hearing tests. Somehow, they only noticed a 'slight hearing loss' over the years, which obviously was not correct. If your child is prone to numerous ear infections, it could be a sign of a bigger problem. Hearing loss in children can cause all sorts of problems (such as the ones I had and more). It can even affect cognitive development. Even a mild or partial hearing loss can affect a child's ability to speak and understand language.

You make sure your child has all of their immunizations and booster shots. Make sure they get their hearing tested often and early. Half the time, there is no known cause for hearing loss in children. Preventing hearing loss is important for your child's well-being, physically and emotionally.