Hearing Loss of Kids: Warning Signs

Hearing Loss of Kids: Warning Signs

brotee mukhopadhyay

You have probably learned from one Martin that his son of fourteen months cannot even say ‘ma-ma’ or ‘aaie-aaie’ (for ‘bye-bye’). You have probably learned from one Ruddy that his daughter of two years and a half just fails to follow an easy rhyme.

And you are going to be blessed with a kid very soon. This is the high time when you should add to your personal knowledge-bank some old data which describe that in the United States of America for every 1000 new-born children nearly 3 are either deaf or are with different hearing problems.

But it is natural that a child should hear and listen from the moment of his/her birth. If a child has no ability to hear from the moment of his/her birth or if he/she is short of hearing he/she will fail or find it difficult  identifying things around. Such babies cannot respond to the call of others and thus grow with emotional deprivation and hence grow weaker than their counterparts. This blocks development of their personality and they finally contribute less to the society and the society remains unsympathetic. The responsible parents should, therefore, know the signs which will let them understand if their kids have any hearing problem or not.

Shortage or complete loss of hearing may be caused if the son is born four weeks earlier than the scheduled date, that is, if he is a premature child. His resting at the neonatal intensive care unit may also be a factor. A child may suffer from loss of hearing if he is left amidst loud sound even for a short time. Loss of hearing may affect genetically and you may study the history of his heredity. Effect of ear infections and meningitis and cytomegalovirus may sometimes cause the hearing loss. You cannot even ignore the side-effects of certain medicines taken by his mother or even by the baby.

But the child will show signs of this problem from the beginning. You should be cautious to note them and consider them seriously and meet a physician immediately. In most of the cases you may find that you need not be such serious as you have been. Still your seriousness may be demanding at times.

You should not wait for those worrying days to note that the loving kid finds it hard to pay attention to the colored pages of a beginner's book. Rather try to remember if the kid in his early infancy has ever shaken by a sudden loud sound. This is normal for any kid. It implies that the external, middle and internal parts of his ear and the eardrum have nothing abnormal.

An infant loves to watch anything moving. He will try to know your presence and by three months of his age he will learn to recognize your voice. He will seek you if he hears you say something. You will be sure of this just following the movement of his eyes.

Parent sings slowly and the child listens to the rhythm and sleeps within a short time. This begins when he is a boy of six months or less. What is your experience? This leads to the conclusion that he is not challenged by ears.

At an age of six months he will secure capacity to turn his head too. He will try to turn his head to the left or to the right in order to find you somewhere near when he hears your voice. He has learned to recognize your voice by this time.

When he will be twelve months old his early days of toddling will begin. So long he has followed the sounds and now he will try to imitate. Now some sounds, meaningless sounds and wonderful ‘ma-ma’ or ‘aaie-aaie’ will sprout from his lips. This will assure you that the child does not suffer from loss of hearing.

When the kid has grown a little, your task is not over. It is his time to get prepared for a school. He may be inattentive and it is not always for the reason that he is a naughty boy. You should watch if he speaks less and finds more interest in watching visual something instead of listening to anything audio. His interest for watching the television may stem from this too. Yes, this may happen when he is a toddler.

In any case, your observation is very important and if you apprehend anything otherwise you should immediately meet a physician. Remedies are not rare and children should get best of care everywhere in the world.