How to detect hearing loss in children early

Hearing loss (reduced hearing or deafness) is one of the most common disorders in young children.

Meanwhile, the detection of hearing loss in children is often very late, making treatment of both deafness and language very difficult. Therefore, knowledge to help parents and caregivers detect the above abnormalities early is extremely important, especially in areas far from medical stations.

Which children are at risk for hearing loss?

There are many causes of hearing loss, of which only about half of cases can have an identifiable cause. The most common causes are acquired during pregnancy, childbirth, and genetic factors.

Children are at higher risk of hearing loss than other children when they are born prematurely or have low birth weight, have signs of respiratory failure after birth, need prolonged ventilation support; children have jaundice, meningitis; low Apgar score after birth; children have structural abnormalities in the head, face, abnormal structure of the outer ear and middle ear...; when mothers have certain diseases during pregnancy: syphilis, rubella, herpes... or mothers are exposed to or use antibiotics, toxic chemicals; family history of hearing loss.

However, even babies without these risk factors are at risk for hearing loss, so hearing screening should be performed on every newborn before discharge home.

Compared to children with normal hearing, children with hearing loss or reduced hearing have more difficulties in communication, both verbal and sign language, increased behavioral disorders, and many difficulties in education. Early detection and treatment bring very practical benefits to children and their families.

How to detect

In infants up to 3 months old, they do not startle at loud sounds or stop feeding or crying when there is a strange sound. In older children, there are clearer signs such as: the child does not show any expression when hearing sounds (mother talking, clapping hands, etc.); the child learns to speak later than normal, is bewildered when talking, speaks with a lisp, looks at the mouth to guess words, etc. If you suspect hearing loss, you can test the child in the following way:

For infants up to 3 months old: Let the child lie on the bed, the tester stands half a meter away from the child's head, claps hands or uses a dice to make noise to see if the child turns his head, repeat 3 times.

For older children: Let the child sit with his back to the tester, cover each ear in turn and turn to the opposite side, saying each single word at a normal intensity for the child to repeat, do this 4-5 times and if the child repeats each word correctly, the child can be considered to have normal hearing.

Repeat with the opposite ear. If the child says it incorrectly or does not say it correctly on all attempts, take the child immediately to a medical facility with an ENT specialist to have their hearing tested.

According to Health and Life