Can My Baby Hear?

Bringing home a new baby is an exciting time.  Sometimes, however, the excitement can be replaced by fears when that beautiful new child doesn’t seem to be developing at the same rate as other children.  While it is true that infants develop on their own schedule, there are things that a new mom and dad want to watch out for.  One such issue in young children can be hearing loss.

At most hospitals now an infant receives a hearing check before leaving.  However, these checks are in no way completely conclusive.  They are a good indicator of early problems, but may not be completely accurate either way.  If your child fails the test, you are usually directed to have it done again.  However, even if your baby passes the screening, it is always good to know the signs of hearing loss. 

As your little one grows, he or she should begin to babble, look towards your voice, and startle when a loud noise is around.  If you are not noticing these type of things, you might want to do an informal test at home.  Coming up behind your child and making a loud noise that would generally make a person startle is a good self check.  Make sure that the child can not see you and that your noise will not make vibrations that they can feel.  For example, looking in your direction when you stomp on the floor is not a good indicator that your baby is hearing. 

If you feel that your child might have a hearing loss there are several things that you need to be aware of.  First and foremost, get your child to the doctor.  Your pediatrician can check things out in the office, and if need be they will be able to guide you to a good audiologist.  Since there are many reasons a child may experience hearing loss, going to a specialist is a must.  Not only can the doctor do more elaborate testing, they can also put your mind at ease, and even help you deal with whatever problems might truly be there.

When a child is diagnosed with a hearing problem, a parent must also be aware of the language delay that this entails.  Children begin to learn language from the time they are very young.  Many experts even tell us to read to our little one in the womb.  Since language development is important, even if a child only has a temporary hearing problem caused by infections or some other problem, you might want to consider how to develop language even with this deficit.  Teaching your child some basic sign language is very helpful because it gives them a way to communicate.  Experts agree that signing with your baby is great for even hearing children.  If your child has a hearing problem, signing to them is giving them language even when they can not develop it in other ways.  If you don’t know signs, don’t feel bad.  There are tons of resources available to help you and your baby learn basic signs.

Finding out that your child has a hearing problem can be very scary, but in the world as it is today, it does not  always mean that your child is destined to a world of silence.  An audiologist can show you your options, help you cope, and put you in touch with others in similar situations.  They key to your child’s success is early intervention.