Is your child hearing all the sounds of the earth?
This list of milestones can help you find out

Although each child develops uniquely, some traits of hearing and language do follow a fairly consistent pattern. If your child does not respond to the sounds indicated at the appropriate age, HAVE YOUR CHILD'S HEARING TESTED. Early detection of hearing loss allows you to explore all the options of medical treatment, education choices and assistive equipment. The quality 

Throughout the list of milestones, you will notice that speech development is the primary measurement of hearing loss. Your child learns to speak during the first three years of life. Because speech is an auditory experience and develops from mimicking the sounds of parents, siblings, and others, speech development is an excellent method of identifying hearing loss in children. Children who cannot hear will have difficulty recognizing differences in sounds. However this is only one method. 

Hearing tests are available for children from infancy, but these tests are only conducted at the request of the parent or if the pediatrician suspects hearing loss is present. Doctors will order a test if:

• the mother had certain illnesses or consumed alcohol or used other drugs while pregnant the infant was born underweight (less than 3.5 lbs.), had poor health at birth or had jaundice which required a transfusion 

• the family has a history of hearing loss 

• the child has certain diseases or chronic ear infections 

• the child receives an injury to the head is exposed to loud noise or damages the eardrum
  

By the time your child enters school, more than 80% of the language the child will use in the next l0 years has been learned. Vocabulary will expand, but never at the same rate it has in the first five years of life.

An undetected hearing loss in these critical years will severely impact your child's education and affect the child's entire life. Early diagnosis of hearing loss allows you to choose hearing aids, other medical options, to begin learning and teaching alternate communication methods with your child or to identify an early education program for children with hearing loss.

The test does not hurt your child. If no hearing loss exists, then you know that standard communication training is appropriate for your child. But if a hearing loss is detected, then with your doctor and audiologist, you an choose how to proceed to prepare your child for communication.

Michigan Association for Deaf Hearing and Speech Services has an extensive resource list to help you find professionals in your area and to suggest services that might be useful in your situation. Contact MADHS for information.

© 2000  Muskegon Hearing & Speech Center

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