We are celebrating National Audiology Awareness Month by reminding parents to visit their child’s pediatric audiologist for routine checkups and to teach proper hearing health for a lifetime of sound.
Hearing and speech are essential tools for learning, playing and developing social skills. Children learn to communicate by imitating sounds they hear, so undetected and untreated hearing loss can lead to delays in speech and language, social problems and/or academic difficulties.
More than 90 percent of children diagnosed with hearing loss are born to parents with typical hearing, and about half of all children with hearing loss do not have risk factors. Thus, early intervention becomes crucial for children with hearing loss.
Common signs of hearing loss in babies include not being startled by loud sounds, appearing to hear some sounds but not others, not turning toward sound after six months of age, and/or only turning toward a speaker when they are visible.
As children grow older, temporary and permanent hearing problems can begin to develop because of infections, injuries, or prolonged exposure to loud sounds. It is important for parents to continuously look for signs of hearing loss as their children grow up to mitigate any long-term damage to hearing.
If someone you know is showing signs of hearing loss, please don’t wait to act. The pediatric audiologists at Texas Hearing Institute can help identify the type of hearing loss, the severity of hearing loss and make recommendations based on each family’s communication goals.
Click here to make an appointment today!
