Why should I have my baby's hearing tested?
Normal hearing is the first condition for the normal development of speech.
For a child, learning to hear and to speak are fundamental needs for communicating and for developing skills through play.
Children begin to hear from the moment they are born. When they learn to speak, they imitate the sounds they hear around them.
Hearing loss can have a negative effect on a child's cognitive, emotional, social and physical development. Early diagnosis, the use of suitable hearing devices and auditory-verbal training can help children with hearing loss to develop speech and language skills close to those of their peers.
For this reason, it is recommended that every baby has a hearing test within the first month of life, ideally before being discharged from hospital, in order to identify and determine whether the child is at risk of hearing loss.
My baby did not pass the test – what does this mean?
If your baby did not pass the test, this does not necessarily mean that the child cannot hear. There are many reasons why a baby may not pass the test, such as the presence of fluid in the middle ear and other factors.
For this reason, the test needs to be repeated after a certain period of time and monitoring must continue. This is a screening test, which is not sufficient to establish a final diagnosis, but it is very important in providing initial information.
Which situations carry a risk of hearing loss?
In 50% of cases of hearing loss in babies, no known risk factors are present. In 10% of live births, there are risk factors that may cause hearing loss. These include:
- Viral infections that can cause hearing loss, such as toxoplasmosis, rubella (German measles) or the herpes virus.
- Hyperbilirubinaemia (jaundice).
- A stay in intensive care for more than 3 days after birth.
- The use of ototoxic medication during pregnancy.
- Children who have had bacterial meningitis.
- A family history of hearing loss (deaf relatives).
- Babies born with a birth weight below 1,500 grams.
- A prolonged lack of oxygen during birth.
- The need for artificial ventilation after birth.
- Anomalies of the baby's face and ears.
- Syndromes such as Down syndrome, Turner syndrome, cleft lip and palate, anomalies of the head and face, chromosomal anomalies or known syndromes.
- When the level of jaundice is very high and may pose a risk of hearing loss, further testing must always be carried out.
How do normal hearing and speech develop?
At certain ages, the following behaviour can be expected in relation to the development of your child's hearing and speech:
0-3 months:
- Does the child react when hearing a sudden sound?
- Does the child go quiet or smile when you speak to him or her?
- Does the child recognise your voice and stop crying when hearing you?
- While breastfeeding, does the child increase or decrease feeding activity when hearing sounds?
- Does the child make sounds of pleasure, such as cooing “ooh-aah”?
- Does the child cry in different ways to express his or her needs?
- Does the child smile when seeing you?
4-6 months:
- Does the child turn his or her eyes towards the sounds heard?
- Does the child react to changes in the tone of your voice?
- Does the child notice toys that make sounds?
- Is the child's attention drawn by music?
- Does the child make speech-like sounds, including sounds such as “b”, “p”, “m” (for example “ba-ba-da-ma”)?
- Does the child make sounds to express pleasure or discomfort?
- Does the child laugh or make other sounds when alone or when playing with you?
7 months – 1 year:
- Does the child enjoy games such as peek-a-boo and simple repeated sounds (for example “ba-ba”)?
- Does the child turn his or her head and look towards where a sound is coming from?
- Does the child listen when you speak to him or her?
- Does the child recognise the names of simple objects such as cup, shoes, milk and so on?
- Does the child respond to simple requests such as “Come here” or “Do you want more?”
- In order to attract and hold attention, does the child use sounds other than speech and crying?
- Does the child imitate different speech sounds?
1-2 years:
- Can the child point to parts of the body when you ask?
- Does the child understand and carry out simple instructions such as “Roll the ball”, “Kiss the baby”, “Where is the shoe?”
- Does the child say more words each month?
- Does the child use questions of one or two words, such as “Where is the cat?”, “What is this?”
- Does the child put two words together (for example “No milk”, “Mummy has the book”)?
2-3 years:
- Does the child understand simple differences in the meaning of words, such as “go – stop”, “in – on”, “big – small”?
- Can the child carry out a two-step request, such as “Take the book and put it on the table”?
- Can the child say the names of most objects?
- Does the child use 2-3 words to speak or to ask for something?
- When asking for something, does the child say the name of the object he or she wants?
For any changes in hearing and speech that may occur in children over 3 years of age, we recommend a visit to the ear, nose and throat clinic.
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