About two to three out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born with hearing loss. Children with hearing loss may have delayed speech development, trouble in school and difficulty making friends.
Newborn screenings catch hearing loss present at birth, but it’s still important to pay attention to signs that your child has developed it later in life. Let’s look at a few of those signs to help you know when it’s time to schedule a hearing test.
Delayed Speech
Children with hearing loss may not pick up words as fast as other children. Milestones for speech development include:
- One year old. One-year-old children will have one or two words and understand commonly spoken words like “bottle.” Children tend to start babbling and communicating with their arms at this age.
- One to two years old. One- to two-year-olds will have more words and start forming short strings sentences like “Where Mom?” They may begin to pay more attention when you read to them or point at things they recognize.
- Two to three years old. This is the age when children start assigning words to most things around them. They’ll begin to build longer sentences and use extra consonants, and their babbling will be easier to understand.
- Three to four years old. Between three and four, children will start to understand and speak in longer sentences with four or more words. They will be able to understand simple questions and talk without repeating syllables and words.
- Four to five years old. Four- to five-year-olds will communicate with others, understand stories, tell stories, list some numbers and letters, pronounce most sounds correctly and follow grammatical rules.
Children learn at different paces, so occasionally missing these benchmarks may not be a big deal. However, if you notice they consistently fall behind the benchmarks or their doctor recommends a speech therapist, hearing loss may be the cause.
School Performance Issues
As your child gets older, untreated hearing loss can start affecting their performance at school. They may let their grades drop, have trouble paying attention in class or even need to repeat a grade.
Because kids with untreated hearing don’t always know why they’re struggling, they may lash out, get frustrated or feel bad about themselves when they fall behind in school. Getting their hearing tested and fitting them with hearing aids, if necessary, can do wonders for their participation and help them understand that their difficulties aren’t their fault.
Underdeveloped Social Skills
Children with hearing loss often struggle to make friends. They might feel self-conscious about talking to other kids or hesitant to join in games at Riverside Park.
Identifying and managing hearing loss as early as possible is the best way to help your child thrive socially and academically. Call Ear, Nose & Throat Consultants today to schedule a hearing test with one of our trusted experts.