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Hearing Aids Detroit: Childhood Hearing Loss: What to Know
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Childhood Hearing Loss: What to Know

As you can imagine, being able to hear plays a significant part in a child’s social, emotional, and cognitive development. When infants and toddlers are unable to hear, or have even mild hearing loss, it can affect how their speech and language develop, which can have lasting complications. Infants should get their first hearing test at around three months old in order to catch early signs of hearing loss so that treatment can begin right away. If your little one hasn’t had an exam, visit the audiologists at Platinum Hearing Aids in Detroit. Our team offers compassionate and nurturing care that will ensure your child has a pleasant experience. We hope their hearing is just fine, but if the need arises, we carry a full selection of hearing aids that will give your baby the tools they need to succeed.

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Causes of Hearing Loss in Children

  • The mother had an infection during pregnancy.
  • Drug or alcohol abuse during pregnancy.
  • Babies who weigh less than three pounds at birth or who need certain respiration drugs.
  • Complications at birth such as lack of oxygen or a serious infection.
  • They had to stay in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit).
  • They had jaundice and required a blood transfusion.
  • Were given medication that resulted in hearing loss.
  • Experienced frequent ear infections, meningitis, or cytomegalovirus.
  • They were exposed to loud noises or sounds.
 

Hearing Milestones for Infants

Even when things seem OK after an initial hearing test, parents should keep an eye out for early signs of hearing loss in their children. There are some essential milestones to watch for that will signal that things are going as they should:
  • Your infant jumps or is startled when there is a sudden loud noise.
  • They will begin to recognize your voice when talking to them.
  • By the age of six months, your baby should be able to turn around when they hear a sound.
  • When they are around one year old, they will start imitating sounds to make certain words.

Signs of Hearing Loss

As your baby is growing and developing, some early signs of hearing loss include:
  • Your infant doesn’t speak or make sounds, or if they do it’s limited.
  • They are often inattentive.
  • They have difficulty learning and/or don’t participate very often in school.
  • They turn up the volume on the TV in order to hear.
  • They don’t respond to being talked to.
  • They often respond with “What?”
  • They are frustrated when there is a lot of background noise.
  • They pivot their body or head in order to hear from a certain ear.
  • Your child focuses on you when talking to them, relying on visual signals rather than sound.
In our next blog post, we’ll be discussing types of hearing loss and treatment for childhood hearing loss. If you, your infant, or someone you know are experiencing a change in their hearing, contact Platinum Hearing Aids for quality, compassionate care. Our Detroit audiologists have years of experience in selecting the right hearing aid for your needs and lifestyle. We can assure you that we’ll be there throughout the process so that you can live a high quality of life.