Hearing Loss Negatively Impacts Communication Skills in Children

Hearing loss is a problem that affects everyone, be it a child or an elderly adult. Around 1 in every 1000 children in America is either born with complete deafness or has some degree of hearing loss. This is why it is important to become aware of how hearing loss affects the development of a child.

People may not think of hearing loss as something that would affect their child. This is why the symptoms of hearing loss in children often go ignored. When a child is not responding to you when you call them, they are not necessarily being difficult or stubborn, they simply may not have heard you at all. If you find that your child has trouble following instructions or does not listen to what you ask them to do, they may not be doing it to frustrate you on purpose but may not have heard your instructions in the first place.

Your child may even show these symptoms in school, where their teachers may often complain about them being unable to follow verbal instructions. Your child may even be caught daydreaming since they are unable to follow what is going on in class due to their inability to hear. If you suspect your child might have hearing loss, do not delay since as a child, their language skills are still developing and early intervention can prevent any lasting damage caused by hearing loss.

Children with hearing loss often feel left out and become socially withdrawn since they are unable to communicate and interact actively with other children due to their inability to hear properly. They may also be bullied in school due to their hearing loss, which can further aggravate them and cause them to become either withdrawn or aggressive. Since your child’s language skills are not yet developed, hearing loss can interfere with speech and language development. These are skills they will need for the rest of their life, which is why it is important to seek the help of a hearing care professional as early as possible to prevent any further deterioration to their hearing.

Even if your child has only a mild form of hearing loss, it is best not to ignore it since it will not simply go away and will only worsen with time without treatment. Sometimes hearing loss in children could be a simple result of excessive earwax, which is easily remedied. Certain viral or bacterial infections can also cause temporary hearing loss, which a medical professional will be able to remedy with medication. Certain medications also have hearing loss as a side effect so talk to your doctor if you child recently started taking a new medication that could be negatively affecting their hearing. No matter what the cause of hearing loss may be, timely treatment is always necessary to prevent any permanent damage to their social and personal identity. If you suspect your child may have hearing loss, talk to an audiologist today and get their hearing tested.