Can Your Child Hear Well?

Sometimes detecting hearing problems in young children can be pretty difficult, especially if they can't talk yet. It can be hard to tell whether it's just the terrible twos kicking in and making your child ignore you or whether he actually can't hear you yelling at him from across the room. There are a few common signals, though, to hearing loss in children, and knowing how to read these signals can be the difference between a few months of hearing problems and a few years of minor hearing loss, which can make a huge impact on your child's ability to speak, to interact with others, and to perform well in school.

Seeming to ignore you is a good indication that a child might have a hearing problem. There is a difference in a child who is consciously pretending not to hear you and a child who actually can't hear you. When your child is consciously ignoring you, especially if she's too young to have learned how to act well, she'll probably give some indication that she hears you – a stiffening of the back, a tilt of the head, or an ornery grin. A child who can't hear you at all will go on playing as if you had never said a thing at all, even if you're speaking loudly or standing nearby.

Also, you'll be easier able to startle a child who has hearing problems. Pay attention when you walk into the play room behind your child.  A child who has good hearing will probably turn at the sound of footsteps or will give some other indication that he knows you're there. In order to catch the attention of a child with hearing loss, you might have to stand in front of him or otherwise attract his attention through his eyes.

Speech is a great indicator of hearing loss in a child, as well. Don't worry if your child is a couple of months behind the average age of talking. An average is just an average, and kids can develop at radically different rates. However, if you have a two-year-old who still hasn't said many words at all, it might be time to see an audiologist. Sometimes, too, children with minor hearing loss, especially blocked tubes, will start talking but won't be able to speak clearly. Commonly, this comes out as a child sounding like he or she is under water. When your child listens to you speak through fluid-filled tubes, it sounds like you are under water, and this is her example for learning to speak.

All of these indicators can work for younger children, but sometimes hearing problems don't occur until a child is in school. Once in school, some indicators of hearing problems could be not listening to directions, not understanding schoolwork, and getting into interpersonal problems with other students. When a child can't hear and can't communicate effectively through language, then all of these things could pose problems, and instead of jumping to a bad behavior theory, you might want to try taking your kid to an audiologist for testing.