| The Importance of
Hearing |
| The ability to
hear is vital to a child's development.
Hearing makes it possible for a child
to learn to recognize voices, imitate
sounds and develop language. Hearing
also helps children pick up danger signals,
communicate, develop social skills and
orientate them- selves. Hearing is more
than simply a part of the sensory apparatus;
it plays an important role in forming
the child's personality and behaviour.In
the past, before it became possible
to correctly diagnose a hearing loss
in a young child, it was not unusual
for a hearing impaired child to be considered
as having a learning disability and
placed in a care facility. Happily,
this does not happen anymore. Hearing
loss has nothing to do with a lack of
intelligence - but if a hearing loss
is not diagnosed and treated at an early
stage, it can have a significant negative
impact on a child's development. It
is therefore important that hearing
losses are identified as early as possible.
Significant delays in speech and language
development can be avoided if amplification
is provided early. The realization that
a child has a hearing loss can be overwhelming
to a parent. There is so much information
to take in, and so many questions to
be asked and decisions to be made. And
in addition to all of these practical
concerns, there can be many emotional
issues. So it is important that parents
strive to be open, positive and well
informed, in order to provide the best
possible conditions for their child.
You and your family are a vital part
of your child's support team consisting
also of hearing healthcare professionals,
school staff and other professionals.
Widex has established this website to
give you a broad, solid base of information
about your child's hearing loss. |
 |
| Parenting a Child
with a Hearing Loss |
| Children are born
with an open mind. Totally accepting
the world around them, a hearing impaired
child has no concept of being "handicapped"
unless he or she is made to feel that
way. Humans are incredible at compensating
for physical or mental shortcomings.
In fact, each and every one of us have
something, major or minor, which we
work around every day – be it
poor vision, a weak constitution or
a short temper. The impressions your
child's family and friends have about
hearing impairment can have great influence
on your child's self-image and self-confidence.
Your efforts to be well informed, open,
supportive and, in general, positive
about hearing loss, help your child
keep the wonderful open mind and positive
attitude he or she was born with. |
|
| Getting the Help your
Child Needs |
| As a parent, you
have the opportunity to be involved
in the professional care your child
receives. You should expect very open
communication with all professionals
involved, and you should feel comfortable
asking any questions at all and only
settle for explanations which are in
terms you clearly understand. The management
of a child's hearing loss poses a significant
challenge to the hearing healthcare
professional. It is an ongoing process
which may involve some trial and error
in the beginning until the best strategy
is found. The final strategy –
a combination of amplification type,
communication method and training, teaching
method, etc. – will be that which
gives your child the best sound and
the best opportunities for communication
and learning. In short, the goal is
optimum quality of life. And with the
technology and skills available today,
you and your child can expect a lot!
Amplification of sounds is your hearing
impaired child's key to communication
with the hearing world. In order to
give your child optimum auditory stimulation,
amplification should be implemented
soon after diagnosis. Of course, amplification
does not reverse the hearing loss, but
it enables your child to hear sounds
that otherwise would be too soft to
hear. |
|
| TWO FORMS OF AMPLIFICATION
|
|
| 1-Hearing aids |
| The use of hearing
aids enables your child to utilize his
or her remaining hearing ability in
order to optimize the perception of
sound. Hearing aids provide amplification
and special sound processing to help
give your child an optimum representation
of sounds which are found in a normal
environment. |
|
| 2-Cochlear Implant |
| The cochlear implant
is a miniature device, which enables
children with profound hearing loss
to perceive sound. The device includes
an array of electrodes implanted within
the cochlea of the inner ear. The electrodes
generate electrical activity which is
used to directly stimulate the auditory
nerve. The auditory nerve then passes
this information along to the hearing
center of the brain. Because the implant
is inserted within the inner ear, the
implant inadvertently destroys any remaining
inner ear cells. However, since children
with bilateral profound hearing loss
have no or very few inner ear cells,
the elimination of these few remaining
inner ear cells is warranted by the
amount of hearing which will be provided
by the cochlear implant. Thus implantation
is usually recommended for children
with profound hearing loss in both ears
that have shown little prior success
with hearing aids. Cochlear implantation
can be a good alternative in this situation.
The implantation rarely takes place
before the child is 18 months old. Candidacy
for a cochlear implant is also highly
scrutinized. |
|
| Signs of Hearing Loss |
| We have compiled
a list of things in children's behaviour
that may indicate hearing difficulties.
Children develop at their own individual
pace, so while none of these are a sure
sign that there is a problem, any of
them could indicate that your child
is missing important aural information. |
|
 |
Failure to
startle to loud sounds |
|
Inability
to locate the source of sounds
by, for example, turning the head
towards the person speaking. Children
with normal hearing will usually
try and locate a sound source
by around the age of 5-6 months. |
|
Generally
requiring louder sound levels
in order to function – sitting
too close to the television, turning
up the volume, frequently asking
"what?" when spoken
to, not responding when called. |
|
Babbling
ceases or changes to more high-pitch
screaming sounds at the age of
around 6-8 months. |
|
Lack of normal
response to sounds – does
not respond to his or her own
name by around the age of 6 months. |
|
Failure for
babbling to evolve into recognizable
speech sounds and finally to words
during the child's second year
of life. |
|
Failure to
respond to simple commands such
as "Bring daddy the ball"
by around the age of 1 year, unless
the child is looking directly
at you and seeing your body movements. |
|
Withdrawing
from social contact and perhaps
"acting out" aggressively.
This can indicate frustration
over the constant misunderstandings
resulting from hearing loss. |
|
Frequently
misunderstanding spoken directions. |
|
Milestones for
hearing development
It is very difficult to define "normal"
hearing development. Each individual
develops in their own way and at their
own pace. The milestones described below
are therefore only to be considered
as general guide- lines. |
|
| Prenatal Stimulation |
| The human foetus
possesses rudimentary hearing from 20
weeks of gestation. This hearing will
develop and mature during the remainder
of gestation. The foetus is able to
hear sounds from outside the mother's
body, although it can hear low frequency
sounds much better than high frequency
sounds. |
|
| 0-4 months |
| Startled by sudden
or loud sounds. Begins to localize sounds
with eyes or head movements. |
|
| 3-6 months |
| Shows interest
in different sounds, Experiments with
making own sounds. Seemingly recognizes
familiar voices. |
|
| 6-12 months |
| Babbles. Begins
to understand simple words such as "mummy"
and "bye-bye". Begins to follow
simple instructions. |
|
| 12-18 months |
| Words begin to
form from the babble. Can use about
20 words and understands around 50 words. |
|
| 2 years |
| Can usually speak
in simple sentences using a vocabulary
of around 200-300 words. Enjoys being
read to and can identify and name many
things in picture books. |
|
| 3-4 years |
| Uses words and
sentences to express needs, questions
and feelings. Vocabulary, pronunciation
and understanding improve markedly during
these years. |
|
| Which Hearing Aid
Models are Suitable for Children? |
Hearing aids
must fit precisely to a child's ears
in order to work optimally. Children
have special requirements for hearing
aids due to the size and physical
changes to their ears as they grow.
For young children the behind-the-ear
(BTE) type of hearing aids are usually
recommended because they are more
robust, easier to operate and allow
more effective daily removal of earwax.
New earmoulds will need to be made
as children grow and their ear canals
change shape. Hearing aids are available
in a variety of bright colours, which
most young children prefer. At the
time of adolescence, children may
prefer more discreet models. This
can be a help during teenage years
when self awareness of being "different"
can be particularly difficult. |
|
| What Can Hearing
Aids Do for Children? |
Hearing aids
can help children with a hearing loss
to develop normal language skills
and to participate in school and social
activities on equal terms with their
friends. Hearing impaired people usually
have difficulty distinguishing between
speech and noise. This is particularly
true with children, as their language
is not yet fully developed, making
it more difficult to fill in the unheard
"gaps" by guessing. So children
can benefit greatly from modern hearing
aids that are designed to reduce disturbing
noise while emphasizing the important
sounds, such as speech. If your child
has a hearing loss in both ears, it
is important that your child is provided
with two hearing aids. This binaural
hearing aid fitting will make it easier
for your child to understand speech
in noisy situations. |
|
| Noise Damages Hearing |
Children spend
much of their time in noisy surroundings
such as playgroups, classrooms and playgrounds;
Long-term exposure to loud noise can
cause temporary hearing loss, which
can develop into a permanent loss.
It is important to minimize the amount
of time children are exposed to noise:
Parents and teachers should make every
effort to reduce the noise in children's
surroundings in order to create a good,
healthy sound environment. |
|
| Help is near |
| Today there is
a wide range of possibilities for helping
people with hearing loss to optimise
their hearing ability. Do contact with
us. |
|
| Contact
Us |
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