The Importance of Back-to-School Hearing Tests for Children
Hearing loss is typically a gradual process, and initial changes may be so subtle that it goes unnoticed for years. Often, a parent will dismiss the hearing loss as the child being rude or dismissive when not responding to instructions. Perhaps the child seems absent-minded because those instructions need to be repeated too many times. But, if a hearing loss is present, it may affect the child’s grades, development, growth and subsequently their self-esteem.
Newborns are screened at birth for hearing loss and usually again a few weeks later. However, many parents don’t ever test their children after these initial screenings. Hearing problems can occur at any time and can affect one or both ears.
If left undetected the child may experience any of the following:
- Poor speech development. The early school years are critical for proper speech development.
- Poor social development. A child with a hearing problem may have difficulties interacting with other children if they cannot hear them correctly as well as their environment such as a noisy gym with a lot of background noise.
- It may just be wax! The ear canal may just be blocked by mucus or wax. These can lead to hearing loss of varying severity but are easily treatable.
- Hearing complications due to an infection. Some diseases and medicines used to treat them can lead to hearing issues.
Schedule your child for an annual hearing test during each Back to School season!! If something unusual is detected in their hearing test, it can be treated before it affects their grades or overall social experience in the upcoming school year.
Expert Hearing Solutions offers hearing tests in Vancouver and the Lower Mainland, throughout the Okanagan Valley, Saskatoon and Thunder Bay. If you need to schedule a back-to-school hearing test, please click HERE to schedule your appointment today!
