How Audiologists Determine Hearing Problems In Very Young, Non-Verbal Kids
It used to be that if a child did not speak by the age of three, and did not respond to a doctor's claps and snaps behind the child's head, the child was diagnosed with a significant hearing loss or deafness. There really was no other way to accurately diagnose a hearing loss in the very young and/or non-verbal child. Today, that has all changed. Technology has made it possible to diagnose hearing problems in very young children very early on. Here is how audiologists are able to detect hearing problems, hearing loss, and deafness in very young toddlers and even babies.
Audiometers and Bone Vibration Testers
Audiometers are used to test a child's ability to hear any sounds. If the child is cooperative enough, he/she can wear a set of headphones that are connected to the audiometer. The audiometer utilizes a series of dials to create sounds at various pitches and tones. If the child can hear anything, he/she usually turns his/her head toward the sound. The sounds start really low and quiet and gradually become very loud. If the child does not respond at all, the next step is to use a bone vibration tester.
The bone vibration tester is gently inserted into the ear canal. It is a highly sensitive instrument that simultaneously delivers a tone to the inner ear, while measuring the reaction of the three tiny bones in the inner ear and the skull around the ear tissues. If vibrations register at all with any of the bones, then the child has some hearing, but it may not be very good. It may be possible to amplify sound with hearing aids. If there is a suspected problem with the cochlea and/or the auditory nerves, then the audiologist might try a scan of the child's head to see if any unusual features can be spotted. A cochlear implant may be possible if the problem is related to the nerve or cochlea.
Surgery to Test Hearing
Sometimes children develop a condition where their inner ears are constantly filled with fluid, but they never develop ear infections. It is unusual, but it does happen. What your child hears then is a lot of muffled voices and sounds, like he/she is under water. Simple surgery may be performed to check the child's hearing and check for excess fluid. Tubes in the ears often clear up this problem and help your child begin to hear better and speak.
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