Contents
Baby hearing: at least four screenings between 0 and 6 years old
In some maternities, staff are trained to screen newborns for hearing problems from the first days. In others, the most numerous, only babies “at risk” (family history, asphyxiation during birth, infections of the mother during pregnancy) benefit from his explorations. The doctor has the choice between two techniques: automated evoked potentials (headphones send sounds and electrodes detect if the ear has picked up them) and oto-emissions caused (a microphone detects the presence of sounds emitted by an ear which “hears well” in response to clicks).
During the obligatory visits, at 4 and 9 months, then at 2 years, your doctor or the pediatrician of the PMI stands behind your child, then turns over the sound toys of different intensity, one after the other. Unless he simply calls your child by his first name. The goal is to see if your child reacts and turns his head in the direction the sounds are coming from.
Between 3 and 6 years, screening is most often done in kindergarten, in small or large section depending on the school, with the school doctor. This medical examination includes an examination of the ears and eardrums, as well as the emission of sounds of varying intensity, through headphones.
Hearing problem: the signs that should alert you
It is okay for your child not to wake up while you are vacuuming under his bed, because babies have a very deep sleep. During the day, he can also sometimes dream, quite simply. Corn if you notice no reaction repeatedly, and is fully awake, talk to your doctor. The signs that should alert you:
He never reacts when the phone rings or a door slams;
He does not babble, does not twitter, seems withdrawn;
He doesn’t turn around when you call him;
The mistress or nanny tells you that he is permanently in the clouds;
He grazes the words a lot, confuses the consonants “p” and “b”, “d” and “t”, “m” and “n”;
He still does not speak at 3 years old, apart from “dad”, “mum”, “yes” and “no”. At this age, he must have around 200 words of vocabulary, make short sentences and must be able to be understood by all, even if he does not always pronounce perfectly.
Treatments for hearing problems: from drugs to implants
Often caused by an infection or by the accumulation of fluid in the middle ear (as in the case of serous otitis), so-called “conductive” hearing loss is by far the most common and the easiest to treat. The first treatment consists of combining antibiotics and corticosteroids over a short period. It is generally effective and is sufficient for the child to regain good hearing. If the recurrences are frequent and this hearing loss really handicaps the child in learning to speak, the ENT can help you. propose the installation of transtympanic aerators which will stay in place for 12 to 18 months before falling off spontaneously. The child immediately regains his hearing.
When the disorders are detected at birth or in a very small baby, it is usually a sensorineural hearing loss due to permanent damage to the cochlea or the auditory nerve. Before the age of 1, the child can be equipped with hearing aids to amplify sound. He will also be followed by a speech therapist who will help him get the most out of what he hears. If the prosthesis is not enough, the child will be able to benefit from a cochlear implant, a small device implanted in the cochlea that directly stimulates the end of the auditory nerve by sending it electrical signals. Regular work with a speech therapist will also be essential.