Hearing is a crucial part of a kid’s learning process for the first few years. Even newborn babies tend to learn a lot about their environment and surroundings through various sounds. However, as a parent, you need to note whether or not your baby is responding to different types of sounds. Even if your child suffers from a partial or mild hearing loss, he might have a problem in developing speech and language properly.
A child may suffer from hearing loss due to various factors. It can be because of his premature birth, developing ear infections, genetic reasons, exposure to certain external factors, and many more.
Whatever be the reason, the important part is to get your child’s ears evaluated by an experienced audiologist. However, the hearing test depends on the age and health condition of the child.
Hearing Test for a New Born Baby
Doctors make it a point to test the hearing ability of a newborn baby before he or she is discharged from the hospital. It is essential to diagnose hearing loss before he turns three months old and the treatment should begin before six months. It will allow his proper speech and language development.
What are the Test Options?
A hearing professional usually prescribes two kinds of tests for the newborn baby. Both these tests are painless and it takes only a few minutes to complete it. They are-
Otoacoustic Emission Test (OAE)
In this type of test, a tiny earphone is inserted into the baby’s ear. Now the sound is transmitted into the ear and discharged through the cochlea, which gets recorded in the ear canal. The doctor will test certain frequencies and analyze the emissions. In the case of hearing loss, there is no emission of sound at all.
Auditory Brainstem Response
When conducting the Auditory Brainstem Response test, the ear specialist inserts the electrodes at different positions on the baby’s head and ear. Next, he will place an acoustic stimulus on each ear with the help of headphones. He analyzes the activity of the hearing nerves and the brain’s response.
Hearing Tests for Infants (7 months to 2 years)
The infants also pass through the same tests as mentioned above. However, audiology professionals may also prescribe a few other tests to diagnose the problem.
The first is a simple behavioral audiometry test where the baby’s response to hand-held sound stimuli such as a bell, drum, or rattle is noted. The second test is sound field testing in which the infant is exposed to various sounds using loudspeakers. The infant is trained to turn towards the sound and if he fails to do this, then he is referred to an audiologist.
Hearing Tests for Toddlers (2-3 years)
If the hearing doctor wants to evaluate the hearing ability of a toddler, he may prescribe the following tests.
Conditioned Play Auditory (CPA)
It is a type of headphone hearing test conducted on toddlers and older infants, which offers specific information about hearing loss. The test is more like a playing activity where the kid is asked to do anything when he hears the sound. If he does not react to the sound after in-depth testing, he will need proper treatment.
Hearing Tests for Older Children
Many hearing aids manufacturing companies offer listening devices such and hearing aids in Ogden that can be used anywhere like at the home, work area, and classroom.
For children above 3 to 4 years old, the professionals at Hearing Improvement Center may recommend tympanometry. It is a particular kind of test that evaluates the functioning of the inner ear. The air is pressed into the ear, which allows the eardrum to expand. The expansion of the eardrum is measured with the help of a special machine. The test does not determine the hearing ability of the child but identifies a change in the pressure of the inner ear.
On a Concluding Note
It is important for the parents to understand how their kid or child is responding to various sound stimuli. If they find that he is not making any response to their calls or sound, they should immediately consult a hearing doctor and get his hearing tested.
