The ability to hear is a critical tool that aids young children's social, cognitive and emotional development, according to KidsHealth, a part of the Nemours Foundation. Even a slight hearing problem can compromise a child's ability to communicate, but early and regular hearing testing can ensure the affected child receives a proper diagnosis and the best treatment possible.
Testing Ages
Most newborns in the United States have a hearing screening before they are discharged from the hospital as of August 2010, according to KidsHealth. If your baby isn't screened at the hospital or if she was born in a birthing center or at home, she should be screened within her first three weeks. If she fails the initial test, she should be retested soon thereafter; hearing loss treatment is generally most effective when it's started by a child's sixth month, says KidsHealth. In addition to the hearing tests your child gets at regular doctor's appointments, she will also likely undergo hearing tests at 4, 5, 6, 8, 10, 12, 15 and 18 years old, according to KidsHealth.
Significance of Early Detection
If a baby's hearing isn't tested early on, any potential problems might not be noticed until the baby is about 14 months old, according to the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA). Babies and children with hearing problems that are detected late are more likely to perform under their grade level and are more likely to be held back a grade, drop out of school and not earn a high school diploma, says ASHA. Alternately, children with hearing problems that are found early will more likely function at the level of their peers when they enter school.
Testing Methods
The method used to test your child's hearing will depend on his age, health status and development, according to KidsHealth. A behavioral test, for example, involves carefully observing a child's behavioral response to various sounds. An infant might respond by moving his eyes, a toddler might turn his head, a preschooler might be asked to play a game piece and a gradeschooler might be asked to lift a hand in response to the sound, says KidsHealth.
Physiologic Tests
A physiologic test isn't a direct hearing test, but it objectively estimates a child's hearing function, according to KidsHealth. Children who can't be tested behaviorally due to being too young or having a developmental delay might undergo a physiologic test. A physiologic test might be able to pinpoint what function of a child's auditory system is responsible for the child's hearing loss. For example, a child's otoacoustic emissions--inaudible sounds that come from the inside of the ear when sound stimulates it--can be measured with a small probe in the ear canal. In another physiologic test, an infant or child's auditory brainstem response, a response that is evoked from the auditory nerve, might be measured with electrodes on the head.
Signs of a Hearing Problem
Observe your child in daily life to watch for signs of a hearing problem, suggests KidsHealth. Some examples of hearing milestones are startling at loud noises beginning in the first days of life, turning the head or eyes toward a sound by 6 months and imitating sounds and producing a few simple words by 12 months. Signs of hearing loss in a toddler include limited or no speech, frequent inattentiveness and trouble learning.
