Babies With Hearing Loss: Steps for Effective Intervention

Health

Early intervention crucial for children with hearing loss

Children with severe to profound hearing loss can be treated as early on as when they are eight months old

By Rohit Udaya Prasad

Published: Tuesday 17 September 2019

Each of the sense organs in the human body enables a crucial role. Any defect in one or more of these sense organs can impact the entire torso and overall growth, particularly in children. Hearing loss is one of such concerns observed in children.

For a growing child, speech and hearing are more important than an adult as those are the instruments of learning, playing and building social skills during the developing years. If a kid suffers from hearing loss and it goes undetected or untreated, there is a lot that the child misses out on.

Delay in handling or activity can lead to filibuster in speech and/or language development, social behavioural issues and academic difficulties.

According to the World Health Arrangement (WHO), 60 per cent of childhood hearing can be prevented. The temporary hearing loss in many children tin exist restored with medical treatment or minor surgery. If a kid has sensorineural hearing loss, it is permanent.

Notwithstanding, cheers to the advances in medical science, almost all kinds of hearing impairments can be treated if timely identified. Early intervention remains key for better outcomes.

In that location are two kinds of hearing losses in children — built (present from birth) and acquired (occurring after birth). Hearing loss is as well classified as pre-lingual (before the development of language), peri-lingual (during language development) and post-lingual (later on linguistic communication development).

What are the causes?

Hearing loss in children can occur as a result of diverse possibilities, irrespective of being congenital or acquired. Children tin endure from conductive, sensorineural or the mixed form of hearing loss.

Some of the possible causes of congenital hearing loss are:

• Infections at the time of pregnancy (German language measles, toxoplasmosis, and cytomegalovirus)
• Medication like Ototoxic used during pregnancy
• Birth complications
• Nervous organization or brain disorder
• Genetic syndromes; for example, Ushers, Down's and Waardenburg's syndromes
• Family history of hearing loss

Acquired hearing loss is likely to happen due to some of the following reasons:

• Middle-ear infections left untreated
• Other infections like meningitis, mumps, measles or whooping cough
• Eardrum perforation
• Excessive exposure to extreme noise, such as fireworks or loud music
• Diseases like otosclerosis or Ménière's disease
• Head injury
• Ototoxic medication
• Earwax

Early diagnosis and intervention

The most effective treatment is accomplished through early diagnosis and intervention. Universal newborn screening is done at nativity to identify children with potential hearing loss. When identified, these children tin can exist further assessed with a series of audio logical tests and radiological assessment of the inner ear structures.

Children with astringent to profound hearing loss can be treated as early equally when they are eight months sometime with the aid of cochlear implant surgery. With this surgery, the child can undergo audible habilitation and develop adept hearing and speech. This enables the child to enter mainstream schooling and atomic number 82 a normal life.

The neural emergency period in congenital hearing loss is upwards to the age of two. If intervention is done within this period, the best possible outcomes in terms of speech and hearing tin be achieved. Delay in surgical intervention by cochlear implant surgery, can atomic number 82 to poorer outcomes in hearing and expressive language.

Signs of hearing loss in children

For that, information technology is significant to observe the child for any signs of potential hearing loss. Some of the noticeable symptoms include:

• Turning up the TV volume excessively high
• Non responding appropriately to questions
• Non replying to calls
• Have articulation bug or speech/language delays
• Academic struggle
• Earaches, ear pain or noises in the head
• Difficulty in agreement what people say
• Appear to be speaking differently from other children his or her age

It is very important for parents, teachers, caretakers, guardians and physicians to carefully observe the child for whatsoever of the above signs. They should also make sure the child gets early diagnosis, early on hearing aids fitting/cochlear implant surgery if needed, early initiation of special educational activity programmes that can help raise the his/her hearing and understanding and ensure better development early. If non taken note of, hearing loss is a lifetime loss for a kid that can lead to developmental challenges, emotional issues, self-esteem struggle, and societal challenges.

(Rohit Udaya Prasad is a Consultant for ENT & Cochlear Implant Surgery at Aster RV Hospital, Bengaluru)

(Views expressed are the writer's ain and don't necessarily reflect those of Downwardly To Earth)

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Source: https://www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/health/early-intervention-crucial-for-children-with-hearing-loss-66771

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