When your child is young, it can be difficult to pick up on the signs that they may be experiencing hearing problems. However, as they grow you might started to suspect that they’re having difficulties. Whether it’s observations you make, or they come to you with complaints or concerns, it can be hard to decide what to do next. Having worked with many children experiencing hearing issues, Dr Ted Smith from Smith ENT talks you through the steps you should take to help your child.
Note down your observations
If your child seems to be experiencing hearing issues, note down your observations. If they’re old enough, they might be able to tell you what’s going on in their own words. These observations could be:
- Are you concerned about your child’s hearing?
- Does your child ignore you when you call out to them?
- Are you concerned with your child’s speech development?
- Have there been concerns raised about your child’s hearing by preschool, school or other carers
- Do they complain about blocked or sore ears?
- Do they have ear infections needing antibiotics?
- Is their sleep disturbed?
- Have they had any discharge from the ear canal?
Noting such things will go a long way towards helping your GP or ENT specialist narrow down what is going on with your child.
Make an appointment
We recommend making an appointment with your local GP as soon as you notice that your child is experiencing hearing issues. They may ask you to observe your child’s behaviour over a certain period or refer you to an ENT clinic for further testing. It may result that a temporary virus or illness is to blame, or that a condition may need to be addresses with specialist treatment.
At Smith ENT, Dr Edward Smith works with children and their parents to address issues related to hearing loss and advise on the best treatment plan going forward. We are also able to provide hearing tests for your child.