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Discovering
that your child has a hearing loss
Discovering
a hearing loss in a small child can be very difficult. Some children
have just a mild hearing loss, which may be difficult to detect.
Others have a more severe hearing loss and therefore show more
obvious signs.
Through
the use of new-born hearing screening programs, most hearing losses
are discovered immediately. Other times, though, the hearing loss
is first discovered when the child does not develop speech.
You,
as a parent will often be the first to become suspicious of your
child not hearing well.
By noticing small signs in common everyday situations you intuitively
sense if something is wrong. Maybe the young child does not turn
its head towards the sound of the doorbell ringing. Or perhaps
your baby does not react when called from another room or from
behind.
Having
noticed signs like these, you probably want to know for sure if
your child has a hearing loss or not. You may also be uncertain
as to what to do.
Some
parents actually deny what they are observing for some time, because
it is too painful for them to accept what is happening. This is
a perfectly normal reaction.
For the sake of your child, though, it is important not to waste
valuable time. If your child in fact has a hearing loss it is
important to take action by seeing your family doctor immediately.
Children
begin to communicate from the moment they are born. They are constantly
listening and very soon they are able to recognize the voices
of their mother and father. And they learn to talk by imitating
the sounds they hear.
Children
with hearing loss can have difficulty learning to communicate
because they cannot hear all or part of the sounds around them
or even their own voice. Thus, the sooner your child gets help,
the better. Because the sooner a hearing loss is identified, the
better the chances of successful rehabilitation.
This
article courtesy of Starkey
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