Children and hearing loss
Caring about your child's hearing is extremely important because it affects his or her ability to learn, socialise and communicate.
Most children experience temporary hearing loss due to earwax or Otitis Media. Otitis Media is painful for your child and may lead to hearing loss. It must be treated quickly and correctly.
Generally, earwax serves a useful purpose and does not harm your child. If, however, your child suffers from hearing loss due to excessive earwax, go to your family doctor for help. Do not try to remove earwax yourself. You could cause permanent damage to your child's hearing.
Other types of hearing loss are permanent or could result in permanent hearing impairment. This could affect your child's social interaction and development. If your child suffers from hearing loss, hearing aids may be the best remedy to improve the hearing ability and minimise the adverse effects of his or her hearing problem.
Fitting with hearing aids at the youngest possible age is extremely important. An untreated hearing loss strongly affects your child’s ability to learn, socialise and communicate. When your child has begun using hearing aids, you must remember that it takes time to get used to them. And it also takes time to get used to a new ‘hearing situation’.
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| Otitis Media: |
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Otitis Media is very common among children. It almost always affects the child's hearing. But in most cases, Otitis Media does not result in permanent hearing loss.
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| Hearing loss in children: |
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If a child is hard-of-hearing, most likely he or she has been hard-of-hearing since birth. But some children get a hearing impairment after birth.
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| Signs to look for: |
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It can be difficult to determine if an infant suffers from hearing loss. But there are some signs to look for.
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| Quality of life: |
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Parents believe that the severity of the hearing loss is the greatest determinant of quality of life. |
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