Causes of hearing loss in childhood
Hearing loss can be congenital or acquired. The child can be harmed by infections, injuries, medications and even external noises.
Hearing loss is a serious developmental disorderchildPhoto: Getty A baby can distinguish sounds while still in its mother's womb. From the moment of birth, it hears no worse than adults. But some genetic diseases lead to the birth of hearing-impaired and deaf children. Hearing organs are damaged due to premature birth, viral diseases of the mother, and the use of antibiotics during pregnancy. Hearing may decrease after birth for the following reasons:
- rupture of the eardrum;
- serious infections - meningitis, measles, mumps, whooping cough;
- brain injury;
- Meniere's syndrome;
- taking certain medicines;
- started otitis media
In addition to diseases, hearing loss is caused by external factors - constant loud noise and passive smoking.
Symptoms of hearing loss in children
In the maternity hospital, doctors check hearingreactions of every newborn. But then the child is raised in a family, and the first signs of hearing loss should be noticed by the parents. Mom and Dad should be wary if the baby aged 1 to 9 months does not flinch at loud sounds, does not recognize familiar voices, does not pay attention to the noises made by toys. Remember: a child of 10-15 months should be able to repeat simple sounds, respond to his name, attract the attention of adults with his voice. Children from 3 to 14 years old may experience temporary or permanent hearing loss. In this case, the child speaks worse than his peers, answers questions inappropriately. He does not always understand what is said to him. If you notice that the child sits closer to the TV, has difficulty hearing a conversation on the phone, asks several times a day: "What?" or "Huh?", and you know for sure that this is not due to inattention, immediately take him to an otolaryngologist or audiologist. Hearing loss in children leads to speech disorders, mental and emotional development delays. However, in 80% of cases, hearing loss is curable and correctable. The sooner parents notice the child's problem, the greater the chances of helping him! Read also:
