There are some children’s who were born hearing problems and there are some children who are not born with hearing problems. Some children are born with hearing problems either as result genetic factors or because of prenatal or childbirth problems. Two to three children out of 1,000 in the U.S. are born deaf or hearing impaired. Most states offer newborn hearing screening, and if there is hearing problem, another test is performed within a few weeks. Early intervention is key. Any kind of early hearing loss can be a serious problem. It can undermine the foundation of language development, which experts believe is built during the early months and years of life. If undiagnosed and untreated, pediatric hearing impairment can result in major language development problems. It can be very hard to identify hearing loss until signs of speech and developmental delays show up many hearing impairments aren’t identified until the child is 2, 3 or 4 years old.
However, a variety of techniques exist to test hearing in children, regardless of the child’s age. More than half of all congenital hearing problems in children are due to genetics. Hearing loss can also result when a pregnant woman develops certain conditions such as diabetes or toxemia. Premature birth also raises a child’s risk for hearing problems. A variety of conditions can trigger hearing problems in young children, including illnesses such as meningitis, encephalitis, measles, chickenpox, some forms of genetic hearing loss, and influenza. Head injuries, very loud noises, and certain medications can also lead to acquired hearing loss. If, you suspect that your child may have a hearing problem, talk to your pediatrician. If, your child has been diagnosed with a hearing impairment, make the phone call immediately. And don’t wait until your child get to be a teenager or adult. Experts agree that the earlier children with hearing loss get help, the better their chances of reaching their full learning and developmental potential. Hearing impairments can be of various degrees, including mild, moderate, severe, profound, or total. It can refer either to the loss of hearing sensitivity for individual pitches of sounds for each ear separately, or to an overall loss of hearing sensitivity for both ears.
There some hearing impairment may be present at birth or acquired or there some hearing impairment may not be present at birth or acquired later in life. Hearing loss greatly interferes with normal language and speech development if it is bilateral and of severe or greater magnitude over the pitch range that covers speech sounds.
Deafness has two meanings. If, it refers only to a total lack of hearing function, a lowercase d is used. If, it refers to an individual with a bilateral hearing loss who does not use oral language and speech, an uppercase D is used. The cochlear implant seeks to restore hearing in the completely deaf ear by direct electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve, thereby producing and auditory sensation that can represent environmental sounds and certain speech sounds.
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