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Hearing Loss in One Ear Can Cause Language Problems
Filed under: Medical Conditions, Development/Milestones: Babies, In The News, Research Reveals: Toddlers & Preschoolers
Your child is late to talk and his preschool teachers are concerned. So, what do you do? Chances are, you follow the school's recommendation, enroll him in speech therapy and hope some one-on-one attention will get his tongue rolling.
But that might not address the actual problem. A new study shows diminished hearing in only one ear can have a significant impact on language development, and it often goes undiagnosed.
"What happens in many situations, the children are screened in the newborn nursery, then the next hearing test may not occur until elementary school when they have routine screening, " Nancy Tye-Murray, an audiologist and professor at Washington University School of Medicine who was one of the study's authors, tells ParentDish. "Even a mild hearing loss can result in delay."A surprising number of children suffer such a loss -- one in 20 by the time they're old enough for school. Because they have one functioning ear, it often appears as though their hearing is fine and they are just not paying attention, are listening selectively or are easily distracted by background noises, according to the study's authors.
Sometimes these children miss out on high-frequency sounds, such as consonants, Tye-Murray says. And even when the hearing loss is diagnosed, if it's only in one ear, children often are not fitted with hearing aids, the authors write in the June issue of Pediatrics.
But contrary to what was previously thought, hearing impairment in only one ear can hurt a child's ability to understand and use language, the authors write. They found that children so impaired had poorer oral language scores than those with normal hearing in both ears.
To make sure those delays weren't due to other factors, researchers identified 74 children between the ages of six and 12 who had normal hearing siblings -- the thought being that siblings are exposed to the same things, so the difference in scores could be attributed to the hearing loss and not to environmental or genetic factors.
All of the children were given a test that is widely used to assess language comprehension and expression. The average score is 100; those with hearing loss in one ear had an average score of 90. The effect of the hearing loss was the strongest in children who live in families with income levels below the poverty line, or whose mothers have little education.
"I would say any child who is demonstrating delays in either language or articulation should immediately have a hearing test," Tye-Murray tells ParentDish. "The importance of a hearing test cannot be overstated."
Related: Hearing Loss Doesn't Affect Quality of Life for Kids with Cochlear Implants
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ReaderComments (Page 1 of 2)
5-10-2010 @ 11:53PM
Diane said...my son was dignosed with a total hearing loss in one ear - he had been in speech therapy and in one on one situations like in the home environment he did ok - but in school he would move around alot in his seat (to follow the sound) after a test with the school nurse I was advised to take him to the doctors for an evaluation because his tampanagram showed no nerve stimuli in his ear - the doctor tested him and said everything was ok - that he was probably ADHD and wanted to put him on meds that day - thankfully as a parent I challenged the doctor and had the test redone at the school and once again had the same result - the doctor was adamant that he was correct so I arranged for a test to be done by an audiologist. - the school was correct he was deaf not ADHD (the doctors office needed to calibrate their machine) so make sure you have your childs hearing tested before putting him on meds!!!!!! he chose not to have a hearing aid instead the school district put in audio systems into the classroom - was a big hit because everyone could hear better and of the classes this was tested in all the students GPA rose substantially!!!!!
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5-11-2010 @ 10:08AM
SHELLY said...MY SON JUST TURNED 3 AND IS STILL NOT TALKING, ALOT OF PEOPLE HAVE ASKED IF WE HAVE HAD HIS HEARING CHECKED, WE DIDN'T NO WHAT AGE WE SHOULD HAVE THIS DONE HE HASN'T HAD IT CHECKED SINCE HE WAS A NEWBORN..HE DOES SAY SOME WORDS BUT NOT ALL THE TIME. IS THIS AGE TO EARLY TO HAVE HIS HEARING CHECK ACCURITLY?
5-12-2010 @ 12:34PM
Cathy said...Shelly, It's never too soon to have your son's hearing checked. Babies are screened before they even leave the hospital after birth. Make an appointment with a pediatric ENT or a pediatric audiologist and they can help you. Hearing loss is an easy thing to rule out before pursuing other things.
5-11-2010 @ 2:19PM
Christine Hanily said...My son is not quite 2. They are outfitting him for a hearing aid in one ear. He has severe hearing loss in this ear and is severely language delayed. Definitely have your child screened if you are concerned. Early intervention recommended screening for him and I am so grateful that they did!!
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5-11-2010 @ 9:40PM
Debra Zavala said...My grandaughter was diagnosed with total hearing loss in one ear. She wears a hearing aid (begining at 2 months old) she has good vacabulary but also makes her own sounds that we think are because she cant hear different levels of sound. we started teaching her american sign language and she has done very well with that. She is 13 months old and tell us when she is hungry , wants to play and when her daiper needs to be changed.
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5-11-2010 @ 2:33PM
Courtney said...I was around 3-4 years old when I was diagnosed with a hearing disability. I have actually been wearing hearing aids since the same age. My doctors and audiologists wanted me to go to speech therapy and my mom at the time was an at home mother and she told them no...and that she would work with me on my speech. I am 28 years old now and I am very thankful to her because people now are shocked when I tell them I have a hearing disability and wear them.
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5-11-2010 @ 3:12PM
Pat said...I'm calling BS. I was born without a left ear and am getting along fine in English; I don't even try and get A's. I'm an articulate speaker, as well.
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5-11-2010 @ 3:22PM
Marie said...I am with you. Our daughter was born with a malformed left ear.
She does not hear out of the ear at all. But her speech is fine and she gets along well with her classmates in preschool. In fact I have to tell her sometimes to watch her mouth, lol. We have taken her to so many specialists, audiologists, etc. The consensus is she is doing well for now, and will have surgery to reconstruct her inner ear when she is about 9 yrs old. So this article is not a one size fits all.
5-11-2010 @ 6:30PM
Karen said...Pat, you may be an articulate speaker, but you could use some work on your writing skills!! According to what you wrote you don't get "A"s; in fact you "don't even try and get 'A's." I think what you mean is you get "A"s without even trying.
5-11-2010 @ 3:20PM
Vicki said...My son was in fourth grade reading at first grade level. We had him tested for a learning disorder, etc. and had been tested for hearing loss, but his high frequency hearing loss went undetected until I took him to Easter Seals for a word recognition hearing test. He could only repeat back accurately four out of every ten words! No wonder he couldn't learn. My pediatrician had even tested his hearing, as had the schools. An audiologist told me that she believes as much as 75% of children who have reading difficulties actually suffer from hearing issues.
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5-11-2010 @ 3:27PM
anita said...pls have your childrens hearing checked!
At 1 1/2 yrs old my daughter was diagnosed with a profound hearing loss in both ears, after 7 yrs of private speach therapy ( that the shriners helped to pay for) my daughter now speakes with 88% acuracy to her speach. Early Intervention really helps.
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5-11-2010 @ 3:47PM
Kenny said...As a speech-language pathologist (SLP) for 37 years, I need to state that parents, teachers, and doctors should first rule out hearing loss. We SLPs know that input equals output. If the child cannot hear it; he/she won't say it. The school or doctor's office should be able to do these simple tests competently. Of course, I would only trust an audiologist or SLP to give the puretone test, bone conduction test, and impedance audiometry test. Young children have transient hearing losses due to middle ear infections which affect articulation, language, learning, attention, and behavior. We know that even a mild loss is detrimental. Be proactive. If you formally write a note to the school that you want "testing;" they must test or risk a "fair hearing" from you! I think only 2nd, 7th, and 10th graders are checked.
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5-11-2010 @ 6:36PM
Arlene said...Hi Kenny: I am a retired Speech/Language Pathologist and heartily agree with you. Appropriate evaluation of all hearing and speech development should be tested. Univerisities that train SLPs and Adiologists often run clinics and there is usually a small charge.
Keep p the good work
Arlene
5-11-2010 @ 4:28PM
hokeypokey said...CHECK OUT THE HEALTHYCHILDREN.ORG WEBSITE. THE ARTICLE IS UNDER THE NEWS SECTION
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5-11-2010 @ 4:00PM
ann said...who else does this word recognition test? they always say my son's hearing is just fine, but it seems to me that he doesn't hear the words properly then he tries to jumble words together to make them work the way he hears them. he had ear infections when he was a baby and went undiagnosed until he was eighteen months old. not because i didn't take him to the dr. but the doctors always gave him antibiotics and sent me home without tellling me that the infection was in his ears. a friend figured it out for us. we spent the first eighteen months of his life wondering why he wouldn't stop crying, wouldn't sleep and kept getting infections that had high fevers. i hope that we never have anything more serious. if a doctor can't tell if you have an ear infection then i doubt he can correctly diagnose cancer or other deadly problems.
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5-11-2010 @ 4:01PM
Darlene said...Our Grandson had hearing problems after being treated at the hospital for a fever and common cold. Right away they administered Antibiotics and then again our doctor did so after he had a cold a few months later. There is no doubt they used too much antibiotics and jusr recently a lawyer contacted my Son since other children over the last few years have developed hearing loss. Antibiotics does something to the audiotory nerves that causes problems soon after. Insurance companies do not cover hearing aides and it has cost them many thousands of dollars. A pending law suit should make these doctors think twice when pumping children with these dangerous antibiotics.
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5-11-2010 @ 4:11PM
Gancy said...My mother, almost 90, has had a severe hearing loss since childhood. She is now totally deaf without her hearing aids. When she first got her hearing aids the normal proceedure was to only use one. She was not able to comprehend what was being said until they finally tried 2. My grandfather was never successfully fitted with hearing aids, we assume because they never tried giving him two. Even though they can hear sounds some people must have hearing in both ears in order to comprehend what is being said. This problem obviously does not affect everyone or there never would have been a time when they only used one. At the present time her comprehension is very poor with with both hearing aids and almost non-existant with only one.
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5-11-2010 @ 4:13PM
A said...Im 15, and I was tested for hearing loss when I was 13. I didnt start talking till I was three (hmm..) I was enrolled in speech classes for some reason (hmmm..) and I was always complaining of having trouble understanding people or forgetting what people told me and of course not hearing what people said. Even though they say my hearing loss is mild, it affects me greatly (this puzzles the doctor). I wish I had gotten my hearing aids earlier, even though they dont help as much as I wish they could. (both ears) I have to wear these for the rest of my life. Sometimes Im hesitant to wear them when my hairs up because people always ask me about them. "Are you deaf?" ugh
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5-11-2010 @ 4:31PM
bill said...tell the ass holes turn down the radio & they will be fine
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5-11-2010 @ 5:09PM
teresa said...My hearing loss (when I was 24) was the result of a virus that I did not even know I had until I woke up one morning and had lost 30% of hearing in both ears. Nothing to do with loud music or being an a**hole. Hearing aids don't help (yet) either.