Infants
Congenital hearing loss, or hearing loss present at birth, is an
unseen disability that often goes undiagnosed in children until the
second year of life. With congenital hearing loss, children lose
the critical language learning period that occurs between birth and
6 months of age. Exposures to sound early in life lay the
foundation for speech and language development. Early
identification of hearing loss and early intervention are keys to
providing infants with the necessary exposure to sounds and spoken
language.
Toddlers and older children
Hearing loss can occur at birth or at any age. Young children who
develop hearing loss may experience regression in speech and
language, appear to ignore environmental sounds, and/or behave
inappropriately. This can lead to lack of academic success and
socialization as well as behavioral problems. Children with
suspected hearing loss, recurring ear infections, speech language
delays, or a family history of hearing loss need to have an
audiologic assessment.
Auditory processing disorders (APD)
APD is a term used to describe a group of several distinct and
different auditory problems that can be present in children with
normal hearing. The ear detects sounds and sends the message to the
brain, where it is processed. The brain then assigns meaning to the
sounds. Problems with auditory memory, auditory recall, decoding
and other functions that the brain performs fall in this category
of disorders.
An APD assessment evaluates how the brain processes, stores and
recalls information. Children with APD often perform well in the
early school years but as academic material increases in
difficulty, they begin to fall behind. Disorders in auditory
processing can show themselves in different ways--poor speech
articulation, problems with reading or math, academic failure, poor
socialization and/or disorganized work. APD often is present in
conjunction with attention deficit disorder (ADD).
APD "red flags"
- Difficulty hearing in noise
- Appearing as if there is a hearing loss with normal hearing
- Poor reading skills
- Poor math skills
- Academic failure
- Lack of socialization
- Chronic ear infections
- Distractibility
- Poor handwriting
- Disorganized work