Deafness in children

Although temporary hearing loss or deafness in children due to the presence of effusion in the middle ear cavity ("glued ear") is quite common, permanent deafness occurs much less frequently (in infants, approximately 1-2 per 1000 children).

But it is important to remember that since young children are affected, they need to be given all possible assistance aimed at restoring their hearing so that these children can learn to speak.

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Causes of deafness in children

• Hereditary causes of deafness in children: Wardenburg, Klippel-Feil and Treacher-Collins syndromes, as well as mucopolysaccharidoses.
• Acquired in utero: maternal infection [rubella, influenza, glandular fever (infectious mononucleosis), syphilis], use of ototoxic drugs.
• Perinatal causes of deafness in children: anoxia, birth trauma, cerebral palsy, nuclear jaundice (bilirubin encephalopathy).
• Postnatal: mumps, meningitis, ototoxic drugs, lead.

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Detection of deafness in children

Hearing ability should be tested in all children at the age of 8 months. Particular attention should be paid to children with a burdened heredity for hearing and to children with prenatal, ingrained and postnatal risk factors that can lead to hearing impairment, since such children suffer from disorders 10 times more often (compared to the general population). Children under 7 months of age are currently not usually tested for hearing, although they, as a rule, flinch in response to certain sound stimuli. In children from 7 months to 1 year, hearing is tested as follows: the child sits on the mother's lap, and a person sits in front of them, who from time to time holds the child's face along the midline. The tester stands at a distance of 1 m behind the mother and alternately tests each ear of the child. Low-frequency sounds are usually reproduced by the speaker's voice, high-frequency sounds - by a child's rattle. Rustling paper usually provides a wide range of sound stimuli. If you have any doubts about your child's hearing, consult a specialist. Children between 12 months and 2 years of age are usually difficult to test for hearing. After 3 years, hearing testing can be done using pure-tone audiometry.

Objective hearing testing can be done using tympanometry and "evoked response audiometry," in which a recording electrode is placed behind the ear, in the external auditory canal, or through the eardrum. The ear is stimulated with sound stimuli, and the response is recorded as a curve of a certain amplitude, with peaks of a certain height, which is transmitted to a computer. (This is usually done in a special acoustics laboratory.)

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Treatment of deafness in children

If a child's hearing impairment is confirmed, treatment should be aimed at improving the child's hearing to the point that it would be possible for the child to learn spoken language and, in the future, to receive an education. Teachers who teach children with hearing impairments have certainly made great progress in this area in recent years. Auditory formulas and images must be changed frequently so that children can learn them more easily. Parents of such children should be taught that it is very important to talk to the child as much as possible. Such children can be taught in normal schools, but they should also be visited by teachers from schools for the deaf. Children with partial deafness can study in specialized classes in regular schools or in schools for the deaf - all this depends on the individual characteristics of the child.