A hearing loss is an invisible problem which can go unnoticed for years. It is therefore imperative that children should undergo hearing screening tests before the age of at least nine months.
The sooner a hearing deficiency is diagnosed, the better. Nowadays even a newborn baby’s hearing can be tested directly after birth. In the United States it is now compulsory to screen a newborn baby’s hearing. The hearing screening test results appear on the birth certificate.
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Unfortunately the average age at which children with a hearing loss are identified is two years and four months. In some cases it can be as late as six years. This is too late and it weakens the prospects for adequate communication in the hearing world. It is because the first three years of a child’s life are the most important time for a child to acquire speech and language and thus learn to communicate with others.
How can one identify hearing loss?
Hearing tests are performed to determine whether a person has a hearing loss, how severe the loss is, in which part of the ear the damage is, and what aid he can receive.
A person’s hearing loss is graphed on an audiogram.
-(Liesel van Niekerk, speech and hearing teacher and author of the Listening and Language Home Programme)
Do you have a hearing-impaired child? Then you're invited to join the support group of the Carel du Toit Centre in the Western Cape. Meetings take place on Tuesday mornings at 09:00. For more information, call (021) 938 6565.
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