Hearing Aids and
Hearing Tests for Children
Our experienced audiologists will conduct a comprehensive hearing evaluation on your child to ensure their auditory system functions optimally to ensure healthy childhood development.
Children's hearing tests are essential because undiagnosed hearing problems can significantly impact their learning, social, and emotional development. Children with hearing impairments may have difficulty understanding speech and language, leading to language acquisition delays, poor academic performance, and difficulty socializing with peers.
Early detection of hearing problems is critical because it allows for timely intervention, which can prevent or minimize a child's developmental impact. As a result, regular hearing tests for children are required to ensure that their auditory system is functioning correctly and to address any issues that may arise as soon as possible.
The Importance of Hearing Tests in Children
Here are three essential reasons why hearing tests for children are necessary:Regular hearing evaluations can aid in detecting hearing problems in children, allowing for timely intervention to prevent or minimize the negative impact on a child's development.
Hearing problems can damage a child's educational performance and language development, resulting in learning difficulties. Children can reach their full academic potential if these issues are identified and addressed early.
Children with hearing impairments may struggle with socialization and emotional regulation, leading to isolation and other mental health issues. Regular hearing tests can ensure that children receive the necessary social and emotional support and interventions.
Signs and Expectations
When a child shows signs of hearing loss, it’s time for you to bring them to the centre. What can a parent expect when bringing their children to any of Listening Lab centres:- Interview and History Taking
- Otoscopy
- Diagnostic Test (whichever might be recommended)
- Results Explanation
- Recommendation of management or treatment plan
HEARING ASSESSMENT SERVICES FOR CHILDREN
Listening Lab offers the following Hearing Assessment Services for Children:Screening Tests
Transient Evoked Otoacoustic Emissions (TEOAEs) is a non-invasive hearing test that measures the cochlea's response to brief sounds presented to the ear. TEOAEs can assess hearing function in newborns, infants, and young children who cannot provide behavioural responses.Otoacoustic Emissions Testing (OAE) is a non-invasive procedure to assess hearing in newborns, infants, and young children who cannot provide behavioural responses. Otoscopy is a visual exam of the ear canal and eardrum using an otoscope.
Diagnostic Tests
Conditioned Play Audiometry (CPA) is a hearing test designed for children between two and five years old. The behavioural hearing test aims to assess a child's ability to hear and distinguish different sounds by turning the hearing test into a game.Distortion product otoacoustic emissions (DPOAEs) are sounds generated by the inner ear in response to two simultaneous pure tone sounds of different frequencies used to assess hearing function.
Central Auditory Processing Disorder Test is a set of assessments used to diagnose CAPD by evaluating an individual's ability to process and interpret auditory information. The tests are administered by a healthcare professional and can help identify specific areas of auditory processing that may be affected.
Hearing Aids for Kids
For hearing aids, we fit children with mild to moderate hearing loss with a Sensorineural type of loss. Cochlear implants are more complex.Children whose hearing loss fall under Severe to Profound Sensorineural Loss are candidates for Cochlear Implant Surgery. They must undergo candidacy criteria testing to go to the next step. For those wearing hearing aids already, limited benefits should be observed.
A qualified audiologist must do an aided hearing and speech test to get a quantifiable result on the limited benefit. With the help of an ENT surgeon, hearing health professionals will decide with the patient whether surgery is the right path to take.
Your children deserves to hear the world.
Visit any of our branches in Malaysia for your children’s hearing test and hearing aid needs.
For enquiry, please get it touch with us through the following contact points.
Frequently Asked Questions:
1. How long do the consultation and assessment last?It depends on the testing that needs to be done, but we usually allot 1.5 to 2 hours for each session.
2. What caused my child's hearing loss?Almost 60 per cent of congenital hearing loss cases have a primary genetic component, and a comprehensive genetic evaluation can identify the specific cause of hearing loss for about 90 per cent of these patients.
3. Will wearing a hearing device help my child hear better?Yes, it will, but by how much, we cannot say for sure. Some factors can affect how a child can hear better with the devices, such as a damaged inner ear if a deformity or fewer receptor cells are present than a typically hearing person. But just how much that impacts how the child will be able to process the sounds heard is not easy to estimate, especially in young children. But with the help of a high degree of support and therapy, we can expect the patient to communicate when using optimal technology (FM), contextual cues, and speechreading in most real-world situations.
4. After fitting a device, are there therapies that need to be done?Yes. Speech therapy and Auditory Verbal therapy are highly advisable to improve the experience of the child further when wearing a device.
5. Are there people we can talk to who are also CI users?We have a support group of fellow patients and parents of cochlear implant users who can share their experiences to gain first-hand level information.