Helping Children Hear, Learn, and Thrive
When a child does not hear well, the capacity to develop speech and language skills becomes limited, causing learning disabilities and poor socialization. Several of the members of our team are also parents, so we fully understand that nothing is more important than the healthy growth and development of our children.
If you suspect that your child might be experiencing a hearing loss, you might be asking, “Is there a children’s hearing specialist near me?”
Fortunately, there is. Denton Hearing Health Care offers pediatric audiological care from birth until adulthood for patients throughout North Texas, which includes newborn hearing screenings, children’s hearing exams, hearing aids for children of all ages, hearing aid fittings, rehabilitative services, and speech therapy.
Our approach to pediatric audiology is designed to be friendly, welcoming, and relaxing for you and your child.
Indicators That Your Child Could Be Experiencing a Hearing Loss
To help identify hearing loss in your child, you should consider the following questions:
Does your child get frequent colds and ear infections?
Does your child not understand people without facing them?
Does your child speak loudly, as if having trouble hearing himself/herself?
Does your child always turn up the volume on the TV or radio?
Does your child often not respond when called?
Does your child need to have things repeated?
Is there a history of hearing loss in your family?
Was your child born prematurely? (sooner than 37 weeks)
Did your child have a low birth weight?
Did your child experience a lack of oxygen at birth?
Answering yes to any or several of these questions could indicate that your child could be experiencing a hearing loss. Early detection and treatment are a must because difficulties with speech and language, impaired social emotional development, and reduced academic performance are major consequences associated with hearing loss in children.
What Are the Common Causes of Hearing Loss in Children?
Preparing for Child Hearing Test
For a child or infant diagnostic hearing exam, your baby should be tired and hungry so that the parent can feed the infant during the exam.
This helps make things go a lot smoother. Avoid using hair gels, lotions, or earrings on your child on the day of testing.
Distortion Product Otoacoustic Emissions (DPOAE)
Your baby’s audiologist will insert a tiny probe that emits a series of sounds just at the entrance to your baby’s ear canal.
DPOAEs are distorted sounds generated by the cochlea’s outer hair cells in response to two tones that are close in frequency.
The presence of a DPOAE response is an indication that the cochlear amplifier is functioning properly.
Auditory Brainstem Response (ABR)
Imagine a pair of tiny headphones that will fit into your baby’s ear canals. That’s what your audiologist will use, along with an array of electrodes placed on his/her scalp. As your baby listens to the transmitted sounds, the ABR system will measure auditory neurosychrony. If the auditory neurosychrony is abnormal, this would be an indicator of hearing problems.
Older children, usually four years old and above, will have a comprehensive hearing assessment that is similar to an adult evaluation, including:
Tympanometry
Pure Tone Testing
Speech Understanding
Bone Conduction Testing
“I had a great experience with Denton Hearing Health Care.”
I had a great experience with Denton Hearing Health Care. I would rate it 10 out of 10. I remember the moment I first realized I might have a hearing problem: I was watching TV with my family.
Before contacting Denton Hearing Health Care, I did not have any preconceived fears or concerns. I told myself that everything would be fine.
When I first visited Denton Hearing Health Care, I was impressed by the caring staff. Hearing aids have had a wonderful impact on my life. If anyone is concerned about their hearing and is considering Denton Hearing Health Care, I would recommend that they take this important step.
Tuve una gran experiencia con Denton Hearing Health Care. Lo calificaría con un 10 de 10. Recuerdo el momento en que me di cuenta por primera vez de que podía tener un problema de audición: estaba viendo la televisión con mi familia.
Antes de contactar con Denton Hearing Health Care, no tenía ningún temor o preocupación preconcebidos. Me dije a mí mismo que todo estaría bien.
Cuando visité Denton Hearing Health Care por primera vez, quedé impresionado por el personal atento. Los audífonos han tenido un impacto maravilloso en mi vida. Si alguien está preocupado por su audición y está considerando Denton Hearing Health Care, recomendaría que dieran este paso importante.
Jefferson López
Treatment Solutions for Children’s Hearing Loss
Solutions and ongoing guidance along with early intervention from the state, parent/pupil teams, speech/language intervention, and hearing aid options are all a part of hearing loss treatment for children available at Denton Hearing Health Care.
Our pediatric audiology specialists will put together an early intervention plan ASAP. It will include input from your child’s pediatrician, audiologist, otolaryngologist, and/or speech/language pathologist. This team of specialists will help guide your decisions regarding various treatments and/or devices capable of providing the best outcomes based on the type and degree of hearing loss and might include:
Counseling for children with a hearing loss and their families.
Professionals who teach communication techniques to families and children with a hearing loss.
Fitting with a hearing device, such as a hearing aid for kids or a cochlear implant
Family support groups.
Networking and communication among families who have children with a hearing loss.
