hearing

[Kassiasmum]

Has anyone had the child's hearing tested? If so why and what was involved. My dd 26 months seems to be very sensitive to loud noises, to the point that she runs away and is sometimes inconsolable. Just wandering if it is worth getting her hearing tested to make sure that all is well.

[Harry&Max's Mummy]

We visited the audioloigist at childrens hosp at Randwick about 2 months ago as i though our eldest son had a hearing problem. They put headphones on him and when he heard a noise he would tell them, another was if he heard the sound to add another block to the tower (building blocks)they were very good and probably have different tests for different scenarios. But all turned out ok which was great

[Oscar's mum]

Ozzy had his hearing tested I think the day after he was born in hospital, it was a routine screening of all newborns in the hospital!;) It was not a very accurate test and on the first day he completely failed the test, so they tried a few days later (I had a c-section so we were still in hospital) and again he failed miserably so we were referred to the audiology dept of the children's hospital who performed many many tests on him. I had some concerns for his hearing as he wouldn't respond as easily as most babies would and would startle for incredibly loud noises.

The tests for the newborns they performed they had to be whilst the child was in a deep sleep. They put an ear phone on the ear that they are testing and it makes clicks and screeches and they measure the brainwave patterns. Their are wires attached to their forehead and temples to be able to track the patterns!;) The place I went to if the child wasn't asleep wanted to sedate them (apparently it wouldn't do the baby any harm!) I refused that one:mad: Didn't quite believe them saying it was harmless!:no:

When he was able to sit by himself around 7 months of age they then used a puppet show and would have in a room a desk with a person showing Ozzy toys at the front of the room was a large dark window and from that their was a speaker which projected the different sounds at different pitches if he heard the sound they would light up the window and a puppet would appear as the reward. Once that happened the person at the desk would then distract him again with the toys. They said it isn't an accurate result by doing this test but they can tell if the child will have learning difficulties due to lack of hearing from this test for at least the next few years.

You mentioned you child is alot older. I am not sure what type of test they would do for their age. Umm perhaps it is the puppet show still as we were told that we wouldn't be able to get a more accurate result of his hearing capabilities until he is around 5 years of age.

[jkate]

When he was able to sit by himself around 7 months of age they then used a puppet show and would have in a room a desk with a person showing Ozzy toys at the front of the room was a large dark window and from that their was a speaker which projected the different sounds at different pitches if he heard the sound they would light up the window and a puppet would appear as the reward. Once that happened the person at the desk would then distract him again with the toys. They said it isn't an accurate result by doing this test but they can tell if the child will have learning difficulties due to lack of hearing from this test for at least the next few years.

You mentioned you child is alot older. I am not sure what type of test they would do for their age. Umm perhaps it is the puppet show still as we were told that we wouldn't be able to get a more accurate result of his hearing capabilities until he is around 5 years of age.

Aden had a hearing test like that at 2 yrs of age. The only problem was sometimes that he was so involved in the puzzles that a sound he had heard previously he ignore, or he would look for the puppet when there wasn't sounds. They also did a ear drum test to see if there was moment, first test their wasn't much, after a few months of antibiotics (fluid behind the ear) he went back did again and was ok.

We got Aden done because I was worry about his speech development, I had to have speech therapy so I am very cautious with Aden's development. Before you even consider speech therapy, you have to get hearing tested. In the end I shouldn't have worried not long later his speaking improve greatly.

[mum2four]

Good question! My DS who is 4 in October also gets very upset and agitated around loud noises, he cries and covers his ears, I can't even have the radio at a decent level in the car because he gets upset with it being too loud. I was speaking to DH about it the other day and we have been wondering if we should get his ears/hearing checked. We actually asked him if his ears hurt when the TV or music is too loud and he said they did :confused:

[Miaow]

Ej jumps at the slightest loud noise and sometimes cries if it scares her - she hasnt had her hearing tested though professionally - but its obviously she can hear really well and reacts normally to normal level sounds like her name etc.
She also copies words we say really well so I dont think she has a hearing problem cause of how repeats them. I also jump when there is a sudden loud noise near me.

[Elfin]

I had ds' hearing testing when he was 5 and it is perfect. In Queensland, Child Health do the tests for free. You have to ring and make a special appointment, it might be worth calling them or visit a MCHN first.

[Kassiasmum]

My dd also copies words and answers when called, but just worried about them maybe being too sensitive or if there is an underlying problem that causes her reactions.