August 2003 |
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Test Your Baby's Hearing Most children hear and listen from birth. But that's not true for all children. In fact, about two or three out of every 1,000 children in the United States are born deaf or hard-of-hearing. More lose their hearing later during childhood. Many of these children may need to learn speech and language differently, so it's important to detect deafness or hearing loss as soon as possible. If you have a new baby, in addition to counting the number of fingers and toes it's also a good time to have his or her hearing screened, according to the experts at NIH's National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD). How early should I have my baby's hearing screened? Where can my baby's hearing be screened? How will my baby's hearing be screened? How can I recognize hearing loss during early childhood? For example, during the first year, notice whether your baby reacts to loud noises, imitates sounds, and begins to respond to his or her name. At age two, ask yourself whether or not your toddler imitates simple words and enjoys games like peek-a-boo and pat-a-cake. Is he or she using two-word sentences to talk about and ask for things? At age three, notice whether or not he or she begins to understand "not now" and "no more" and follows simple directions. If for any reason you think your child is not hearing well, talk to your doctor. If my child has a hearing loss, can hearing be improved? Hearing aids are instruments that make sounds louder. They are worn in or behind the ear and come in several different shapes and sizes. Hearing aids can be used for varying degrees of hearing loss. An audiologist will fit a hearing aid that will work best for your child's hearing loss. Hearing aids can be expensive, so you'll want to find out whether they have a warranty or trial period. You'll also want to talk with your insurance provider to understand what is covered and what isn't. Cochlear implants have three parts: a headpiece, a speech processor, and a receiver. The headpiece is worn just behind the ear where it picks up sound and sends it to the speech processor. The speech processor, a beeper-sized device that can fit in a pocket or on a belt, converts the sound into a special signal that is sent to the receiver. The receiver, a small round disc about the size of a quarter that a surgeon has placed under the skin behind one ear, sends a sound signal to the brain. Not all children who have hearing loss should get cochlear implants. Doctors and hearing experts think they're best for children who have a profound hearing loss and won't benefit from hearing aids. How can I help my child communicate? Oral/Auditory Options combine hearing, lip-reading, and hearing devices such as hearing aids and cochlear implants. The goals of oral/auditory options are to help children develop speech and English-language skills. American Sign Language (ASL) is a visual language used by some deaf children and their families. ASL consists of hand signs, body movements, facial expressions, and gestures. It's a language with its own grammar and syntax, which are different from English. ASL has no written form. Signed English is similar to ASL, using the same visual vocabulary of signs, but it adheres more strictly to the sentence structures of spoken and written English. Cued Speech is a system that uses handshapes in different locations along with the natural mouth movements to represent speech sounds. Watching the mouth movements and the handshapes can help some children learn to speech-read English; this is especially important in discriminating between sounds that sound different but look the same on the lips. Combined Options use portions of the various methods listed above.
For example, some deaf children who use oral/auditory options also learn
signed English. Children who use ASL also learn to read and write in English.
Combined options can expose children who are deaf or hard of hearing to
many different ways to communicate and express themselves. a report from The NIH Word on Health, August 2003 For more information if your baby has hearing problems, see What to Do if Your Baby's Screening Reveals a Possible Hearing Problem at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/hearing/baby_screening.asp. For additional information on speech and language development, communication options, cochlear implants, hearing aids, ASL, and other topics, visit NIDCD at http://www.nidcd.nih.gov/, send e-mail to nidcdinfo@nidcd.nih.gov or contact: NIDCD Information Clearinghouse |
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