Hi, my daughter is almost 22 months and shes being scheduled at the childrens hospital for a hearing test. See the thing is she communicates well, but not with words, she kinda grunts and points (she sounds like a monkey) anyways she also understands when i speak to her, i.e following directions, kinda holding a conversation, singing songs. anyways my questions is, how are the hearing tests for toddlers administrated? if you could put my worrying mind to rest i would really appreciate it!! =]
My nephew didn't do much talking until he was about 6... and still only to a select few...
Have you considered "Baby Sign"? It's basic sign language - just to get her to communicate more; we did this with our children
R.
Hello Trish. Don't worry about the tests, they won't hurt at all.
Just as an aside, when my son was born, waaay back in 1976, he was part of the first test study on hearing tests for infants. Nothing was wrong with his hearing. (nothing is wrong with it now either) At the age of 3 weeks he had the first test. They placed little electrodes all over his head and put big earphones over his ears. They sent different sound signals through the earphones and recorded the brain responses. He slept right through the tests. He had these tests done each month until he was nearly a year old. (Then we were transfered to a different area- military). The study resulted in Drs now being able to determine/detect early hearing deficiencies in children and the tests your daughter will be taking are the result of that study.
:)
Hi Trish!
A Hearing test is usually the first step in identifying a possible speech delay. There is a functional hearing test, which involves shaking specially pitched rattles and bells and squeakers behind the child when the child is engaged in another activity. If the child turns to see what made the noise, they know the child can hear the different pitches they test for.
One more formal test is done with a little machine that measures the vibrations in the inner ear. They use a small ear bud and have the child listen to some "Music". The machine can tell if the ear is working the way it is supposed to when the child hears the little clicks.
Both are painless processes and the doctor will try to be as unintrusive as possible. They will probably have your daughter sit on your lap during the testing. She may become irritated and not want to cooperate, in which case they may have to reschedule. Most children respond well to the functional screening. Age, maturity, and temprament play a role in how well your daughter will handle the other test. Some children do really well and others are a little intimidated by it.
But don't worry, it's nothing that hurts or causes discomfort of any kind!
And good for you for having her hearing checked!
It sounds like they are testing for two reasons. First to rule out a hearing loss so a speech therapist will no how to proceed and to make sure she is getting all the services she needs if there is a loss. The other is to rule out a frequency loss. Even though she can hear what you are saying, it could be she's not hearing all frequencies.
It depends on the type of hearing test they are doing. There are different kinds. One kind is where the child is in a sound proof room with the administrator and they produce the sounds to see if there is a reaction. For example alternating where the sound comes from in the room to see if the child turns toward the sound. They do this at different pitches, volume and frequencies to make sure they are hearing at all different levels.
Another kind is performed like an EEG and done while the child is sleeping - so there are leads attached to the child's head and they put little headphones in the child's ears. Noises are produced (again different pitches, volume and frequencies) and the leads record if the brain is receiving any input from the ears.
Hope this helps.
