How Do You Know If It Is Time to Take Them in to Have Their Hearing Checked?

Take her in asap! One of my daughters had her speech delayed because of chronic ear problems. I didn't know she had a problem because she had no obvious symptoms. There is also the possibility of a word processing problem which can be tested for as well, or it could be behavioral, or ADD. Most likely it is just fluid in the ears! Just go to the pediatrician first unless you have an ear doctor already.

I have a 7 yr old, a 3 yr old, and an 11 mth old. My oldest was doing the exact same thing, and I bit the bullet and took her and my 3 year old in for testing. SHE WAS JUST IGNORING ME!!! She had perfect hearing! As well as my son. The reason I took her in, my niece was doing the same thing and when we brought her in, she had so much fluid behind her ears that it was causing her to go deaf. She had tubes put in her ears, but in my opinion it was to late. The damage had already been done. She has lost a little piece of her hearing. So my advice: BITE THE BULLET IT IS BETTER TO BE SAFE THAN SORRY

Good Luck

I have an 18 year old. When he was 7 we had his ears tested. We thought he was not hearing but realized it when he was playing basketball and the coaches had to yell at him to hear. The test came back and he had a permanent hearing lost that we never knew about. They said he was socially fine but that was the reason his reading level was so low. He could not hear some consenent sounds when he was learning to read. He was always in tutoring. His hearing has not worsened but he has had his classes all thru school modified for his learning. I hope this helps!

I may have missed it, but I didn't see where you said how old she is. Most all children go through phases where they are so involved in their own little world they ignore us, even unintentionally at times.

It never hurts to have their ears checked. Depending on your insurance, your pedi can refer you to an audiologist. Some pedi offices even have the equipment in their office to do it and then would refer you on if there seem to be an issue.

Good luck...

I think it would be a good idea to have her hearing checked
as a child I had a hearing problem that was ignored and to date I have trouble hearing out of one ear. I was never checked and perhaps something could have been done. hearing
problems can begin to affect speech and comprehension. I would look for a doctor who specializes in children hearing problems.

Well, I can tell you my story and you can decide for yourself what to take from it. It started out very similar to your situation. I was frustrated with my son not listening to me until I yelled his name for the 4th time! One day, he was playing with a fairly noisy musical toy and put his ear right up to it. Then, he put his ear up to the TV. It finally hit me that he wasn't being stubborn, but he couldn't hear me! (Well, sometimes he was stubborn, but that is just part of being a 3-4 year old.)
I can also go on about how his learning was delayed and his behavior turned aggressive for several months. I attribute these to the hearing problem as well. When the only thing a child hears is an angry parent, they become aggressive. He never heard me call his name calmly or nicely, poor thing. So, I had an aggressive child that couldn't hear me - not fun!
So, I watched him closely for weeks and it seemed that his hearing would go on and off. We went to his pediatrician and he didn't believe me. I followed my gut and demanded a referral to the ENT. They said there was a little bit of fluid in his ears, but not enough to be concerned about hearing. To make a year-long story short, I finally went to another doctor and it was determined that the fluid in his ears would build up until he couldn't hear and then suddenly "pop" or drain. He could hear fine for several weeks while it built up again... That is why it came and went.
We had tubes put in both ears and he has been hearing perfectly ever since. Yea!
So, my advice: go with your gut. Otherwise known as mother's intuition. :)

I had the same concern with my now 4 year old. My doctor said to "clap" and if they respond. Then nothing to be worried about. 3 year olds have a VERY short attention span and really could care less. Maybe this advice helps. Best of luck.

My daughter turned 3 this past November & I understand what you're saying. Our daughter is not talking, so I was told that it's hard to do a hearing test if they can't talk. The Meyer Clinic can do hearing tests for children who aren't talking yet. If you want the info, let me know & I'll send it to you.

God Bless you! I am a part-time stay at home mom, and that is tough enough! Keep up the great work!
As for the hearing, it never hurts to check with your pediatrician! Hearing in children is so vital!

The earlier you find out, the better. We didn't find out that my daughter had hearing problems until she was in Kindergarten and I wish we would have known earlier. TX ENT is really good and they have many locations.

If her speech is not developing then you might have reason to worry. Most hearing loss is discovered when babies don't speak...they don't speak because they can hear...or something like that. Your pedi can have her tested.

You take them to get anything check when you feel the need. If your concerned it might be a hearing problem then have her check it won't hurt anything and it's better for them to say she's okay than you do nothing and she loses her hearing all together because you didn't have it checked.

I have babysat two children who seem to be doing the same thing you are describing. Both times the parents just told me that their child could hear find and was just being stubborn, both times the childen had hearing problems. If I had any question in my mind I would immediately go have them tested. There is so much that they can do now. I have had my son tested and he is now two. Good luck!

They can start some hearing checking at birth even! Take her in asap

You know it's time when you are concerned there may be a problem or when there's an issue with speech.

You think there may be a problem. Take her in! You'll feel better either way...it's the not knowing that gets to you!

With speech and hearing, the earlier a problem is detected and treatment is started, the better off the kiddos are in the long run.

Best wishes!

I have a son who is deaf, so don't wait to find out for sure. SEveral years ago they started testing newborns before you could bring them home from the hospital. Did your baby get tested then? If she won't sit still for a regular hearing test, they can do what is called an ABR. It is more accurate because they don't have to have your daughter's responses to the tones. That is the test that we used to find out that my son, who is now 13, was profoundly deaf on one side and severely deaf on the other.

I noticed my son had a problem when he was 2 yrs. old. We would make loud noises behind him or shout his name and he wouldn't even startle or jump or anything. The doctors told me that not all babies respond at that age, but I insisted on an ABR anyways. Doctors ordered it just to shut me up, I think. They were surprised when it came back that he was deaf. My pediatrician told me he would do better at listening to me next time.

Good luck.

Better safe than sorry - no, kids don't listen well anyway, but if you genuinely feel like there could be a problem, better to look like an idiot in front of the doctor than wait until it becomes a real life problem for your baby.

My 5 yr. old has been doing the same thing and we found out that he has fluid in his middle ear. What my son has is otitis media with effusion. He basically has no other symptoms just the temporary hearing problem. Like you we thought he was ignoring us and then realized that he could not hear us very well or at all when we talked to him. Good luck and maybe the pediatrician can take a look in her ears and see if that is the problem.

Take her to the pediatrician, and have a hearing test done.
If her hearing test was fine at birth, than she is probably just being a precocious 3 year old, but it is better to check out this. A friend of mine took her daughter in for a routine appt, had some issues with the hearing screen, and then went to get a hearing test done, and found that her daughter who was fine at birth, now had some issues with complete hearing loss in one ear, and is working with a doctor to fix this. Take her in soon.
Good luck.

I am a retired LVN, and the mother of 4 grown children. Children will ignore you at a very early age, but the part about her not understanding whenshe is facing you would concern me. Have you taken him to your pediatrician? He or she would be able to determine if she needed to see an audioligist. Personally, I would recomend she be checked out. Would like to know if you take her, what you find ____@____.com

Don't panic. It could be many things - like fluid build up, how she processes language, or simply that she's not "tuned" into you.

I would recommend having her hearing checked by a pediatric ENT - I can recommend a great one that we've seen for our daughter. The hearing test is really simple and you find out right then and there!

My niece had the same issue, we thought she was ignoring us, and it was frustrating. Her mom took her to the doctor and she did in fact have an ear issue. I'd take her to the doctor to check and see, then at least you know and can then take action.

I have a daughter that I thought was stubborn too...haha...turns out she was 95% deaf in one ear from fluid buildup. I had brought her in for a cold to her ped. he said he wanted her to go see a ENT dr for her throat, and also her snoring for her tonsils and adnoids. Well they checked her ears in there and found out all this...well 3 weeks later she had her tonsils, adnoids out and tubes put in. Now she can hear perfecly out of both ears. I am not saying this is what is wrong with your daughter but talk it over with your ped and see what he or she says. I just felt really bad when I found out that I was yelling to my daughter and she really didn't hear me haha...good luck....

G., Take her in. My step-son is 87% deaf and was not diagnosed until age 3 because of his speech delay, his mom and dad (my husband now) were in denial until this age about whether he could hear and about his not speaking. He's 24 now and with hearing aids and speech therapy you can't tell he wears hearing aids unless you see them. At age 2, our almost-5-year-old son was not understood by anyone but me since I stay home with him. He threw tantrums and objects when we tried to guess what he was trying to say and he "uhned" and pointed a lot. The first thing my husband said was he's deaf (I knew he wasn't because I could whisper "ice cream" in another room and he'd come running most times). We took him to the doc, who referred us to a ped ENT. We had a sedated autitory test done first (they give a sleepy med to get the test done). He had a cold and congestion at the time, so it showed he had a problem in his right ear. We then had several other tests done which showed he has NO hearing loss. However, it turns out that my dad and several sisters had the SAME delayed speech problem and took therapy for it. My son has been in therapy since age 3 at the elementary school that he will attend as a Kindergartner next year - the therapy is free through the school district. When my daughter started Kinder (when my son was 2) we were always at the school. No one could understand him like they did the other 2 year olds. Now everyone can understand 90% of what my son says. He will need speech class for a while longer since what he has difficulty getting the words from his head to his mouth. He knows how to define what he means if we don't get it. This is mostly with new words now, until he gets them down. He has a wide vocabulary for his age - actually better than a lot of 1st graders, he just has trouble pronouncing the words, but he knows what they mean. I was scared at first and felt guilty for not testing him sooner (he passed the newborn hearing test). Don't be frightened, it could be something serious or it could be your daughter needs help learning to say her words. I know this is long, but somethings the "small" details are important.

Smiles,
Donna

Get her hearing checked!!!!!!!! It's never too early!!!!!!!!

As the other poster said, it is tough without knowing how old your daughter is. If she is 3-4, chances are it is an attention thing. NOT AN ADHD THING, JUST ATTENTION THING. My little girl is the same way. I want to shake her sometimes because she just looks right through me and doesn't pay attention(and she is of average or above intelligence and her preschool teacher says she does fine there). Are you noticing her turning her head to one side or the other when she watches television? That is a good indicator of hearing loss. If you think that it is a medical thing, first take her into your pediatrician who can look and see if there is any abnormality with the ear drum or canal. You can then get a referral which is usually covered under insurance, but call about it first if that is a concern.

Why would you even consider waiting if you even THINK there's a chance her hearing could be impaired? The sooner you find out the sooner it can be treated, and probably the better chance of curing it.

Her doctor should be able to check her hearing now and refer you to a specialist if necessary. My youngest (he's 16 now) was diagnosed with a slight hearing loss at 3 1/2. I was able to get him into a speech therapy program at the local elementary school shortly afterwards. The support was a tremendous help and cost nothing since it was through AISD.

Hi G. A
No, don't chance this at all. Make an appointment with ENT, the test your child will be going through it is not harmful to her at all. You want to avoid a sedation because she needs to be still. What you do if your ENT Dr. tells you about a hearing test called (AEP)auditory evoked potentials. You sleep deprive your child at night put her to bed at midnight and wake her up at 4-5 am, get an appointment in am usually 8am, that way you keep your daughter awake and no sweets give a good breakfast so she can take a nap at the time of the test. What happens they put some probes electrodes with conducting creme on her head and behind her ears, they set earphones that is the stimulation. She needs not to be awake because what they check is the hearing-nerve.
It might be nothing but you need to check it so that she can get help if needed.

Have a grate Valentin you with your family.
Gladys F.

I would highly recommend that you take your daughter to her dr. I had a very petite 2 yr old that had hearing loss that was increasing. I tested it by standing behind her and offering her something I knew she would want - no reaction.

It turned out her tonsils and adenoids were extremely enlarged. She was too small then for the surgery and they sent her for x ray treatments that decreased the size temporarily. She was about 3 when they did the T & A and had no further trouble.

I hope this works for her too.

I raised 7 daughters, have 13 grand children and 7 greats now. I have lots of stories/experience ! marilyn/grammy

No, don't chance it. She needs to be checked out. That isn't a normal thing...it's a sign that it's time to take her to a doctor.

My son is three and we recently took him into our local elementary school to have his hearing checked, because he is having speech difficulty. They do the standard "put the earphones on and have them raise their hand when they hear the beep" method. I don't know how mature your child is, but mine only giggles when he hears the beeps. I asked if that counted as acknowlegement, but they didn't find me humorous. We do not have medical insurance, so our only other option is pretty pricey! Our pediatrician suggested taking him to an Audiologist, which is typically $500. They called me later with a referral... someone who was willing to do it for $250. I think we're going to wait a little while longer and go back through the school system. Good luck in your quest. I hope this helps. ~ S.

G., I took my child in at age 4 but you would need to talk to her doctor and he/she would lead you in the right direction.

When you are at home think about the number of words and directions you are giving her all at once. Sometimes we can say too much and give too many directions to where children tune us out.

When she is play with something and she does not want to leave, she might ignore you. If this is the case, you can say, "in five minute I will need you to clean up so we can .........". This way, the child knows what is coming next and when. Children need smooth transitions when they are changing things in there schedules or activities. I hope this helps.

Well, there are ways to tell if she is hearing on some level, but if you have any doubt of the level of hearing, it's best to have her hearing checked... A friend of mine has a nephew who is 3 who they just discovered needed tubes in his ears... now that he can hear properly he is advancing very rapidly... all this time they thought he had a learning disability! If you notice that she is behind on her speech, that is a big indicator that something might be wrong with her hearing. If she doesn't respond to sudden noises, or react to and try to mimic animal sounds, and other familiar noises besides words, it is best have that checked. Does she search for the source of noises, such as a plane overhead or a truck driving by or a dog barking or someone clapping or talking nearby? If not, it could be a lack of interest, but it never hurts to check something so critical to learning. If she does have a hearing problem there are so many options out there to help. Good luck, and best wishes!

Hi, I had the same problem with my oldest for almost a year. She was a little older. She never had ear infections much when she was little, maybe 2 andd around 4 is when I satrted noticing what you described. There were even times I would be looking right at her and she didn't seem to hear me. I mentioned it to her Dr, and he "pooh-poohed" it, "she is choosing not to listen to you". I finally asked for a referral to an E.N.T. to have her hearing checked, not just the in-office one they do at the Pediatrician's. Turned out she had a severe, long term ear infection, no symptoms, and had lost 30% hearing in both ears. We had tubes put in, and she regained all her hearingas soon as the proceedure was finished. She's now 12 and has had no permanent damamge and still has 100% hearing.

If you are having doubts you should get her checked the next time you go to the peditrician. It is better to know for sure. You might have to insist. I did and found out my son needed tubes in his ears. If the speach is not sounding clear or if the are off balance, that could be indicators of not hearing well.
God Bless!
K.

When my son was two we were having the same problems. I wasn't sure if he was having selective hearing or if there was a problem. I did take him into the doctor about a seperate issue and mentioned the hearing to the doctor. She checked his ears and found he had fluid on the ear drum that we had no idea was there. He never ran a fever or complained of his ears hurting. We put him on antibiotics and that worked for a while but the problem came back almost immediately. We finaly had tubes put in his ears and now he can hear me talking in a normal tone two rooms away.

I would recommend having her hearing checked - the test is really easy and they make it fun.

Good luck!

Hi G.,

I am a speech therapist and I think it is very important to get your child to a doctor ASAP. She is at a very important stage in her life and her speech will be affected if she is not hearing properly. It could be something as simple as allergies, or an inner ear infection, but it needs to be tended to. Good luck. Hope things turn out ok.

Don't chance it. Have her hearing tested right away (make sure she doesn't have a cold or congestion that could skew the results). They can test newborns. Early intervention is key.

I always get my daughter and sons ears and eyes checked at their baby well checks also known as their yearly check up. Your family Practitioner should beable to do it.

Hi G.,
I would suggest getting her into her Dr.also. My son was of talking age and was not saying to many words that were recognizable. I just wrote it off to having an older sibling always speaking for him. He never had signs of ever having had an ear infection and just a check up at his pediatrician alerted me to the fact he had fluid on the ears with no outward signs. Because of the fluid he was not hearing normal.I thought maybe we would need tubes, but with him we removed the adnoids and all was well. He began to talk and has not slowed down.

texas law requires ( if they go to daycare) that they do it starting at age 4. If you suspect a problem, take her to an Ent. Dr. Jakob( in Katy) is with Houston ENT group and they are equipped to do hearing tests on little ones.
Good Luck

I am 64, great granny of four, and have seen stubborn
and have seen hearing problem in one of our precious ones.
To be safe and avoid unnecessary confrontations, ask her
pediatrician to refer you to a specialist. .......then
you will know for certain if your baby girl needs help. My
grand daughter has started teaching her two sign language
just to teach them another language......and the children
love it...........Just for fun, go to the American Sign Language site and have a good time learning one or two words a day. Our little one did have problems and it has been corrected .......with a great deal of improvement. Be safe and have her checked........
Memom

If you suspect even a tiny bit that she has some hearing loss or difficulty, then it is time to get her to an ear,nose,throat doctor or audiologist! She just may have wax accumulated or an ear infection or she may have a hearing loss. Just find out so you can deal with it, and if it is nothing, you will be relieved. I think she is a bit young to be practicing selective hearing!

I was in the same situation. My son will be three and was saying "what?" when he could not hear me. He also has a snoring problem when he sleeps. I metioned to the ped. and he refered me to the Ear, nose and throat doctor. When we took him in, they found fluid in his ear and that was prventing him from hearing as we all do. He is only hearing about 30%. On Monday, there are going to remove his tonsils and adenoids and put tubes in his ears to drain the fluid. They also checked his permenant hearing and said that he has not lost permenant hearing. You can have the ped. check her ears and they have a machine and test that they can do in the office to measure the fluid level. Hope this information helps and good luck!
J.

My situation is going to echo just about everyone's here. I have a now 2 year old that was having chronic ear infections. Her Pedi finally referred us to a PEDI ENT. Turns out she has infected fluid in her ears which is why she always kept an ear infection. She had tubes put in March of '06 (so it's been almost a year). She started talking better, pronouncing words clearer. Her overall health improved. We went for a check up in January, and the doc said the left tube had fallen out and there was fluid, but it wasn't infected. She had been sick with a cough and runny nose for almost two weeks, so this past Friday I took her to her pedi and she ended up having a slight ear infection in that left ear. Up until this she hasn't had any problems with her ears. I'm hoping this was a one time incident and the infections don't start coming back. I can refer you to our Pedi ENT if you like, just let me know.