The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) has established guidelines for assessing hearing impairments in children. It's important to begin with an age-appropriate hearing screening conducted by a qualified practitioner. If your child does not pass the screening, make arrangements for audiometric testing with a licensed, ASHA-certified audiologist. Discuss the findings of the various tests and understand what type of hearing impairment your child has.
Instructions
1. Determine the right type of hearing screening depending upon your child's age and developmental level. Hearing screenings quickly divide children into two groups: those who pass the test and those who don't. Newborns and infants are screened by otoacoustic emissions (inaudible responses from the cochlea when the ear is stimulated by sound) or auditory brainstem responses (electrodes placed on the head to measure brain waves in response to sounds). Older infants and toddlers are screened by visual reinforcement audiometry (training the child to look toward a sound) or conditioned play audiometry (training the child to put a block into a container when he hears a sound). Preschoolers respond well to conditioned play audiometry. School-age children can be effectively screened with conventional audiometry, raising their hands when they hear a sound through headphones.
2. Select a qualified screening practitioner. Choose an audiologist with a certificate of clinical competence (CCC-A) from ASHA, a speech-language pathologist with an ASHA certificate of clinical competence (CCC-SLP), or a support staff member working under the supervision of a qualified audiologist. Look for an audiologist or speech-language pathologist who also maintains a current state license in her specialty.
3. If your child doesn't pass the screening, arrange an appointment for more definitive audiometric testing by a licensed, ASHA-certified audiologist. This testing session may include a physical examination of the ear, tests of the middle ear to identify physical barriers to hearing, pure-tone audiometry and speech audiometry. Pure-tone audiometry is done in a soundproof booth to see what tones a child can hear. Speech audiometry indicates the level at which the child can hear and repeat simple two-syllable words.
4. Discuss the findings of the audiometric testing with the audiologist. She can tell you if your child has a hearing loss, and what that degree of loss is. She can also categorize the hearing impairment as a conductive hearing loss caused by abnormalities in the outer and/or middle ear, a sensorineural hearing loss from inherited or acquired abnormalities of the inner ear or an auditory processing disorder that occurs when the brain has trouble interpreting sounds.
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