A deaf child is the one who suffers from hearing loss. Children with deafness may also fail to develop speech. Such children might have no defect in their speech but they cannot speak anything. The main reason is deafness. They do not hear a speech, therefore, cannot develop it. Deafness may not be hereditary, but it occurs due to several other causes. 

The period of 5 years is crucial in a child s life. During this period, they develop their speech and language. Therefore, parents need to take the utmost care for the early identification of hearing loss and treat the child accordingly. 

Causes of Deafness in Children

There are several causes of deafness in children.

Otitis Media: In young children, if the eustachian tube is not fully formed, it forms fluid behind the eardrum. This fluid can get infected and affect the hearing. The fluid may not cause any pain or infection but still, it can harm and cause hearing loss even if it stays for a short time. 

Problems by Birth: Some children have hearing problems by birth. Sometimes, the problem lies in the genes. But, other times during pregnancy or prenatal care, the problem arises. If a mother, while pregnancy, has diabetes or preeclampsia, she is likely to deliver a deaf child. A prematurely born baby also has a high risk of deafness.

Illness or Injury: Some young children suffer hearing loss due to some injury in the ear or some other illness. Illness includes meningitis, measles, chickenpox, and flu. Head injury or listening to loud music for a long time can also be a reason.

Symptoms of a Deaf Child

A deaf child shows no reaction to the loud noises.

He/she doesn t respond to the voices.

The sound of the child is simple that taper off.

The child may pull or rub the ear several times, which is noticeable.

The child is continuously cranky for no particular reason.

He/she does not pay any attention when anyone is talking.

He/she has very little energy to do anything. 

He/she fails to understand the direction.

Often asks to raise the volume of TV or radio.

Have fever and ear pain.

Treatment of the Problem

Hearing loss affects a child s learning ability. So, the problem must be diagnosed and treated immediately. Here are some treatment approaches: 

Treatment for Otitis Media: The very first thing parents and doctors can do is watchful waiting because sometimes the problem cures itself. Some pediatricians might prescribe some antibiotics. If the problems continue, then the doctor will suggest getting an ear tube to the child that will allow the fluid to drain. For this, the child will have to visit an ENT doctor also called Otolaryngologist. 

Treatment for other causes: The child may use a hearing aid. Some can get cochlear implants. 

Conclusion
It is necessary for parents to accept the child with deformity and stay by his/her side. They must get themselves educated and communicate the problem with others to get help. It is essential to stay in touch with the child and take care of him.

Deaf Child - What Should You Know?

It is that time of the year when insects are all around. Suddenly one feels a buzzing sound or an itchy feel in the ear. To your horror, one feels a live insect is in your ear, which can be extremely annoying and is like a nightmare. Insects often get stuck when they enter our ears as they cannot fly or crawl out. They try to find their way out and their movements inside our ears can be very uncomfortable, painful and can be itchy as well. Moreover, they can easily produce infection.

In this scenario, do not try to remove an insect with cotton swab, tweezers or hair clip as it will make the situation worse and can lodge the insect deeper into the ear canal, which can possibly damag the eardrum, leading to permanent hearing loss. If an individual is not certain about the potential harm taht can be caused by the insect in the ear, one should seek medical care immediately. Insects in the ear are common reasons for visits to doctor's clinic, especially in children.

If one suspects an insect in ear, one may experience pain, swelling, blood or crackling. One may even feel biting, stinging, hearing loss or dizziness. It is best to stay calm in this situation as being active may lodge the bug further in ear or cause it to move further back or cause serious damage to the sensitive eardrum

One way to try to remove a bug in ear is by tilting the ear toward the ground and attempt to wiggle the ear. Grasp the earlobe and give it a wiggle. If the bug is not too far into ear canal, it may fall out on its own. If the bug is still alive and is not too far inside of the ear canal, it may simply come out on its own. If one stays calm and keep objects including fingers away from ears, it is likely that the bug will find its way back out of ear.

One can also try to flush the ear with warm water with a dropper or a bulb syringe. This can be done by holding head upright and stretching the ear canal by pulling the outer ear and then putting a steady stream of warm water into ear. Tilt head to the side to drain out the ear. Do not try this if one suspects that ear drum has been ruptured to prevent additional damage.

To avoid stinging or eardrum rupture from scratching or biting , one may use a drop or two of mineral, baby, or olive oil inside your ear canal to kill the insect. Finally, visit an ENT specialist doctor as they can remove the insect by special suction devices. Post insect removal, one must look out for signs of infection as swelling, dizziness, hearing loss, fever, and pain. Finally follow up with ENT specialist or Otolaryngologist for the final opinion.

How to Remove Insect from Ear at Home? 

Hearing loss is not something limited to elderly men or elderly women only. This is something that can affect any adult at any stage of life. The good news is that it can be managed. Today, there are a number of hearing aids that can help improve hearing ability. These aids allow an individual who has lost part of his or her hearing to live a normal life. For best results, hearing loss should be arrested in its early stages.

Here are a few signs you should look out for.

Muffled Speech: When you hear people talk, their speech should be clearly identifiable. If you hear muffled noises that you have to interpret as words, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
Difficulty understanding words: The human ear has the ability to separate conversational sounds from ambient noise. However, in some cases where the inner ear is damaged, a person might find it difficult to separate the two. In such cases, the person might not be able to understand words clearly as they get confused with background noise. This is a sign that must never be taken lightly.
Feeling the need to ask people to repeat themselves: Once in a while if you find yourself asking another person to repeat what he or she said, there is nothing to worry. However, if this becomes a regular occurrence and happens with many people, then the fault lies in your hearing. Thus, if you notice yourself needing to ask people to repeat themselves or talk slowly, consult a hearing specialist.
Increasing the volume of the radio or television: As children, we are taught that playing music or watching TV at a very high volume can damage the ears. The radio, television and other such appliances should be played at a volume where the information being relayed is clearly audible and people can have a conversation alongside without needing to shout. If you find yourself having to increase the volume constantly, it could be a sign of hearing loss.
Withdrawing from conversations: As hearing loss is aggravated, people begin to feel conscious of having to ask others around them to repeat themselves or talk slowly. This can make them withdraw from a conversation and other social situations. In many cases, the simple reason for avoiding a party could be the discomfort of not being able to hear the other person clearly in a conversation.
 All hearing problems can be better handled by proper investigation, different test, sign and symptoms of the patient, which are carried by a specialist of hearing, called as AUDIOLOGIST, who can look your hearing problems, plan out treatment plan, rehabilitation pre and post etc. Audiologist will definitely help you hear again. 

Common Signs Of Hearing Problems In Adults!

While most noise is just in the background for us, loud noises, either in small spurts or prolonged exposure, can cause hearing loss. This has been happening more frequently as the levels of noise in an industrialized society go further up.

Noise induced hearing loss explained
Loud noises may damage the sensitive structure of your ear, which process the sound waves into information. They eventually become nonfunctional, resulting in a loss of hearing in that range. If exposure to loud noises continues, then this might extend to the entire range of hearing and may cause total hearing loss.

What may cause noise induced hearing loss?
Some of the scenarios which may cause noise induced hearing loss are as follows:
1. Listening to music on high volume: If you constantly listen to music or watch movies at your home on very loud levels, then it may result in noise induced hearing loss. In fact, listening to music or watching movies with headphones in your ears is one of the leading causes for hearing loss. Headphones have deceptively loud levels and may result in damaged hearing overtime.

2. Noise of household tools: Household tools such as drills, mixers, grinders, mowers, and saws can expose you to loud levels of noise. Even a quick exposure for a few seconds could temporarily damage your hearing. 

3. Occupational problems: Occupations such as construction, factory work and military that require the use of power tools on a constant basis can also cause hearing loss. The sound from the resulting friction might damage your hearing very quickly. Explosions and impacts are also causes of hearing loss in the military and law enforcement departments.

Prevention and treatment
Treatment: It is difficult to treat hearing loss as in most cases; it may be permanent, except sudden shocks, when your hearing might come back to normal. The only treatments for hearing loss are hearing aids or cochlear implants which can restore hearing partially.

Prevention: Prevention is the best method to avoid hearing loss and in most cases, you should wear ear protection such as mufflers or sound level reduction devices to protect your hearing. Also, practice listening to music, watching TV or movies at lower levels, especially if you are on the headphones. 

Induced Hearing Loss - Facts You Should Be Careful about It!

BAHA Implant
Bone Anchored Hearing Aid (BAHA) is a device surgically implanted to help people suffering from a loss of hearing. Most conventional hearing aids transmit sound through air conduction. The BAHA device is suitable for conductive or mild-moderate mixed hearing loss.

Problems with hearing in the middle or outer ears can be helped with the BAHA device. The sound waves received by the BAHA device bypass the middle ear and get delivered straight to the functioning cochlea in both ears.

A BAHA device comprises of two parts:
a) The processor 
b) A fixture which is surgically implanted behind the ear in the bone.

The implant is embedded in the bone. The processor, which remains outside, is attached to the implant. There is a microphone on the processor that picks up sounds. The sounds are passed on to the implant. The implant vibrates which triggers the Cochlear. You can consider wearing a BAHA implant if other conventional hearing aids do not work for you. BAHA implants are also given to people with collapsed or irritated ear canals.

Cochlear Implant Surgery

A complex, small electronic device that helps hearing in people with severe hearing loss or deafness is used in the Cochlear Implant Surgery. The cochlear implant comprises of an external piece behind the ear and another piece that is surgically implanted under the skin. A cochlear implant comprises of four parts:
1. A microphone which picks up sounds from the surroundings
2. A speech processor which chooses and arranges the sounds the microphone picks up
3. A receiver/stimulator and transmitter that picks up signals from the speech processor and changes them into electric impulses
4. An electrode ray, a bunch of electrodes, receives impulses the stimulator sends and transmits them to different areas of the auditory nerves.
The implant does not cure deafness; it only gives you a useful portrayal of sounds in the environment and considerable aid in understanding speech.

The surgery is done in the following way:
i. The area around the site of the implant is shaved or cleaned
ii. The patient's vital signs are monitored through cables, patches and monitors attached to him or her
iii. General anaesthesia is administered through IV or through a face mask
iv. After the device is implanted, the patient is taken to the recovery room for the anaesthesia effect to lessen.

BAHA Implant and Cochlear Implant Surgery

You may find out that your child is suffering from hearing loss when he is born or he may be diagnosed with the condition later in life. Hearing loss in children is commonly caused by otitis media, birth problems and on the account of certain injuries or illnesses.

Signs and symptoms

The early-stage symptoms of hearing loss in children are as follows:

No reaction to extremely loud noises

No response or reaction to your voice

The child makes some sounds, which taper off

The other symptoms which follow include:

He may pull and rub his ears.

He may act cranky constantly without any proper reason.

He might stop paying attention.

Low energy levels are indicated.

He may find it hard to follow directions.

He may ask you to increase the volume of the radio or TV.

Fever and ear pain are also likely symptoms.

Treatment

Early hearing loss can affect a child s language learning skills. If the problem is diagnosed and treated soon, the problem with language can be avoided. The method of treatment depends on the cause of hearing loss in your child and the severity of hearing loss.

There are certain medicines for hearing---prescribed by your ENT Surgeon. Please take the point watchful waiting. Even, if you have the slightest doubt of hearing loss contact ENT immediately.

The primary treatment methods of hearing loss in children include the following:

Watchful waiting: Sometimes, the condition may resolve on its own and the treatment involves simple monitoring of your child for positive changes.

Medicines: There are certain medicines for hearing loss in children, which may be prescribed by your pediatrician.

Ear tubes: Ear tubes may be recommended if medicines and monitoring do not work. The tubes allow fluid to drain and help in preventing infections. A minor surgery has to be undertaken on your child for getting the ear tubes placed. This will solve hearing loss and other related issues.

Hearing aids: Hearing aids may be used to allow your child to hear better. It is safe for children to use ear tubes after the age of one month. For the right hearing aid for your child, you need to consult a hearing specialist.

Implants: Cochlear implants are used to treat hearing loss in many children. These are electronic devices that are put in the inner ear to benefit hearing. These should be used only if hearing aids did not succeed and these are meant to be used only in the case of children with serious hearing problems.

There are several other devices, which can help your child with hearing loss. For suggestions and recommendations, you must take your child to a hearing specialist.

Hearing Loss In Children - Signs And Treatment Of It!

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