Florida Child Injury Law Blog

What brings on hearing problems in children? There are two basic kinds, congenital and acquired. Congenital means that the problem existed at birth. Acquired hearing loss appears after birth. Its onset can come at any time as a result of a disease, a condition, or an injury. The American Speech-Language Hearing Association provides a list of some examples of conditions in which children can acquire hearing loss.

 Ear infections (otitis media)
 Ototoxic (damaging to the auditory system) drugs
 Meningitis
 Measles
 Encephalitis
 Chicken pox
 Influenza
 Mumps
 Head injury
 Noise exposure

Physicians who suspect a child is suffering from a hearing loss need to act fast and order an audiologic testing to determine the nature and extent of the loss. Early treatment is essential so the disorder does not become irreversible.

Children learn speech and language from listening to other people talk. The first few years of life are especially critical for this development. If a hearing loss exists and goes unrecognized, a child does not get the full benefit of language learning experiences.

The American Speech- Language Hearing Association

http://www.asha.org/public/hearing/disorders/causes.htm

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