To ignore son's claims about not being able to hear?

[SpinningTopps]

Ds is 5 and has started to say he can't hear properly. He says he thinks he is deaf. But if I whisper he appears to hear everything I say. I think his hearing is fine.
I've looked into children's hearing tests and it seems you need a referral which seems a step too far.
AIBU to just assume all is fine or can you have hearing loss where you can hear whispers but other things are affected?

Has he had his reception year screening at school yet? They will check hearing.

Could he have some sort of processing difficulty where he struggles to hear when there is back ground noise?

Have his teachers mentioned anything?

What volume does he have the TV at?

Don't dismiss him immediately- look at the whole picture.

Oh, and don't forget the obvious causes....wax in the ear.

Take him for a hearing test. Put his mind at rest, (shut him up), hadd as he had a cold lately. That can mess up your hearing.

That’s a bit mean??? I’d get him checked out, could be anything such as tinnitus

Glue ear can give intermittent hearing loss. Hearing loss can be at different frequencies so he could potentially not hear high noises or not hear low noises. It’s worth investigating!

Hearing loss has a huge impact on learning and friendships at that age. Pop him along to the GP and he can take a look and refer if needed. Do take it seriously.

Our son is hearing impaired, he wears hearing aids. Without them he can hear whispering, it would just be certain sounds at whisper level he couldn’t hear, but with speech you can easily fill in the gaps for sounds you cannot hear.

YABU

You've just described me. - I can hear that you're talking but what you say and what I hear aren't the same thing. But I think they can't check auditory processing disorder until hes 7.

Why would you not believe your child?

I didn’t think my son could be deaf - he could hear a chocolate wrapper being opened at quite a distance…

He wears a hearing aid at the moment, although his glue ear has varied repeatedly in the past 5 years, including being discharged twice. Round here the school nurse service will refer to audiology, it only took an email. Or, if they’re not at school yet, the health visitor service.

He has had a recent ear infection and does get them a lot.
They don't do reception hearing tests in our area. Only an eye test.
He is also on the waiting list for an autism diagnosis so I suspect it's more that he might not process sounds in certain environments.

Your child has told you something get him checked out. What's the worst that can happen if you book a GP appointment andit turns out to be nothing? Your son is young and possibly doesn't have the actual words to describe what is wrong with his hearing.

Has he had any ear infection? I find my hearing is always dulled for quite along time after having one but there are lots of other reasons.

I also get problems with one of my ear tubes and it can get blocked and dull my hearing, it feels just like when your ears pop when flying

Yes, it's possible to be able to hear a whisper and not hear other things. I think it's something about being able to hear some frequencies and not others? My DD had glue ear, she seemed to understand everything I said directly to her, but I noticed that if she was in a different room and said "Mummy?" and I called out "here!" she would walk in the wrong direction to try and find me. I would ask for him to be referred for a hearing test.

If you tell a GP you have concerns about his hearing they will refer him for a hearing test.
If the “doctor” then says th ere is nothing wrong with his hearing then a 5 yo will generally go with that.. Also there might be something wrong with his hearing..

your DS says he has trouble hearing. in what world is a hearing test a step to far? It's non-invasive and easily done. Sounds like you cannot be bothered. I have a child who had glue ear for years (needed grommets but long waits thanks to the NhS). Now we are left with significant auditory processing difficulties. How ignorant to rule anything out.

YABU to ignore this. Get him referred.

Cross post- you've just listed several reasons his hearing might be being affected.
GP for a referral for hearing test and a referral for occupational health or similarly for sensory integration therapy if you think it's related to autism - simpler to cross out physical causes first though

Take him to the GP. You're being cruel

Always listen to your DC if they say they can't hear or see properly. It can cause huge delays in their schooling otherwise.

It is unacceptable not to get this checked IMO.

Go to the GP at the very least.

What's wrong with you?

Get your child checked out now

@SpinningTopps it’s a lot easier to hear a whisper than a normal low voice.
Get his hearing checked properly.

I realised my 4 year old couldn’t hear certain sounds when I said gosh, listen to that thunder.
It was crashing but he couldn’t hear the low frequency.

This. It can be intermittent and it can just be certain frequencies. I would be taking him to get a hearing test.

YABVU and should get his hearing tested.

We were told by a Dr that it's quite common for autistic children to have glue ear.

Ok ok, I accept IABU.

It not that I don't care or can't be bothered.

It feels we're constantly at the doctors (4 times in the past 6 weeks for unrelated things) and I do worry about being that parent who always thinks there's something wrong with their child.

So asking for a referral for a hearing test with a child who appears to hear perfectly felt like it would be the final nail in the fussy mum coffin.