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Behaviour/development

Talk to others about child development and behaviour stages here. You can find more information on our development calendar.

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Original poster

Anyone have a child who's bad behaviour has been down to bad hearing ???

23 replies

Nutcracker · 18/05/2004 13:27

Took my Dd2 (4) to the health centre this morning as the doc wanted her weighed cos of her current health probs (weight was down ).

Anyway whilst there i asked for the H.V's advice because my Dd's behavior is appaling at the mo. She always been very difficult but it's getting so i can't control her at all. Today she ran onto a car park, which she knows in dangerous as it's very busy.

They asked if she has any speech probs, to which i replied that she mispronounces a couple of letters so is having an assesment on thursday.
They said that her bad behaviour could be due to her hearing and so have reffered her for a hearing test.

Has anyone else been reffered for this reason ??
TBH i think she can hear me perfectly well, she just likes to wind me up.

OP posts:

Blu · 18/05/2004 13:31

An aquaintence's son (3) was diagnosed with some degree of hearing impairment, which was the background to his increasing agression, attention-seeking and generally tumultous carry-on. he also had a quite noticable speech delay, though. I'm not sure how severe the hearing loss is: he's having an operation for grommits, which I gather will help a lot. He has improved loads with speech support, too.

LIZS · 18/05/2004 13:39

It is a possible explanation but there may yet be other causes. Friend's son has tantrums and poor attention span but he has suffered from repeated ear infections and perforations since a year old. Still unsure as to whether the hearing issue is the root cause though. Worth ruling in/out in your dd's case I should think, especially before she is starts school.

Original poster

Nutcracker · 18/05/2004 16:03

Oh well, i suppose it's worth getting it checked out anyway.

TBH she has always been a handful and i really don't think it's her hearing as she can hear me perfectly well when shwe wants to.

They have given me some stuff to read through on managing her behaviour, so hopefully that will help give me some idea of which way to go from here.,

OP posts:

luckymum · 18/05/2004 16:22

Hi Nutty

Both ds1 & 2 suffered hearing problems and ds2 was a particularly badly behaved child up until he had grommits/tonsils/adenoids done at 3 1/2. He used to have terrible tantrums, head banging and odd behaviours and was very difficult to control. He also slept very badly (night terrors). Its worth getting it checked especially as you are worrying about your dd generally. Ds1 lost weight prior to his op as he had a poor appetite. The surgeon was surprised how scarred his tonsils were as he'd never actually 'had' tonsilitis just repeated ear infections. Ds1 struggled to cope in noisy surroundings and used to either 'switch off' or get very aggravated (thinking about your dd's spells?).

Hope you get it sorted soon

bluebear · 18/05/2004 16:23

My ds is 2yr 10 months, has had amazing tantrums and bad behaviour since he was 12months...he was assessed as having chronic glue ear with moderate hearing loss...I had no idea that his hearing was poor...he also misprounounces words but at his age it's not a problem.
Ds is having his adenoids and tonsils removed and grommits put in to drain his ears..but he is an extreme case.

KateandtheGirls · 18/05/2004 16:36

My 4 1/2 year old has been having some real behaviour problems for the past year or so. She had a hearing loss diagnosed in February, also a speech disorder diagnosed 2 weeks ago (although it's a lateral lisp and nothing to do with her hearing loss).

I also didn't really think she had a hearing problem and thought she was just being difficult. Some of it is her being difficult, I'm sure, but hopefully correcting her hearing problem will help with her behaviour. (She had her adenoids removed and grommits put in last week.)

It's definitely worth getting it checked out.

KateandtheGirls · 18/05/2004 16:37

By the way, what is glue ear?

bluebear · 18/05/2004 16:38

KateATG - how was the operation? Is she in a lot of pain?

sponge · 18/05/2004 16:38

Worth getting checked out.
If she has a slight hearing problem she might well be able to hear you when she wants to but have to concentrate a bit harder than normal to do so. This makes it harder, more tiring etc and this could be the cause of some frustration.
A friend of mine's ds was having a lot of problems at school - was not concentrating and getting behind. They found out he had a pea in his ear! Things improving dramatically since it was removed.
So this may not be the answer to your problems but it may be a factor.

bluebear · 18/05/2004 16:41

Glue Ear - sticky fluid in the middle ear..can be caused by repeated ear infections, or by blockage of the eustachian tube (goes between the ear and the mouth)by the adenoid. If the ear isn't properly ventilated it produces fluid which gets stickier and thicker over time..most common in children cos their tubes are so small it doesn't take much to block them. Most episodes of glue ear clear up all by themselves, so if glue ear is picked up by a hearing test they will re-test in 3 months to see if it has gone. My ds has had it for over 1 and a half years now.

KateandtheGirls · 18/05/2004 16:42

Thanks for asking.

The operation went really well. The worst part was that it wasn't until 3pm, so she couldn't have anything to eat all day beforehand. We were home by 5pm. She's still a little more tired than usual, but not really in any pain.

She has a follow up appointment with the surgeon next Thursday and then another hearing test next Friday.

bluebear · 18/05/2004 16:43

And as Sponge said, the sheer effort that the children have to put into picking out important noises especially when the background noise is high can make them tired and very grumpy...I've got the bruises to prove it.

KateandtheGirls · 18/05/2004 16:45

Thanks Bluebear. Different terms over here I guess.
She had fluid that wasn't draining properly, due to her enlarged adenoids. Whether it was sticky or not, I don't know, but it didn't resolve itself.

Helsbels · 18/05/2004 16:51

my brother had this problem - he is now 23 and was not 'diagnosed' until he was about 11. It caused him untold problems as teachers then were not so proactive as now (on the whole - sorry to any good teachers - I had brill ones but his were not aware of his problem) He did not have the problem at home as it was related to background noise. They thought he was dyslexic, had add etc. He was hard of hearing and that was his only problem. It's worth testing just to be on the safe side.

bluebear · 18/05/2004 16:51

Sounds like the same thing - glad she's getting better.

tigermoth · 19/05/2004 07:22

both my sons have been referred to audiologists after worries about their behaviour. In my oldest son's case hearing loss was diagnosed and around the time he had a grommit fitted (age 8 or 9), his behaviour improved. He was very happy to be able to hear properly. My youngest son, when he was 3.5, was referred to an audiologist, but his hearing is normal. Agree that it's good to get this checked out.

Original poster

Nutcracker · 19/05/2004 12:38

Oh right, sounds like a good idea to get it checked then.

She did have her hearing test at 9 mths but failed it. It was done again at 10mths and she passed, but i do remember being concerned around that age that she used to shout alot.

They said i could be waiting 3 mths for an appointment but as she starts school in September they may try to do it sooner.

Could she have hearing loss without having had a lot of ear infections though ??? From what i can remember she has only ever had 1 or 2.

OP posts:

Sid · 19/05/2004 14:42

My dd, nearly 5, has mild glue ear and is on a 9 month waiting list for grommets (is it grommits or grommets?). Her reception class teacher has recently noticed that she is becoming more obstinate and difficult, so I am trying to get the waiting time reduced. My dd has also only ever had 1 or 2 ear infections.

KateandtheGirls · 21/05/2004 15:05

Nutcracker, my daughter never had ear infections either.

Sid, 9 month waiting list?????? I recently posted on a different thread that I missed the NHS. Now I think I've changed my mind. My daughter's surgery was 15 days aftr she saw the ENT specialist.

Original poster

Nutcracker · 21/05/2004 16:28

Hmmm i will be really interested to find out the results then.

Kateandthegirls - I recently had to wait a month for a blood test for my DD and am now waiting for a refferal to a paed. G.p said i will be waiting about 3 mths.

OP posts:

geogteach · 21/05/2004 19:39

This is interesting- my DS has a hearing test on Wednesday, I asked for him to be refered as 'huh' and 'pardon?' seem to be his most used words and the nursery have noticed he does not respond to his name. He also has never had an ear infection. I asked for a referal a couple of months ago and heard nothing, 2 weeks ago I asked for the health visitor to chase it up and was offered an appointment within a fortnight. Now just got to wait and see if he co-operates!

KateandtheGirls · 21/05/2004 20:15

geogteach, how old is he?

I was also worried about my daughter cooperating (not something she's particularly good at), but th audiologist made it fun for her, and so that wasn't a problem. She thought she was just playing a game - didn't realise she was being tested at the same time!

jane313 · 21/05/2004 20:27

when I was doing teacher training it was one of the things they told us to look out for with children with behavioural or speech/listening problems, sort of the first thing to rule out.

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