does anyone have any experience of suspected hearing problems in a young child? (19mo)

[kerryk]

worried about a child that i know, i see him 2 mornings a week.

he is always making noises, this goes on constantly no matter what he is doing playing/eating/during a story etc.

i have yet to hear him say a work that is recognisable, he just chatters away in his own language all the time.

the noise he makes is never directed at anyone, he makes these noises while playing on his own etc.

he never makes eye contact with adults and will not respond to noises or his name.

he is also obsessed with touching faces, esp ears when trying to get to sleep.

at 19 months he still wont call for mum, say bye etc.

i have no idea about medical history (i.e if he has had his hearing test at birth)

i was wondering if this sounds familiar to anyone.

his mum is very anxious and not very easy to talk to about things.

has anyone experienced anything like this before?

being 19 months, he is likely to have been tested for deafness with the neonatal screening programme, but that doesn't mean that he hasn't developed a hearing loss since then. does he have a lot of colds/stuffiness?

deaf children's spoken language tends to develop like hearing children up to the point of babbling, but may stall at this point without intervention, so his chattering may indicate a hearing loss. also the noisiness you mention is often found in deaf children who are not aware of the noises they are making, such as noisy breathing, etc.

you could suggest asking gp for a referral to an audiologist to rule out any hearing problems. if mum is anxious perhaps you could emphasise that temporary hearing loss (such as 'glue ear') is quite common in young children and that treatments are available.

brilliant, thanks rr

i had not thought about anything such as glue ear. he is quite a heavy breather but not so bad with colds etc.

Hi Kerry,

Some of things you mention sound potentially concerning - although it might just be the way you have described them. Is there also an absence of expected social gestures - waving, pointing for attention? Or are you confident that it is just a hearing issue?