Hearing test for 2.3yr ds - what will happen?

[MajorMajor]

Hi
We have an appointment for a hearing test tomorrow for ds2 (2.3yrs). We were referred by the GP due to his late speech - he knows loads of words but is very very hard to understand (ow for house, ga for cat/car/crash etc...)

Can anyone tell me what to expect at the hearing test? A 2-minute sesion where they stand behind him and clap their hands, or something more involved?

thanks

Hello

I am profoundly deaf and so am a veteran of hearing tests! However, the adult ones are different to the children's ones

Given my hearing problems, DS was tested at 1 year and 2 years (all normal) and it involved him sitting in a room with a toy put in front of him to keep his attention while noises were played behind him, to either side etc to see if he responded. They did this for a variety of sound pitches

Because he heard all these, they didn't progress it any further so am not sure what the more involved tests would be (although am sure others here can tell you) but that ime, will be the initial sort of test to expect

Hope this helps a bit

He might do a test that involves putting bricks into a bucket everytime he hears a sound. It all depends on his level of concentration and what he is capable of.

I am surprised that they are worrying about his speech being unclear so early. Most two year olds are pretty incomprehensible to strangers.

DD had to put a man in a boat every time she heard a sound.

Hi thanks for the replies. Due to no childcare I will be taking my 4-yr old as well who will no doubt be asking incessant questions the whole way, so it's good to have an idea what to expect.

Reallytired, I know he's still young and I do try not to expect too much of him. The hearing test is really to rule it out as a cause of his late speech, then assuming it's OK we will let him talk at his own pace. The only slight thing that bothers me is that as well as being very indistinct, he often tries to talk through his nose/back of throat, does that make any sense? (as I can't write the sound down!) Also, people say that if speech therapy is required, the earlier you start, the easier it is.

I am now worried about the 'do something whenever you hear a sound'... because most of the sounds will be followed by 4-yr old ds1 saying 'WHAT WAS THAT' followed by me saying 'shut up for f*&& sake ds1' etc etc !!

In our area siblings are not allowed to come to hearing tests of other children. When my daughter had her hearing tested there were twins having their hearing tested and both parents had to attend the hearing test. The child whose hearing was not being test was not allowed in the room.

I believe that they can be quite strict. I was told that if I brought my extremely well behaved eight year old that audiologist would refuse to test my daughter's hearing.

I hope that your area has different rules. I suggest that you explain to your four year old that he needs to be very quiet so that his brother can do the hearing test. If necessary bribe him.

Thanks Reallytired. All I got was a letter with time/date/location of appointment, no other information at all, so I assumed it would be ok to take ds1. Thankyou for the tip - I will definitely take bribes as well.

INtersted to hear how you go on as my 2.5 year old being out in for test, also talks through his nose/back of throat and i can't write the sound down lol! please let me know how you go on.

Well Maxybrown, the hearing test showed absolutely no problems with ds's hearing. The audiologist said it was probably just speech delay for no reason and suggested we go to a drop-in Speech and Language Therapy clinic if we are worried - however they probably won't do much until he is 2 and a half.

This confirmed what I thought really - I've never had any evidence that he doesn't hear things - the only issue he has is that people don't understand what he's saying. I will probably go to the SALT clinic, mainly to find out if there are any tips/tricks/games to use to help him develop his speech.

Ah thanks for letting me know.

I don't have doubts about DS either but at least I can say I have ruled everything out!

DS already has speech therapy and he isn't 2 and a half yet. He goes every Tuesday. Maybe it depends on your area?