Hearing test- 4 year old DS

[Greenwichresident]

Hi- just looked for some advice in terms of best next steps or any recommendations of where to get a hearing test.

During a parent's even last year our 4 year old son's teacher recommended that she felt he might need a hearing test and wasn't certain that he could always hear instructions. She moved him to the front of the class to help him hear more clearly - but wasn't sure if the issue was hearing or just focus.

I thought it would be relatively simple to access one but have since found out that specsavers don't actually test children's hearing- only adults.

We decided to watch and wait over Christmas before contacting the gp. I'm now pretty confident that he does need a hearing test- his mis pronunciation of phonics has made this much more pronounced, and question if he can hear clearly. He told us last weekend that he couldn't hear his rugby coach's instructions- he was the only child who struggled to hear them.

Out of curiosity I asked him to close his eyes (to avoid lip reading) and whispered things like "would you like some chocolate?" at an audible noise- and he couldn't hear a thing I was saying- he actually said "mummy you need to say something now", despite me having already said 3 things- all the sorts of things a 4 year old would very quickly say "yes!" too.

I've contacted the gp last week but have yet to have a response - I will follow up again but I'm concerned even if we do get a referral that the waitlist might take some time.

Just wanted to check from other's experiences if there's a relatively quick, easy way that that I can access a hearing test for him to help understand what's happening? And if he does need a little support. And if that is private, are there any particular places you'd recommend?

We are London based (S.E. London)

Feel pretty awful that I haven't noticed until now. He's always been a great talker, our interaction has been physically close and I just assumed me needing to call his name several times was just down to standard 4 year old attention span / distractions.

If anyone else had had something similar happen at reception age, where they've noticed something like this a little later, it would be great to hear from you.

Apologies- that should read "parents evening"

Placemarking as I'm in a similar situation and also want to find out if there's a quick and easy way to get a child hearing test

Both my kids needed early hearing tests and they were referred to the local hospital by their health visitor very quickly. At age 4 you could still ring your health visitor service even if you haven't had contact with them for a while. Or the GP can do the same thing. It's pretty straight forward and audiology at the hospital were very good, it was all very child friendly.

Our son’s deafness was picked up by a school nurse at 6 , he was a proficient lip reader and we didn’t have a clue anything was wrong . We then got put into the paediatric audiology service but we bought private aids (ITC) as he didn’t want the ones the NHS offered at that time (25 yrs ago) . He has moderate / severe loss in one ear and moderate in the other . He stopped wearing aids completely at 11 , before that he would go into school wearing them and come out without . Obviously I can’t say what would have been different if he’d worn his aids but he got excellent results at school , has a first in computing and is now an assistant Headteacher. If you get no joy from the NHS there are private places that test hearing for children such as Tracy James at Newbury .

GP will refer quite quickly usually as it's a standard thing. Schools that suspect Sen will usually get eyes and ears tested.

My DS had his done at the local hospital.

We had this. I think until age 5, I booked through health visitor. After that it was gp referral. They need to really understand children and so the hearing test is through play etc. E.g. put the man in the boat when you hear the noise. I don't think highstreet is a good option for this age. Wait isn't too long in our area (a few weeks).

Slightly older is hospital audiology. About age 5/6 and under it was audiology at a clinic with an audiologist and play therapist

Thank you so much for the replies- each one has been so useful and really reassuring to read of others who became aware when their DC were at a similar age.

I hadn't also realised that I can still contact health visitors at this age.

Hopefully we'll get a referral from our gp, and if need be lean on a health visitor for direction.

Thanks again for taking the time to reply - it's been very reassuring.

Also best of luck @Newnamesameoldlurker

It might not be the same but in Notts anyone can refer their child to children's audiology; it doesn't need a health care professional referral persay.

Have you tried Googling your local health care Trust plus children's audiology? Ours isn't Hospital based.

GP should be able to refer you into local audiology service at your hospital OP. Our local audiology department (Buckinghamshire) was only 2 weeks from referral to appointment for us, and then 4 weeks for hearing aids.
Your DC may just have glue ear that can be solved with grommets OP 😊
That was what happened with DS, although unfortunately has had complications since then and wears hearing aids now. If that's what your DC needs you can get them in all different colours now! DS has black bases with green and purple moulds like the hulk 😚

Our daughter was referred to audiology around the same age, she had glue ear which lasted longer than normal and wore hearing aids after having her huge tonsils and adenoids removed and grommets fitted. We also had not realised and were told that children can be very good at lip reading without you knowing. Her hearing aids were pink with silver stars and glitter. She told us after some time that she was not going to wear them anymore because she didnt need them, of course we did not believe her until audiology confirmed that hear hearing was fine. Ask school if your son can sit at the front of the class for now and explain that he needs to speak to his teacher if he is struggling to hear what they are saying.

Thank you so much- had no idea you could self refer. Thanks to the advice I've received, I've managed to find our local audiology NHS trust who work with children, and their website advertises working alongside health visitors and school nurses, etc.

I'd googled this last week but hadn't managed to find this- I think searching specifically for audiologists really helped! So thank you.

It's not totally clear if I can self refer but I've contacted them anyway to ask if we can have a hearing test- and provided my gp details. Fingers crossed.

Also some of the aids sound fab- pink sparkles and the hulk are awesome!

My sister wore an aid when she was a child, so you'd think I'd have been a little more aware. Feeling slightly mortified that I've missed all of the signs- and suddenly now it's just very obvious.

Don't worry about it OP. You've spotted it now, and it could be something quite as simple as a build up of fluid that wasn't there before.
If your son is prescribed hearing aids, do check in whether they have a specialist hearing teacher working for the local authority. I'm not sure if they are in every council but certainly in Bucks there are a team of at least 2 or 3, who go into schools and assist teachers with classroom assessment/placing, advise LAs how to change batteries, check things are working etc. I think they go in once every half term. I get an email/text message letting me know they've been in to see DC.

Also if your DC swims regularly (and they do give hearing aids) they can also make earplugs using the same moulds when they make the heating aid mould. Stops fluid going in. Don't ask for blue ones cos they get lost very easily 😆 (ours are flourescent orange!)

Similar situation here with my almost 4 year old ds. I also did the whispering about chocolate!

I went to GP who looked in his ears and referred to audiology. We got an appt within a couple of weeks.

We are SE London too and had it done at Bromley phoenix centre. Super easy and lovely audiologist who put ds at ease. We are going back in a couple of weeks for a 3 month follow up.

PS I’m sure you know this but temporary hearing loss caused by fluid is common in younger children. We were told ds may need grommets if his hearing is still affected at the next appt.

We opted for a private test for approx £75 as the NHS waiting list in our area is 18 months. Dd is now on a short waiting list for surgery whereas the NHS insist on 2 tests and certain number of weeks apart, whereas the private consultat was happy to agree a treatment plan based on 1 test and our explanation of her symptoms and history.

Thank you so much again for the replies - again such useful advice and so great to hear from people who've gone through very similar. After getting in touch with my gp last week I finally got a call back this evening (really strange timing!) and he's referred me to audiology.

He said it's reassuring that DS has never had an ear infection (which apparently would make it more likely to be something like glue ear or a blockage), and has referred to audiology- although I know there is absolutely a chance it could be either of these things.

Looking back, I remember having some concerns around his hearing when he was about 3, and I just dismissed my concerns and talked myself out of it- so I think the signs have been there for potentially a couple of years. I think I've just dismissed them

It's only since the teacher has noticed too and pointed out that I've started to really take note- and obviously in more recent weeks he too has started telling me that he's struggling to hear.

@anicecuppateaa - thanks so much for the advice! So reassuring to hear from your experience, especially accessing the same services in SE London and the referral not taking to long. And very funny you did a very similar test (who can resist chocolate?)

Again thanks all for taking the time to comment. Up until midday today I had no idea what an audiologist was, and was struggling to find direction on Google. I feel like I'm on the right path now- thanks lovely mumsnetters!

My dd wears aids and NHS ones are pretty good now and come in a variety of colours etc. Take it one step at a time get referral to audiologist and get test done so know what you are dealing with. Don't worry about test they are very good at testing kids and making it fun so they play along whilst it's taking place. My dd used to play pop up pirates with assistant and put a sword in barrel each time she heard a noise so she actually loved going for her tests.