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Children's health

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Original poster

how would i know if ds1 had a hearing problem relating to ENT problem?

8 replies

mad4myboys · 28/12/2009 07:21

Both ds's have ent probs and ds2 has enlarged adenoids. Ds1 has bad sleep apnea= and nwe are seeing specialist in 2 weeks to discuss as he has got worse and tired all the time etc etc, his sleep study showed his SATS levels were dropping but were inconclusive so want to re-do. Anyway i have questioned his hearing not being 100% but i have been told hes 'normal' as before it was say when watching tele, id call him and he just wouldnt hear me and i have accpeted that to be normal of this age (3.6) but loud noises seem to hurt his ears (again been told common to this age) but im not sure...
i will be asking the ent guy when we go as last time he was looked at was the summer and his apnea has got an awful lot worse since.... is there any particular signs that show towards a hearing problem as apposed to him being abnoxious when im trying to talk to him/doing loud things? (that might not be the right word btw)

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geekgirl · 28/12/2009 08:17

to be honest the only way to know for sure is to have a hearing test.
Hearing is so complex - they can have a significant loss at one frequency but not at another, so might be able to hear whispering because of the high pitch but miss out parts of words that are a lower pitch.
For what it's worth, my dd2 has a moderate conductive (middle ear) hearing loss in one ear and a mild one in the other, and I honestly cannot tell a difference between her and my other dc when it comes to hearing things. This level of hearing loss means she probably wouldn't learn to speak properly at all without her hearing aid.

Dd1 had a conductive loss due to glue ear at age 3 - we noticed because of the way she sang 'Jingle Bells' the words weren't right and kind of blurred into one. Our GP referred her for a hearing test at the audiology clinic immediately - hearing loss in small children is a serious matter and generally it is treated as such. I think you should see your GP and ask for a hearing test to be done at the hospital.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 28/12/2009 11:03

ive asked gp a few weeks back and they said they didnt think there was a problem.....

i will def question the ent specialist when we go. Thank you

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BigusBumus · 28/12/2009 11:10

My DS1's (was 6 at the time) teacher asked me to get him referred to ENT via the GP, as she thought he may have a problem. He was always bunged up, snored, sweated a lot in bed, couldn't close his mouth when eating, didn't respond immediately when asked to do something, daydreamer.That kind of thing.

I wasn't convincd, but took him to the hospital anyway. Turned out he needed his tonsils out, addenoids out and gromits put in all in one go! HIs hearing loss was only mild, due to glue ear, but still below what it should be. (Interestingl he has only had about 2 ear infections in his life).

I was pleased they had discovered this, but felt awful that I hadn't realised myself sooner!

Anyway, he had it all done in November and the difference is very noticable already. Little things like he will turn the TV down and cover his ears with his hands when i'm hoovering. hats normal intil they get use to hearing normally apparently.

Original poster

mad4myboys · 28/12/2009 11:23

well there is a possibility he has enlarged adenoids, the coldy, breathing, snoring side of things but his tonsils look fine, normal size so they thought initialyy adenoids be fine and didnt want to go straight in and take them out.

With his hearing, he doesnt respond straight away alot of the time, away with the fairies sometimes, BUT when loud noises like when i put the hoover on or if we are in public loo and put the hand dryer on he will scream 'too loud' and cover his ears..

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BigusBumus · 28/12/2009 12:32

perhaps thats because he is used to his world being very quiet and anything that IS actually loud is psychologically too loud for him? Praps...

geekgirl · 28/12/2009 15:14

Dd2 will also complain about loud noises quite a lot even when she is not wearing her hearing aid. I think it's all to do with the frequencies.
You need to go back to your gp or see a different one. Be pesky - they'll send your ds for a test just to get you off their backs! It's such a straighforward thing to have done, there is no need for them to be awkward !!

BigusBumus · 28/12/2009 15:38

Our GP just said yes and referred us when i asked him to. I mentioned that school had noticed aparent hearing difficulties and this was enough fr him to refer us. Could you say something like that to your GP?

Original poster

mad4myboys · 28/12/2009 18:34

i think i will yes. His preschool already know the situation. Because of the apnea he is so tired all the time (despite 11 hours sleep) and it is starting to affect his behaviour now and he is now scared to be by himself when he goes to sleep as he knows he stops breathing when he is asleep (i think from conversations overheard at the hospital) but also he tells me how he feels and what happens. Cant blame the poor thing for being scared...i am!

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