hearing test for 2 yr old

[thisisyesterday]

can anyone give me any idea of what to expect when i take ds2 for his hearing test tomorrow?

he is only 2 and a half, so i am assuming it won't be one of those ones where they have to do something every time they hear a sound? because i don't think he'd do taht reliably...

so how do they do it?

I used to work in audiology. There is the distraction test or the toy test. I imagine it would be the distraction test. ds will be sitting on your lap with someone in front of him playing with a toy. behind you there will be another bod with a sort of loud speaker thing which emits sounds of different frequencies. The one in front will suddenly stop playing with the toy, the sound will come and she/he will look for either a head turn or even a slight eye movement from your ds.

They will also probably do a tympanogram to check the middle ear pressure. After looking at the eardrum with an otoscope (torch with magnifier)to check it is not perforated,they put a thing in his ear much like a digital thermometer, it sends a sound down to the ear drum and it bounces back to give a reading. It will come out as a graph and you'll be hoping for one that looks like a childs picture of a mountain. They can also use the same machine to check for the auditory reflexes

This shows how well the ear drum is moving. If it is a flat line then there is probably fluid behind the ear drum and it can be like you hear when you are underwater, all very muffled. Eustatian tube dysfunction is very common in toddlers because their tubes are so narrow they get easily blocked so don't panic if your picture of a mountain looks more like a calm ocean instead.

ahhh cool thank you! so is that a bit like the newborn hearing test they do with the thing in the ear?

and can i ask... if it shows a problem then what happens next? or does that depend very much on what the problem is specifically? we have a history of glue ear in the family (tho don;t know if it's hereditary)

Yes the newborn hearing test is looking for the presence of the auditory reflexes.

As for what happens next,it does depend on what the problem is, I would imagine if this is your first hearing test if it was simply a flat tympanogram they would tell you to come back in a few weeks/months. each ENT dept will work slightly differently though so the approach might be different too

You must be sure to tell them about any language development/delay as your ds is at a crucial stage. If this has been ongoing for a long time, then I would be rather annoyed at a lets wait and see approach. muster some determination, be forthright in what you want. Get them to explain everything in lay terms, not scientific jargon.

Good luck

The test do depend on what they are looking for as well, if it is glue ear then eatyourveg is right. If it more general hearing issues and the ear drums are clear, then you may find the testing is more focused on hearing a noise and reacting. Also depends on the set up. The better paediatric centres have a sound proofed room with 2 speakers in the corners. a sound will then play through one of the speakers and your child would be expected to react, the smallest of reactions will be noted by the audiologist (ie they don't have to point or turn their head). my daughter used to just pause the game she was playing for a brief moment if she heard something. My daughter is deaf so I've been through every test in the book !

ahh thank you both!

we've been referred due to delayed/very unclear speech, waiting on a speech and language assessment too

and wouldn't you know it, he has woken up this morning with a fever, spiking 40 degrees, so it looks like we're going to have to rebook! kids eh

oh hope he gets better.

ditto